Samsung Electronics: a dramatic turnaround

Abstract

The economic structure of South Korea was, and still is, similar in many ways to that of Japan. There was some deliberate imitation of the Japanese model. After all between 1910 and 1945 Korea was a colony of Japan. Japanese influence was, and still is, strong, despite the legacy of hostility from World War II. The zaibatsu or keiretsu organization of the Japanese economy was closely paralleled by the chaebol system of South Korea. In alliance with the chaebol, government institutions engaged in a significant degree of guidance planning. The conglomerates were largely responsible for South Korea’s impressive rate of growth between the 1960s and 1997.

Samsung Electronics has become a global company living in accord with global standards.

Jeffrey D. Jones, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea

We are living a nomadic life. We move on if other companies catch up.

Hwang Chang Gyu, President of Samsung’s memory division (quoted in Business Week, 2003)