【即時頭條】李在鎔行賄案一審結果 被判五年監禁
2017年8月25日，彭博社援引韓聯社訊息稱，三星電子副會長李在鎔一審判決結果已出，這位韓國電子巨頭「掌門」被韓國法院判定包括賄賂前總統朴槿惠在內等五項罪名，判刑五年。此前韓國檢方請求的刑期為十二年。
自2017年2月，現年49歲的李在鎔便一直因為疑似賄賂朴槿惠的傳言而醜聞纏身，並不斷被韓檢方拘留受審。根據檢方證詞，三星電子副會長李在鎔涉嫌向朴槿惠及其親信崔順實行賄超過433億韓元。隨後又有傳言流出，稱包括李在鎔在內的多個韓國家族企業掌門都與前總統政治醜聞有聯繫，後者已經於2017年3月正式下臺。
安議員拿出民眾倒朴示威舉起的標語，他說道：「國民們不僅要求朴總統下台了，也主張財閥是共犯。我先向李在鎔證人提問，財閥是共犯嗎？」
李在鎔閉起眼睛，沉默了幾秒，回覆道：「我們還有許多不周全之處，很抱歉…」
「您承認（財閥）是共犯嗎？」安議員繼續問道。
「之後三星會以更好的…」李在鎔話未說完，安議員插嘴道：「請別東問西答。國民喊出財閥也是共犯，您同意嗎？」
李在鎔回應：「我們嚴正看待國民輿論，正在反省中。」
「您是已經承認，接受自己是共犯的說法嗎？」安議員繼續問道。
李在鎔則回答：「我會努力讓三星展現出新的一面的。」
之後，安議員又追問：「您能向國民約定，終結政商勾結的小圈圈嗎？」
李在鎔尷尬地停頓數秒後，回應道：「這次醜事，出自於我…真的是…」
安議員再度打斷李在鎔，他繼續猛攻：「我的提問很簡單，您能向國民約定，戒除政商勾結關係嗎？您有終結官商勾結的意思嗎？」
李在鎔在經過一陣跳針後，再度說道：「我將盡力不會讓國民感到失望。」但仍拒絕承諾是否終結政商勾結。
將近半天的聽證會，「我想不起來」、「我不清楚」、「不足之處還很多，對不起」、「我會好好呈現三星新面貌」等說詞，幾乎是李在鎔回覆每位國會議員的台詞。
面對追問各項細節，李在鎔幾乎無法回答，共同民主黨議員金漢正，當場向李在鎔嘲諷道：「您這樣在三星面試的話，似乎不會得到好的分數，看來應該會落榜。」
李在鎔難堪地回應道：「對不起。」
這一夜，南韓首屈一指大企業的實質經營者，顯得卑微而不堪。
2015.7.18
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Test Time for Samsung Heir Apparent Lee Jae-Yong
- Born: November 15, 1932, Romeas Haek District, Cambodia
- Died: June 8, 2015, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
His funeral was billed as the most important state event in Cambodia since the funeral of King Norodom Sihanouk in 2013. The mourning ceremony and cremation on June 19th of Chea Sim, president of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), was intended to be a grand affair. But the outpouring of grief that met Sihanouk’s passing did not engulf the nation this time http://econ.st/1J2tOlt
Power stayed
Some Cambodians will miss the politician’s moderating influence
ECON.ST
三星集團為應對MERS疫情不力道歉
CHOE SANG-HUN 2015年06月24日
Power stayed
Some Cambodians will miss the politician’s moderating influence
ECON.ST
三星集團為應對MERS疫情不力道歉
CHOE SANG-HUN 2015年06月24日
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
韓國首爾，三星集團未來的掌門人李在鎔為旗下一家醫院在韓國中東呼吸綜合征爆發中應對不力道歉。
韓國首爾——本周二，韓國最大的家族企業三星集團(Samsung Group)未來的掌門人為旗下一家醫院在韓國中東呼吸綜合征爆發中應對不進行了道歉。
