What does Samsung make?
After Apple launched the first iPhone in 2007, Samsung responded by creating its own world-class smartphones. It succeeded, with the result that its Galaxy smartphones are now pretty much neck and neck with Apple's iPhones. in terms of performance and popularity.
But Samsung does more than make phones.
The Samsung Group is a
chaebol
, one of the giant corporate groups controlled by the South Korean family which consists of several subsidiaries operating in a wide range of fields.In fact, the Samsung Group is the largest
chaebol
;so big that some have speculated that the entire South Korean economy would collapse if Samsung failed.
Samsung was founded by Lee Byung-chul as a small trading company in 1938 when Korea was still under Japanese colonial rule. In the period following Korea's independence in 1945, various military and undemocratic regimes have developed a symbiotic relationship with the
chaebol
In short, the government offered the chaebol concessions and benefits; in return, the chaebol toed the government line on economic policy and provided financial support to the political class.
Today, the Samsung Group has dozens of subsidiaries, and they manufacture... a lot of things. In theory, it would be possible to live your life entirely dependent on Samsung products. a Samsung apartment, shopping for your clothes at Samsung C&T Fashion Group, eating at Samsung Welstory food courts, studying at Samsung-affiliated high schools and universities, working for a Samsung subsidiary, driving a Renault-Samsung car (even if, strictly speaking, speak, it is not produced by Samsung), have fun in a Samsung theme park, stay in a Samsung hotel, pay for it with a Samsung credit card, make sure with Samsung Life and end up filling up circle with your funeral at Samsung Medical Center.
In February 2017, the South Korean business site Chosun Biz
put
the number of subsidiaries of Samsung group to 58, but it does not make sense because the group frequently acquires, sells, merges and renames various subsidiaries. Basically, there are many subsidiaries of Samsung, and many of them are among South Korea's largest companies in their own right.
But back to the main question: what are they doing?
Samsung Electronics, the largest subsidiary, manufactures a wide range of products ranging from consumer electronics such as TVs, tablets, smartwatches, virtual reality headsets, home theater and audio, desktop computers , laptops, monitors, printers, memory devices, home appliances and security. /monitoring systems, semiconductors and memory parts.
Other important subsidiaries and their key products are as follows:
Samsung Heavy Industries
Ships, in particular specialized ships for the oil and gas industry; wind turbines
Samsung C&T
Skyscrapers, civil engineering projects, apartment complexes, garments
Samsung SDI
Consumer and industrial batteries, other ESS (energy storage system) components and components for LCD displays, OLED displays and photovoltaic panels
Samsung screen
Screens for mobile devices, televisions and other products
Samsung Organics
Bio-health products
Samsung Bioepis
Biosimilars
Samsung Medison
Ultrasound devices and other medical equipment
Renault-Samsung
Originally Samsung Motors, but
acquired
by the Renault group from the Samsung group in 2000. But the latter retains a minority stake of around 20% in Renault-Samsung, and authorizes the use of the Samsung name by Renault under an agreement.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the Samsung group has been accused of making excellent
slush boxes
.
Ben Jackson is the author and Ho Kyeong Jang contributed to this article.
Cover image: Samsung Electronics Headquarters in Seoul (Se-Woong Koo/Korea Exposé)
*
To learn more about Samsung and the chaebols, read:
A nation divided under the chaebol
Can South Korea survive without Samsung Electronics?