SOME STRANGE FACTS ABOUT SOUTH KOREA

Founded in 1938 as a trading company by Lee Byung-chul, Samsung is the largest chaebol (conglomerate) in South Korea. In the following decades, the company expanded into food processing, textiles, insurance, securities, and retail, and entered electronics in the 60s as well as shipbuilding and construction in the 70s. After Lee’s death in 1987, the company was divided into four independent and unaffiliated groups – Samsung Group, Shinsegae Group, CJ Group, and Hansol Group. In the 90s, Samsung Group began to increase its global presence and received many construction contracts such as the building of one of the two Petronas Towers in Malaysia, Taipei 101 in Taiwan, and the Burj Khalifa in UAE. It also became the world’s largest memory chip and LCD screen manufacturer. By 2012, it became the world’s largest mobile phone maker by unit sales beating Nokia.

August 7, 2022 | 9:39 pm