這家醫院名為三星醫療中心(Samsung Medical Center)，是中東呼吸綜合征(MERS)爆發的中心。該疾病在韓國已經造成27人死亡。在全國175例確診病例中，有85例是在該醫院感染的。MERS爆發之前，人們普遍認為三星醫療中心是全國最好的醫院。
「三星醫療中心未能阻止MERS的感染和擴散，給大家造成了太大的痛苦和擔憂，，」三星高管李在鎔(Lee Jae-yong)本周二在發表全國電視講話時深深鞠躬。「我低頭道歉，」他說。
李在鎔現年47歲，是三星集團會長李健熙(Lee Kun-hee)的兒子。該集團是韓國的出口導向型經濟的重要引擎，李在鎔在為繼承這個龐大的企業集團做準備期間，韓國人一直在仔細注視他的一舉一動。他的父親已經73歲，自從一年多前心肌梗死以來一直在三星醫療中心住院。李在鎔在講話中也提到這一點，說自己能理解MERS患者及其親屬的焦慮和痛苦。
李在鎔承諾對該醫院進行徹底改革，那裡的急診室人滿為患，被專家認為是MERS迅速傳播的核心因素。5月下旬，一名後來被稱為MERS「超級傳播者」的患者前往急診室治療，結果在那裡感染了數十名病人、探訪者和醫務人員。該醫院已經為自身在傳染病控制上的疏漏道歉。
李在鎔又名Jay Y. Lee，今年5月他接替父親成為經營這所醫院的三星生命公益基金會(Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation)的會長，這與他升任三星一個文化基金會會長一起，被視為繼承計劃的一部分。這兩個基金會持有三星生命保險(Samsung Life Insurance)的股份。李氏家族通過控制三星眾多子公司組成的複雜網絡，實現對三星集團的控制，而三星生命保險就是這個網絡中的重要一環。李在鎔還是三星旗艦公司三星電子(Samsung Electronics)的副會長。
****
根據彭博社12月5日報導，原本擔任三星總裁暨營運長的李在鎔，正式升任副董事長，李在鎔的接班之路又再往前邁進一大步。當天三星的
股價上漲1.8％，達到每股1,455,000韓圜的歷史高點。若以此股價計算，三星的市值約1,980億美元，全球排名第15；排名第一的蘋果，目前市
值約5,420億美元。
今年44歲的李在鎔於1991年進入三星，擔任過顧客長以及策略規劃事業部副總裁，2009年升為執行副總裁以及營運長，2010年再升為總裁。未來，他將接下的是近年少數成功轉型的企業。
如今三星的營收是1987年的39倍，佔韓國GDP的20％。李健熙更是成了韓國首富。根據彭博社資料顯示，今年李健熙的個人財富成長了34％，身價高達107億美元。
然而，三星的崛起始終擺脫不了「政商金錢交易」的陰影。
1938 年，李秉喆（Lee Byung-chull）創辦三星商會，出口韓國的乾魚、蔬菜水果等產品到中國，歷經日本佔領韓國以及韓戰，迅速發展成龐大的家族財團。1960年代，更 跨足電子產業。與當時的總統李承晚（Syngman Rhee）的密切關係，自然是三星快速崛起的關鍵。
今年44歲的李在鎔於1991年進入三星，擔任過顧客長以及策略規劃事業部副總裁，2009年升為執行副總裁以及營運長，2010年再升為總裁。未來，他將接下的是近年少數成功轉型的企業。
如今三星的營收是1987年的39倍，佔韓國GDP的20％。李健熙更是成了韓國首富。根據彭博社資料顯示，今年李健熙的個人財富成長了34％，身價高達107億美元。
然而，三星的崛起始終擺脫不了「政商金錢交易」的陰影。
1938 年，李秉喆（Lee Byung-chull）創辦三星商會，出口韓國的乾魚、蔬菜水果等產品到中國，歷經日本佔領韓國以及韓戰，迅速發展成龐大的家族財團。1960年代，更 跨足電子產業。與當時的總統李承晚（Syngman Rhee）的密切關係，自然是三星快速崛起的關鍵。
1961年，朴正熙（Park
Chung-hee，今年年底韓國總統大選候選人朴槿惠的父親）發動軍事政變，隨後當選為總統。朴正熙決心要讓韓國成為全球的製造強國，對抗鄰近的北韓與
日本。因此選定少數幾家企業，重點扶植，三星也在名單之中，不僅得到朴正熙政府的全力支持，更享有不少特權。
1987年12月1日，也就是李秉喆過世後兩星期，他的第三個兒子李健熙接任集團董事長。在他25年掌權期間，三星成為亞洲最大的消費電子廠以及全球最大的智慧型手機廠。
然而，在這些亮麗的頭銜背後，卻隱藏着許多不為人知的檯面下交易。
