uartered in Samsung Town, Seoul.

[1] It comprises numerous subsidiaries and affiliated businesses,

[1]
most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol (business
conglomerate).
Samsung was founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938 as a trading company. Over the next three
decades, the group diversified into areas including food processing, textiles, insurance, securities
and retail. Samsung entered the electronics industry in the late 1960s and the construction and
shipbuilding industries in the mid-1970s; these areas would drive its subsequent growth. Following
Lee's death in 1987, Samsung was separated into four business groups Samsung
Group, Shinsegae Group, CJ Group and Hansol Group. Since 1990, Samsung has increasingly
globalized its activities and electronics; in particular, its mobile phones and semiconductors have
become its most important source of income.
Notable Samsung industrial subsidiaries include Samsung Electronics (the world's largest
information technology company measured by 2012 revenues, and 4th in market value), [3] Samsung
Heavy Industries (the world's 2nd-largest shipbuilder measured by 2010 revenues),[4] and Samsung
Engineering and Samsung C&T (respectively the world's 13th and 36th-largest construction
companies).[5] Other notable subsidiaries include Samsung Life Insurance (the world's 14th-largest
life insurance company),[6] Samsung Everland (operator of Everland Resort, the oldest theme park in
South Korea)[7] and Cheil Worldwide (the world's 15th-largest advertising agency measured by 2012
revenues).[8][9]
Samsung has a powerful influence on South Korea's economic development, politics, media and
culture and has been a major driving force behind the "Miracle on the Han River".[10][11] Its affiliate
companies produce around a fifth of South Korea's total exports.[12] Samsung's revenue was equal to
17% of South Korea's $1,082 billion GDP.[13]
Contents
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1Etymology

2History

2.11938 to 1970

2.21970 to 1990

2.31990 to 2000

2.42000 to 2015

2.52016
3Acquisitions and attempted acquisitions

4Sold parts
o

4.1Samsung Techwin

4.2Samsung Thales

4.3Samsung General Chemicals

4.4Samsung Total

5Operations
o

5.1Subsidiaries and affiliates

5.2Joint ventures

5.3Partially owned companies

6Major clients

7Logo and font

o

7.1Audio logo

7.2Font

8Samsung Medical Center

9Sponsorships

10Litigation and regulatory issues

o

10.1Financial scandals

10.2Antitrust concerns

10.3Viral marketing

10.4Labor abuses

10.5Price fixing

10.6Programmed failure of products

11References

12External links

Etymology
According to Samsung's founder, the meaning of the Korean hanja word Samsung () is "tri-star"
or "three stars". The word "three" represents something "big, numerous and powerful". [14]

History

1938 to 1970

The headquarters of Sanghoes in Daegu in the late 1930s

In 1938, Lee Byung-chull (19101987) of a large landowning family in the Uiryeong county moved to
nearby Daegu city and founded Samsung Sanghoe (, ). Samsung started out as a
small trading company with forty employees located in Su-dong (now Ingyo-dong). [15] It dealt in driedfish,[16] locally-grown groceries and made noodles. The company prospered and Lee moved its head
office to Seoul in 1947. When the Korean War broke out, he was forced to leave Seoul. He started
a sugar refinery in Busan named Cheil Jedang. In 1954, Lee founded Cheil Mojik and built the plant
in Chimsan-dong, Daegu. It was the largest woollen mill ever in the country.
Samsung diversified into many different areas. Lee sought to establish Samsung as leader in a wide
range