Samsung

The Samsung Group is South Korea's largest conglomerate (chaebol) and one of the largest multi-billion dollar corporations in the world leading several major global industries. more...

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It is composed of numerous multinational businesses, all united under the Samsung brand, including Samsung Electronics, the world's largest electronics company, Samsung Heavy Industries, one of the world's biggest shipbuilders and Samsung Engineering & Construction, a major global construction company. These three businesses form the core of Samsung Group and reflect its name — the meaning of the Korean word samsung is "tristar" or "three stars". The Samsung brand is the best known Korean brand in the world and in 2005, Samsung overtook Sony as the world's No.1 consumer electronics brand and became part of the Top 20 global brands overall. Samsung Group is also the leader in several other industries domestically, such as the financial, chemical, retail and entertainment industries.

Samsung Group is South Korea's largest company and exporter and the 5th largest transnational corporation in the world. It has been run by generations of one of the world's wealthiest families, currently helmed by chairman Lee Kun-Hee, the third son of the founder, Lee Byung-Chul. Samsung Group is recognized as the most prestigious firm in South Korea, attracting and owning many of the country's most intelligent and best talented pupils, with 25% of its employees having a PhD degree or equivalent. South Korean Samsung employees are also highly loyal to the company, working for very long hours with no weekends or holidays until they retire.

Many major South Korean corporations such as CJ Corporation, Shinsegae Group and Joong-Ang Ilbo daily newspaper were previously part of the Samsung Group, split apart by the government in order to reduce its power. Many leading companies in South Korea, notably iriver, the No.1 MP3 Player maker in South Korea and Naver, the No.1 Search Engine portal in South Korea, were established by ex-Samsung employees. A large number of South Korean firms, particularly those in the electronics industry, are dependent on Samsung for the supply of vital components or raw materials such as semiconductor chips or LCD panels. Consequently, Samsung is able to artificially moderate prices and has been criticised for handicapping other rivals, leading to bankruptcy of mid to small sized businesses as they cannot compete with Samsung. As a result, many have been taken over by Samsung Group, leading to a complete dominance by Samsung Group in many industries.

Samsung Group accounts for more than 20% of South Korea's total exports, with strong government support, including the ability to access unlimited amount of funds from major banks in South Korea. In many domestic industries, Samsung Group is the sole monopoly dominating a single market, its revenue as large as some developing countries' total GDP. The company owns or has taken over so many mid to small sized businesses that it is often called a 'colonial empire' or 'hungry dinosaur'. The company has a powerful influence on the country's economic development, politics, media and culture, being a major driving force behind the Miracle on the Han River. Many Koreans consider Samsung Group a symbol of national pride and businesses use its international success as a model, with the company being known as "Another Family" in South Korea.

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