In South Korea, the Republic of Samsung
But the conglomerate thrives now in part because it makes good products — an important point for South Koreans, who are deeply competitive and see in Samsung some of the traits they want for themselves: ambition, speed, and the ability to adapt and stay on top.
A majority of chaebols haven’t survived. Fourteen of South Korea’s 30 largest companies were wiped out during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
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But Samsung has been steadily growing for decades. It operates 79 subsidiaries, more than twice what it did 25 years ago. Its size relative to South Korea’s economy has also grown: The conglomerate accounts for 28 percent of the nation’s exports, twice its share in 1987.
A powerful Samsung is healthy for the country, corporate spokesman Kevin Cho said, because it makes “major contributions to Korea’s exports, tax revenue and employment.” Cho also emphasized that Samsung is a global player, not a just a domestic one. In 2011, 84 percent of its electronics revenue was generated outside Korea.
Samsung has prospered on the strength of its electronics company, which has made a decade-long run of smart bets on tiny batteries, low-cost flat-panel TVs and smartphones. While Japanese companiesfixated on ornamental and pricey home electronics, Samsung purchased proven technology and quickly began producing cheaper — and high-quality — versions. In the case of smartphones, such a strategy has led to a global patent war with Apple, Samsung’s top competitor. But it has also turned Samsung, once a non-factor in the mobile phone market, into the world’s leading producer in three years.
The Samsung Group makes a point of never doing any one thing for too long, and Lee Kun-hee says frequently that his employees should feel a sense of permanent crisis. Even in its glossy corporate profile, Samsung sounds alarmist. “The positions we currently hold will be obsolete and untenable 10 years from now,” Samsung says. “Across global business, attachment to laurels is folly.” The group is investing billions in green technology, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.
Samsung is a “survivor” of competition, said Lee Cheol-haeng, head of the corporate policy team at the Federation of Korean Industries, which lobbies for large-size businesses.
“Many Koreans right now have dual minds about chaebols,” Lee added. “They say, ‘I hate chaebols, but I want my son to work for one.’ ”
Yoonjung Seo contributed to this report.
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