1997 年，韓國記者李尚浩（Lee Sang-ho）公布了當時三星副總裁李鶴洙（Lee Hak-soo）與韓國駐美大使洪錫炫（Hong Seok-yun）的對話錄音，顯示兩人正計畫提供韓國總統候選人30億韓圜（約300萬美元）競選資金，同時也揭露了三星賄賂韓國政府官員的醜聞。李尚 浩還宣稱，三星利用旗下所屬的《中央日報》（Joongang Daily），反擊各方對三星貪腐的指控。最後洪錫炫被迫下台，李鶴洙則因為另一件行賄前總統的案件遭到判刑，緩刑兩年，但隨後獲得總統金泳三赦免。
但事情並未結束，還有更多未爆彈。
1987年12月1日，也就是李秉喆過世後兩星期，他的第三個兒子李健熙接任集團董事長。在他25年掌權期間，三星成為亞洲最大的消費電子廠以及全球最大的智慧型手機廠。
然而，在這些亮麗的頭銜背後，卻隱藏着許多不為人知的檯面下交易。
1997 年，韓國記者李尚浩（Lee Sang-ho）公布了當時三星副總裁李鶴洙（Lee Hak-soo）與韓國駐美大使洪錫炫（Hong Seok-yun）的對話錄音，顯示兩人正計畫提供韓國總統候選人30億韓圜（約300萬美元）競選資金，同時也揭露了三星賄賂韓國政府官員的醜聞。李尚 浩還宣稱，三星利用旗下所屬的《中央日報》（Joongang Daily），反擊各方對三星貪腐的指控。最後洪錫炫被迫下台，李鶴洙則因為另一件行賄前總統的案件遭到判刑，緩刑兩年，但隨後獲得總統金泳三赦免。
但事情並未結束，還有更多未爆彈。
2010年，三星前首席法律顧問金勇澈（Kim
Yong-chul）出書踢爆李健熙驚人的貪腐內幕，在韓國引起了軒然大波。書中指控李健熙從三星子公司竊取10兆韓圜（約100億美元），並涉嫌銷毀證
據。此外，為了讓自己的獨子李在鎔順利接班，李健熙不惜賄賂多位政府官員。書中還提到，三星有一筆2,000億韓圜（2億美元）的預算，專門用來賄賂檢察
官和政治人物。
然而，多數的主流媒體卻不願報導此事，也不願替書作宣傳；一般民眾甚至認為，金勇澈出書是酸葡萄心理作祟，很可能是出於他個人與三星之間的恩怨。但更深層的原因是，韓國人對三星有著難以割捨的民族性情感，三星就如同是韓國的同義詞，批評三星，等於是批評自己的國家。
2008 年，李健熙因為貪腐和逃稅案而辭去董事長職務，檢察官求處7年徒刑，罰款3,500億韓圜（約3.5億美元）。但最後李健熙只被判緩刑3年，罰款 1,100億韓圜（約1億美元）。之後總統李明博再度赦免李健熙，以保住他在國際奧委會的職位，他也成功帶領韓國申辦2018年的冬季奧運。隔年，李健熙 風光重回三星，再度掌權。曾經的貪腐案，似乎未曾發生過。
但是，三星的風波仍未平息。今年輸掉了與蘋果之間的專利權官司，必須賠償蘋果10億美元。不過三星不準備就此棄械投降，決心對抗到底。
在此同時，家族的內鬥也正式浮上檯面。李健熙的哥哥與姐姐因為股權繼承問題，對李健熙提出控告。不過，李健熙卻指稱，哥哥李孟熙已經被趕出家門，而對於姐姐嫁給競爭對手樂金（LG）創辦人之子，李健熙更是感到怒不可遏。
未來李在鎔要面對的難題，不僅僅是繼續維持三星現有的高成長，還要處理與蘋果的專利之爭以及家族內鬥，他能否如同父親李健熙一樣，再創三星的新高峰？全世界都等著看他的表現。（吳凱琳編譯）
【新聞來源】
King of Samsung : a chairman's reign of cunning and corruption
*****
If Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee takes a moment this weekend to
reflect on the past 25 years, he could be forgiven for having mixed
emotions. Tomorrow marks the quarter-century point since Lee took over
from his late father, and his time in charge has seen a whirlwind
acceleration in Samsung's fortunes. Under Lee's guidance, the company
has been transformed from a Korean budget name into a major
international force and arguably the most prominent Asian brand
worldwide — Samsung's revenues are now 39 times what they were in 1987,
it generates around 20 percent of South Korea's GDP, and Lee is the
country's richest man.
