1. Introduction

On 1st of March 1938, founding chairman Byung-Chull Lee started a business in Taegu, Korea and focused on trade export, selling dried Korean fish, vegetables, and fruit to Manchuria and Beijing. In little more than a decade, Samsung which means "three stars" in Korean would have its own flour mills and confectionery machines, its own manufacturing and sales operations. In 1969, Samsung-Sanyo Electronics established which renamed Samsung Electro-Mechanics in March 1975 and merged with Samsung Electronics in March 1977).
In the 1970s, Samsung laid the strategic foundations for its future growth by investing in the heavy, chemical and petrochemical industries. Another burst of growth for Samsung, came from the growing home electronics business. Already a top manufacturer in the Korean market, Samsung Electronics began to export its products for the first time during this period.
Samsung’s core technology businesses diversify and extended globally during the late 1970s and early 1980s. During this period, Samsung restructured old businesses and entered new ones with the aim of becoming one of the world’s top five electronics companies.
Samsung presented great challenges for high-tech businesses in the early 1990s. In the mid-1990s, Samsung revolutionized its business through a loyalty to making world-class products, provide customer satisfaction and being a good corporate citizen all under the vision of "quality first".
In spite of the 1997 financial crisis that affected nearly all Korean businesses, Samsung was one of a few companies that sustained growing. The digital age has brought innovative changes and opportunities to global businesses. Samsung has responded with advanced technologies, competitive products and continuous innovation. With the success of its electronics business, Samsung has been recognized globally as industry leader in