History of Samsung
Tuesday Mar 1, 1938 to Present
Korea
Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol (business conglomerate).Ingyo-dong, Daegu, South Korea Mar, 1938 Founding
Ingyo-dong, Daegu, South Korea Mar, 1938 In 1938, Lee Byung-chul (1910–1987) of a large landowning family in the Uiryeong county moved to nearby Daegu city and founded Samsung Sanghoe (삼성상회, 三星商會). Samsung started out as a small trading company with forty employees located in Su-dong (now Ingyo-dong). It dealt in dried-fish, locally-grown groceries and noodles.
Seoul, South Korea 1947 Busan, South Korea Saturday Aug 1, 1953 Chimsan-dong, Daegu, South Korea Wednesday Sep 15, 1954 Gumi, South Korea Jan, 1980 Entering The Telecommunications Hardware Industry
Gumi, South Korea Jan, 1980 In 1980, Samsung acquired the Gumi-based Hanguk Jeonja Tongsin and entered telecommunications hardware. Its early products were switchboards. The facility was developed into the telephone and fax manufacturing systems and became the center of Samsung's mobile phone manufacturing. They have produced over 800 million mobile phones to date. The company grouped them together under Samsung Electronics in the 1980s.
Seoul, South Korea Thursday Nov 19, 1987 Seoul, South Korea Wednesday Nov 9, 1994 Founding Samsung Medical Center
Seoul, South Korea Wednesday Nov 9, 1994 The Samsung Medical Center was founded on 9 November 1994, under the philosophy of "contributing to improving the nation's health through the best medical service, advanced medical research and development of outstanding medical personnel". The Samsung Medical Center consists of a hospital and a cancer center. The hospital is located in an intelligent building with floor space of more than 200,000 square meters and 20 floors above ground and 5 floors underground, housing 40 departments, 10 specialist centers, 120 special clinics and 1,306 beds.The 655-bed Cancer Center has 11 floors above ground and 8 floors underground, with floor space of over 100,000 square meters. SMC is a tertiary hospital manned by approximately 7,400 staff including over 1,200 doctors and 2,300 nurses. Since its foundation, the Samsung Medical Center has successfully incorporated and developed an advanced model with the motto of becoming a "patient-centered hospital", a new concept in Korea.
Hamburg, Germany Saturday Mar 11, 1995 Prohibiting The advertising and Sale of Rollei Watches On German Territory
Hamburg, Germany Saturday Mar 11, 1995 Samsung Techwin acquired German camera-maker Rollei in 1995. Samsung (Rollei) used its optic expertise on the crystals of a new line of 100% Swiss-made watches, designed by a team of watchmakers at Nouvelle Piquerez S.A. in Bassequort, Switzerland. Rolex's decision to fight Rollei on every front stemmed from the close resemblance between the two names and fears that its sales would suffer as a consequence. In the face of such a threat, the Geneva firm decided to confront. This was also a demonstration of the Swiss watch industry's determination to defend itself when an established brand is threatened. Rolex sees this front-line battle as vital for the entire Swiss watch industry. Rolex has succeeded in keeping Rollei out of the German market. On 11 March 1995, the Cologne District court prohibited the advertising and sale of Rollei watches on German territory.
New York, U.S. 1995 New York, U.S. 1996 New York, U.S. 1997 New York, U.S. 1998 New York, U.S. 1999 New York, U.S. 2000 New York, U.S. 2001 New York, U.S. 2002 New York, U.S. 2003 New York, U.S. 2004 Tangjung, South Korea 2006 The joint venture between Samsung and Sony
Tangjung, South Korea 2006 Samsung grew to be the world's largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal display panels. Sony, which had not invested in large-size TFT-LCDs, contacted Samsung to cooperate, and, in 2006, S-LCD was established as a joint venture between Samsung and Sony in order to provide a stable supply of LCD panels for both manufacturers. S-LCD was owned by Samsung (50% plus one share) and Sony (50% minus one share) and operates its factories and facilities in Tangjung, South Korea.
New York, U.S. 2005 New York, U.S. 2006 New York, U.S. 2007 New York, U.S. 2008 New York, U.S. 2009 New York, U.S. 2010 Seoul, South Korea Wednesday Oct 19, 2011 Tangjung, South Korea Monday Dec 26, 2011 New York, U.S. 2011 California, U.S. Wednesday May 9, 2012 U.S. Friday Aug 24, 2012 Violating Patents On Smartphone Technology
U.S. Friday Aug 24, 2012 On 24 August 2012, nine American jurors ruled that Samsung Electronics had to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages for violating six of its patents on smartphone technology. The award was still less than the $2.5 billion requested by Apple. The decision also ruled that Apple did not violate five Samsung patents cited in the case. Samsung decried the decision saying that the move could harm innovation in the sector. It also followed a South Korean ruling stating that both companies were guilty of infringing on each other's intellectual property.
Santa Clara, California, U.S. Dec, 2012 Acquiring The Privately Held Storage Software Vendor NVELO, Inc.,
Santa Clara, California, U.S. Dec, 2012 In December 2012, Samsung announced that it had acquired the privately held storage software vendor NVELO, Inc., based in Santa Clara, California. NVELO will become part of Samsung's R&D operations, and will focus on software for intelligently managing and optimizing next-generation Samsung SSD storage subsystems for consumer and enterprise computing platforms.
New York, U.S. 2012 Danvers, Massachusetts, U.S. Jan, 2013 New York, U.S. 2013 California, United States Thursday Aug 14, 2014 Acquiring SmartThings
California, United States Thursday Aug 14, 2014 On 14 August 2014, Samsung acquired SmartThings, a fast-growing home automation startup. The company isn't releasing the acquisition price, but TechCrunch reported a $200 million pricetag when first caught word of the deal in July 2014.
Roanoke, Texas, U.S. Tuesday Aug 19, 2014 Acquiring Quietside LLC
Roanoke, Texas, U.S. Tuesday Aug 19, 2014 On 19 August 2014, Samsung said it had acquired U.S. air conditioner distributor Quietside LLC as part of its push to strengthen its "smart home" business. A Samsung Electronics spokesman said the South Korean company acquired 100 percent of Quietside, but declined to elaborate on the price or other details.
San Diego, California, U.S. Monday Nov 3, 2014 New York, U.S. 2014 U.S. Wednesday Feb 18, 2015 New York, U.S. 2015 Seoul, South Korea Tuesday Aug 2, 2016 U.S. Wednesday Oct 5, 2016 Seoul, South Korea Tuesday Oct 11, 2016 Samsung Recalled All Galaxy Note7 Smartphones Worldwide
Seoul, South Korea Tuesday Oct 11, 2016 However, in early September 2016, Samsung suspended sales of the phone and announced an informal recall. This occurred after some units of the phones had batteries with a defect that caused them to produce excessive heat, leading to fires and explosions. Samsung replaced the recalled units of the phones with a new version; however, it was later discovered that the new version of the Galaxy Note 7 also had the battery defect. Samsung recalled all Galaxy Note7 smartphones worldwide on 10 October 2016, and permanently ended production of the phone the following day.
New York, U.S. 2016 New York, U.S. 2017 New York, U.S. 2018