But the company's rise to the top has been tainted with controversy. Samsung is the quintessential example of a chaebol, that uniquely Korean brand of conglomerate that mixes Confucian values with family ties and government influence. Accusations of corruption and cozy establishment connections, conviction over an embezzlement scandal, strained family relationships that threaten the traditional chaebol structure, and a bruising patent battle with Apple have taken the polish off Samsung's — and Lee's — glittering business record. Who is Lee Kun-hee, and how has he managed to survive this delicate balance of stress and success? And where next for the company, which still yearns to be taken seriously as a force for innovation?
Lee Kun-hee became Samsung chairman on December 1st, 1987, just two weeks after the death of his father, Lee Byung-chull. The nepotistic succession was typical of chaebols, but the younger Lee found himself at the helm of a fairly steady ship; Samsung was already leading several markets in its home country. Founded in 1938 as a trucking business called Samsung Trading Co, Lee Byung-chull had steered the company through Japanese occupation and the Korean War to become a successful conglomerate before entering the electronics industry in the 60s. Samsung's rise, like those of many chaebols, had been assisted by close ties with the authoritarian administration of Syngman Rhee, but things changed following Park Chung-hee's military coup in 1961.
Park wanted to turn South Korea into a manufacturing giant to compete with the rising communist North and a resurgent Japan, and to that end he enlisted a select number of companies that could work towards that goal. Since Korea is not a land particularly rich in any natural resources or, at the time, skilled labor, Park chose to focus on efficiency by putting the country to work on raw materials imported from elsewhere. Lee Byung-chull's corruption and ties to the previous government were forgiven, and Samsung enjoyed the full support and privileges of a new industrial machine. When Lee's era came to an end, his third son Lee Kun-hee took over a manufacturing giant that was spearheading South Korea's economic growth.
"Samsung" is a Korean name formed from the Chinese characters 三星, meaning the "three stars" that gave the company its logo for decades. That logo, however, was soon thrown out by Lee Kun-hee in favor of the neutral blue ellipse that's still in use today. The rebranding was part of Lee's plan to transform the company from a Korean success story into an international powerhouse and came alongside a shift in the way the company worked internally. Lee famously told his employees to "change everything but your wife and kids" in 1993, and true to his word attempted to reform the profoundly Korean culture that had pervaded Samsung until this point. Foreign employees were brought in and local employees were shipped out as Lee tried to foster a more international attitude to doing business.
During the late 80s and early 90s it seemed all but inevitable that Japan would become the dominant manufacturing power in the world. Of course, today the country struggles against South Korean rivals, battered by a hostile exchange rate and sky-high labor costs, but it was Lee's foresight around two decades ago that allowed Samsung to get the jump on the likes of Sony. He saw Japanese firms dragging their feet on digital technology, creating an opportunity for Korean companies to muscle in on their turf with better, more efficient business practices. Seoul National University professor Song Jae-yong characterizes these as a blend of the company's prior, Confucian- and Japanese-influenced thought and newer inspiration from the West. For example, Lee gradually introduced merit-based incentives for promotion and compensation without entirely overhauling the prior system that worked on the basis of seniority. As the ‘90s turned into the new millennium, Samsung started looking less like a Japanese company in style, but more like one in success — and quality. "They've gone from a minor brand, especially in the US, to a powerhouse in many different markets that now often defines cutting edge products," says Michael Gartenberg, research director at Gartner. "In many ways they now define excellence in a way that Japanese consumer electronics companies once did."
In 1997, Lee wrote that "a heightened sense of crisis" was needed for
any company to succeed, warning of the risks of complacency.
Maintaining this attitude must have come in useful that same year when
journalist Lee Sang-ho published recordings of Samsung vice-chairman Lee
Hak-soo talking to the Korean ambassador to the United States, Hong
Seok-hyun. The conversation revealed plans for Lee and Hong to funnel
around 3 billion won (roughly $3 million) to South Korean presidential
candidates and implicated Samsung in the bribing of senior prosecutors.
Lee Sang-ho claimed Samsung consistently tried to silence allegations of
corruption, leveraging its ownership of the major Joongang Daily
newspaper — which was published by Hong Seok-hyun. Hong was forced to
resign as US ambassador and Lee Kun-hee received a suspended two-year
prison sentence for bribing former presidents in a separate incident
(later pardoned by president Kim Young-sam), but the general fear around
reporting negative coverage of Samsung remains.
A 2010 book called Think Samsung by the company's former chief legal counsel Kim Yong-chul has made the largest waves since. It revealed alleged shocking details of Lee Kun-hee's personal corruption, claiming that he stole up to 10 trillion won (about $10 billion) from Samsung subsidiaries, destroyed evidence, and bribed government officials to ensure the smooth transfer of power to his son. Reaction to the book was divided in Korea, with the vast majority of mainstream media refusing to cover it or run advertising, and many local people viewing Kim's allegations as little more than sour grapes; the result of unsettled grudges with the company. But affection for Samsung runs deep in South Korea, and an assault on the company's culture can almost be seen as an attack on the country itself — even when the man in question is a convicted fraudster.
Lee Kun-hee resigned from Samsung in 2008 after being indicted and found guilty of embezzlement and tax evasion in Samsung's infamous slush funds scandal. Kim Yong-chul alleged that the company had a 200 billion won (roughly $200 million) budget for bribing prosecutors and politicians into turning a blind eye to its legal misconduct. Despite prosecutors seeking seven years in jail with a fine of 350 billion won ($350 million), Lee was handed a suspended three-year sentence and fined just 110 billion won ($100 million) — a relative pittance for the world's 106th richest man. Months later, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak gave Lee Kun-hee a second personal pardon so that he could remain on the International Olympic Committee; the Samsung chairman went on to lead a successful bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang. Amidst widespread criticism that the incident highlighted the favorable treatment given to corrupt chaebol executives, Lee returned as Samsung Electronics chairman the following year.
Samsung's sense of crisis was further heightened earlier this year by its devastating loss to Apple in court. A jury found that several Samsung products copied Apple devices in their design and ordered the Korean company to pay over $1 billion in compensation. Mobile chief JK Shin had previously told his staff that the company was suffering a "crisis of design" while attempting to overthrow Nokia, and Samsung thereby turned its attention towards Apple with the development of the first Galaxy S. Unfortunately, this application of Lee's crisis culture thinking led the company down the path that was eventually closed off by Judge Lucy Koh in emphatic fashion. The issue speaks to Samsung's culture at large; despite huge financial success and a recognisable style starting to become apparent in devices such as the Galaxy S III, the company is yet to create a truly breakthrough, iconic product in the vein of the iPhone or Walkman. That will need to be rectified if the Samsung brand is ever to stand for real innovation, and despite Lee's substantial reforms of the company's hierarchical structure and top-down thinking, they may not have gone far enough.
Fighting within the Lee family, too, threatens to disrupt the company's future. Lee Kun-hee's older brother and sister have both sued him over the ownership of inherited shares, and for the first time this year the family split to hold separate memorial services for their father. The Samsung chairman has claimed that his brother, Maeng-hee, was "kicked out" of the family, and raged over his sister's marriage to a son of rival chaebol LG's founder. Questions also remain over how power will be transferred to Jae-yong, with the older Lee's conviction still fresh in the mind of many.
While Lee Kun-hee once implored his workers to "change everything but your wife and kids," that change may not go far enough for Samsung. The traditional chaebol model has helped the company become one of the most successful in the world, but its conservative values are unlikely to help it become a major force for innovation. Lee Kun-hee's controversial time in charge has undeniably brought the company success — for Samsung to become a truly loved brand, however, it must start looking to a new generation of leadership that prioritizes design and originality over ruthless competition.
然而，多數的主流媒體卻不願報導此事，也不願替書作宣傳；一般民眾甚至認為，金勇澈出書是酸葡萄心理作祟，很可能是出於他個人與三星之間的恩怨。但更深層的原因是，韓國人對三星有著難以割捨的民族性情感，三星就如同是韓國的同義詞，批評三星，等於是批評自己的國家。
2008 年，李健熙因為貪腐和逃稅案而辭去董事長職務，檢察官求處7年徒刑，罰款3,500億韓圜（約3.5億美元）。但最後李健熙只被判緩刑3年，罰款 1,100億韓圜（約1億美元）。之後總統李明博再度赦免李健熙，以保住他在國際奧委會的職位，他也成功帶領韓國申辦2018年的冬季奧運。隔年，李健熙 風光重回三星，再度掌權。曾經的貪腐案，似乎未曾發生過。
但是，三星的風波仍未平息。今年輸掉了與蘋果之間的專利權官司，必須賠償蘋果10億美元。不過三星不準備就此棄械投降，決心對抗到底。
在此同時，家族的內鬥也正式浮上檯面。李健熙的哥哥與姐姐因為股權繼承問題，對李健熙提出控告。不過，李健熙卻指稱，哥哥李孟熙已經被趕出家門，而對於姐姐嫁給競爭對手樂金（LG）創辦人之子，李健熙更是感到怒不可遏。
未來李在鎔要面對的難題，不僅僅是繼續維持三星現有的高成長，還要處理與蘋果的專利之爭以及家族內鬥，他能否如同父親李健熙一樣，再創三星的新高峰？全世界都等著看他的表現。（吳凱琳編譯）
【新聞來源】
King of Samsung : a chairman's reign of cunning and corruption
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King of Samsung: a chairman's reign of cunning and corruption
Lee Kun-hee made Samsung a global power over 25 years, but at what cost?
Samsung's rise to the top has been tainted with controversy
But the company's rise to the top has been tainted with controversy. Samsung is the quintessential example of a chaebol, that uniquely Korean brand of conglomerate that mixes Confucian values with family ties and government influence. Accusations of corruption and cozy establishment connections, conviction over an embezzlement scandal, strained family relationships that threaten the traditional chaebol structure, and a bruising patent battle with Apple have taken the polish off Samsung's — and Lee's — glittering business record. Who is Lee Kun-hee, and how has he managed to survive this delicate balance of stress and success? And where next for the company, which still yearns to be taken seriously as a force for innovation?
The nepotistic succession was typical of chaebols
Lee Kun-hee became Samsung chairman on December 1st, 1987, just two weeks after the death of his father, Lee Byung-chull. The nepotistic succession was typical of chaebols, but the younger Lee found himself at the helm of a fairly steady ship; Samsung was already leading several markets in its home country. Founded in 1938 as a trucking business called Samsung Trading Co, Lee Byung-chull had steered the company through Japanese occupation and the Korean War to become a successful conglomerate before entering the electronics industry in the 60s. Samsung's rise, like those of many chaebols, had been assisted by close ties with the authoritarian administration of Syngman Rhee, but things changed following Park Chung-hee's military coup in 1961.
Park wanted to turn South Korea into a manufacturing giant to compete with the rising communist North and a resurgent Japan, and to that end he enlisted a select number of companies that could work towards that goal. Since Korea is not a land particularly rich in any natural resources or, at the time, skilled labor, Park chose to focus on efficiency by putting the country to work on raw materials imported from elsewhere. Lee Byung-chull's corruption and ties to the previous government were forgiven, and Samsung enjoyed the full support and privileges of a new industrial machine. When Lee's era came to an end, his third son Lee Kun-hee took over a manufacturing giant that was spearheading South Korea's economic growth.
"Samsung" is a Korean name formed from the Chinese characters 三星, meaning the "three stars" that gave the company its logo for decades. That logo, however, was soon thrown out by Lee Kun-hee in favor of the neutral blue ellipse that's still in use today. The rebranding was part of Lee's plan to transform the company from a Korean success story into an international powerhouse and came alongside a shift in the way the company worked internally. Lee famously told his employees to "change everything but your wife and kids" in 1993, and true to his word attempted to reform the profoundly Korean culture that had pervaded Samsung until this point. Foreign employees were brought in and local employees were shipped out as Lee tried to foster a more international attitude to doing business.
"Change everything but your wife and kids."
Lee Kun-hee to Samsung employees in 1993
During the late 80s and early 90s it seemed all but inevitable that Japan would become the dominant manufacturing power in the world. Of course, today the country struggles against South Korean rivals, battered by a hostile exchange rate and sky-high labor costs, but it was Lee's foresight around two decades ago that allowed Samsung to get the jump on the likes of Sony. He saw Japanese firms dragging their feet on digital technology, creating an opportunity for Korean companies to muscle in on their turf with better, more efficient business practices. Seoul National University professor Song Jae-yong characterizes these as a blend of the company's prior, Confucian- and Japanese-influenced thought and newer inspiration from the West. For example, Lee gradually introduced merit-based incentives for promotion and compensation without entirely overhauling the prior system that worked on the basis of seniority. As the ‘90s turned into the new millennium, Samsung started looking less like a Japanese company in style, but more like one in success — and quality. "They've gone from a minor brand, especially in the US, to a powerhouse in many different markets that now often defines cutting edge products," says Michael Gartenberg, research director at Gartner. "In many ways they now define excellence in a way that Japanese consumer electronics companies once did."
Affection for Samsung runs deep in Korea — even when its chairman is a convicted fraudster
A 2010 book called Think Samsung by the company's former chief legal counsel Kim Yong-chul has made the largest waves since. It revealed alleged shocking details of Lee Kun-hee's personal corruption, claiming that he stole up to 10 trillion won (about $10 billion) from Samsung subsidiaries, destroyed evidence, and bribed government officials to ensure the smooth transfer of power to his son. Reaction to the book was divided in Korea, with the vast majority of mainstream media refusing to cover it or run advertising, and many local people viewing Kim's allegations as little more than sour grapes; the result of unsettled grudges with the company. But affection for Samsung runs deep in South Korea, and an assault on the company's culture can almost be seen as an attack on the country itself — even when the man in question is a convicted fraudster.
Two Korean presidents personally pardoned Lee
Lee Kun-hee resigned from Samsung in 2008 after being indicted and found guilty of embezzlement and tax evasion in Samsung's infamous slush funds scandal. Kim Yong-chul alleged that the company had a 200 billion won (roughly $200 million) budget for bribing prosecutors and politicians into turning a blind eye to its legal misconduct. Despite prosecutors seeking seven years in jail with a fine of 350 billion won ($350 million), Lee was handed a suspended three-year sentence and fined just 110 billion won ($100 million) — a relative pittance for the world's 106th richest man. Months later, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak gave Lee Kun-hee a second personal pardon so that he could remain on the International Olympic Committee; the Samsung chairman went on to lead a successful bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang. Amidst widespread criticism that the incident highlighted the favorable treatment given to corrupt chaebol executives, Lee returned as Samsung Electronics chairman the following year.
Samsung's sense of crisis was further heightened earlier this year by its devastating loss to Apple in court. A jury found that several Samsung products copied Apple devices in their design and ordered the Korean company to pay over $1 billion in compensation. Mobile chief JK Shin had previously told his staff that the company was suffering a "crisis of design" while attempting to overthrow Nokia, and Samsung thereby turned its attention towards Apple with the development of the first Galaxy S. Unfortunately, this application of Lee's crisis culture thinking led the company down the path that was eventually closed off by Judge Lucy Koh in emphatic fashion. The issue speaks to Samsung's culture at large; despite huge financial success and a recognisable style starting to become apparent in devices such as the Galaxy S III, the company is yet to create a truly breakthrough, iconic product in the vein of the iPhone or Walkman. That will need to be rectified if the Samsung brand is ever to stand for real innovation, and despite Lee's substantial reforms of the company's hierarchical structure and top-down thinking, they may not have gone far enough.
Lee Jae-yong (middle) is the heir apparent to his father's chairman role
True to chaebol form, the 70-year-old Lee's only son is already being
groomed as the next chairman. Lee Jae-yong is currently president and
COO of Samsung Electronics, and at 44 could represent a newer, more
modern outlook for the company. He was behind the company's successful
expansion into application processors and OLED displays, and reportedly
has a strong interest in product design. But, with his father
maintaining a strict hold on events across the company, there are doubts
over his experience and leadership credentials. The appointment of a
new chairman based on family ties over merit could spark public dissent
over the traditional system of inheritance; several candidates in the
upcoming South Korean presidential election, such as anti-virus entrepreneur Ahn Cheol-soo, have run on a platform of reforming the chaebols.Lee's only son is already being groomed as the next chairman
Fighting within the Lee family, too, threatens to disrupt the company's future. Lee Kun-hee's older brother and sister have both sued him over the ownership of inherited shares, and for the first time this year the family split to hold separate memorial services for their father. The Samsung chairman has claimed that his brother, Maeng-hee, was "kicked out" of the family, and raged over his sister's marriage to a son of rival chaebol LG's founder. Questions also remain over how power will be transferred to Jae-yong, with the older Lee's conviction still fresh in the mind of many.
While Lee Kun-hee once implored his workers to "change everything but your wife and kids," that change may not go far enough for Samsung. The traditional chaebol model has helped the company become one of the most successful in the world, but its conservative values are unlikely to help it become a major force for innovation. Lee Kun-hee's controversial time in charge has undeniably brought the company success — for Samsung to become a truly loved brand, however, it must start looking to a new generation of leadership that prioritizes design and originality over ruthless competition.
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