Samsung Group

In 1987, United States International Trade Commission found that the Samsung Group of South Korea unlawfully sold computer chips in the United States without licenses from the chip inventor, Texas Instruments Inc.

Since 1990, Samsung has increasingly globalised its activities and electronics; in particular, its mobile phones and semiconductors have become its most important source of income. It was in this period that Samsung started to rise as an international corporation in the 1990s. Samsung's construction branch was awarded contracts to build one of the two Petronas Towers in Malaysia, Taipei 101 in Taiwan and the Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates. Samsung became the world's largest producer of memory chips in 1992 and is the world's second-largest chipmaker after Intel (see Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Market Share Ranking Year by Year).

In 1993, Lee Kun-hee consolidated the group around electronics, engineering and chemicals by selling, downsizing, and merging operations. In 1995, Samsung's textile department invested in FUBU, an American hip hop apparel company, after the founder placed an advertisement asking for funding in The New York Times. The same year, it created its first liquid-crystal display screen. Samsung grew to be the world's largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal display panels. In 1996, the Samsung Group reacquired the Sungkyunkwan University foundation.

Compared to other major Korean companies, Samsung survived the 1997 Asian financial crisis relatively unharmed. However, Samsung Motor was sold to Renault at a significant loss. As of 2010, Renault Samsung is 80.1 per cent owned by Renault and 19.9 per cent owned by Samsung. Additionally, Samsung manufactured a range of aircraft from the 1980s to the 1990s. The company was founded in 1999 as Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the result of a merger between then three domestic major aerospace divisions of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries and Hyundai Space and Aircraft Company. However, Samsung still manufactures aircraft engines and gas turbines.

2000–present

In 2000, Samsung R&D opened a development center in Warsaw, Poland. Its work began with set-top-box technology before moving into digital TV and smartphones. The smartphone platform was developed with partners, officially launched with the original Samsung Solstice line of devices and other derivatives in 2008, which was later developed into Samsung Galaxy line of devices including Notes, Edge and other products.

In 2007, former Samsung chief lawyer Kim Yong Chul claimed that he was involved in bribing and fabricating evidence on behalf of the group's chairman, Lee Kun-hee, and the company. Kim said that Samsung lawyers trained uninvolved executives to serve as fabricated scapegoats to protect Lee. Kim also told the media that he was "sidelined" by Samsung after he refused to pay a $3.3 million bribe to the U.S. Federal District Court judge presiding over a case where two of its executives were found guilty on charges related to memory chip price-fixing. Kim revealed that the company had raised a large number of secret funds through bank accounts illegally opened under the names of up to 1,000 Samsung executives – under his own name, four accounts were opened to manage 5 billion won.

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 Tanjung, South Korea. As of 26 December 2011, it was announced that Samsung had acquired the stake of Sony in this joint venture.

In 2010, Samsung announced a ten-year growth strategy centered around five businesses. One of these businesses was to be focused on biopharmaceuticals, to which has committed ₩2.1 trillion. In first quarter of 2012, Samsung Electronics became the world's largest mobile phone maker by unit sales, overtaking Nokia, which had been the market leader since 1998.

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. In first trading after the ruling, Samsung shares on the KOSPI fell 7.7%, the largest fall since 24 October 2008, to 1,177,000 South Korean won. Apple then sought to ban the sales of eight Samsung phones (Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge and Galaxy Prevail) in the United States, but this was denied by the court.In October 2012, work began on the world's first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform at Samsung Heavy Industries' shipyard on Geoje Island. It was projected to become the world's biggest "ship" when finished and fully loaded.

As of 2013, the Fair Trade Commission of Taiwan is investigating Samsung and its local Taiwanese advertising agency for false advertising. The case was commenced after the commission received complaints stating that the agency hired students to attack competitors of Samsung Electronics in online forums. Samsung Taiwan made an announcement on its Facebook page in which it stated that it had not interfered with any evaluation report and had stopped online marketing campaigns that constituted posting or responding to content in online forums.

In 2015, Samsung has been granted more U.S. patents than any other company. The company received 7,679 utility patents through 11 December.

The Galaxy Note 7 smartphone went on sale on 19 August 2016. However, in early September 2016, Samsung suspended sales of the phone and announced an informal recall. This action was taken after some units of the phones were found to have batteries with a defect that caused them to generate 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. Consequently, Samsung recalled all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones worldwide on 10 October 2016 and permanently ceased production of the phone the following day.

In 2018, it inaugurated the world's largest mobile manufacturing facility in Noida, India, in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

In 2023, Samsung announced its decision to reduce the production of memory chips. This action is on account of the company's projected 96% decline in quarterly operating profit - a 600 million won decline from the 14 trillion won in 2022. The said drop can be attributed to the weak demand after COVID and a slowing global economy. Despite this decision, the company's shares increased by more than 4%. Samsung has been the top two applicant for PCT filled patents in 2022 and 2023 worldwide.

Following the grant to Samsung of U.S. Patent No. 9,675,229 and its European counterpart, EP 2963515, titled Cleaning robot and method for controlling the same, the patents were challenged by Igor Paromtchik through an ex parte reexamination in the United States and opposition proceedings in Europe. These patents described technologies used in Samsung's POWERbot robot vacuum cleaners. The European patent was revoked in March 2024. The U.S. patent ceased to be in force in June 2025 due to non-payment of maintenance fees, approximately ten years before the end of its full statutory term.

On 12 February 2026, Samsung "started shipping its most advanced HBM4 chips."

In May 2026, Samsung hit $1 Trillion in valuation, after its shares more than quadrupled over the past year on booming demand for the chips used in artificial intelligence.

Leadership

Lee Byung-chul (1938–1966, 1968–1987)

Lee Maeng-hee (1966–1968), Lee Byung-chul's first son

Lee Kun-hee (1987–2008, 2010–2020), Lee Byung-chul's third son

Lee Soo-bin (2008–2010)

Defunct

Alpha Processor Inc. (API) was established in 1998 as a joint venture with U.S.-based Compaq, to enter the high-end microprocessor market. The venture was also aimed at expanding Samsung's non-memory chip business by manufacturing DEC Alpha CPUs. At the time, Samsung and Compaq invested $500 million in Alpha Processor.

GE Samsung Lighting was a joint venture between Samsung and the GE Lighting subsidiary of General Electric. The venture was established in 1998 and was broken up in 2009.

Samtron was a subsidiary of Samsung until 1999 when it became independent. After that, it continued to make computer monitors and plasma displays until 2003, Samtron became Samsung when Samtron was a brand. In 2003 the website redirected to Samsung.

S-LCD Corporation was a joint venture between Samsung Electronics (50% plus one share) and the Japan-based Sony Corporation (50% minus one share) established in April 2004. On 26 December 2011, Samsung Electronics announced that it would acquire all of Sony's shares in the venture.

Global Steel Exchange was a joint venture formed in 2000 between Samsung, the U.S.-based Cargill, the Switzerland-based Duferco Group, and the Luxembourg-based Tradearbed (now part of the ArcelorMittal), to handle their online buying and selling of steel.

Canada

The government of the Canadian province of Ontario signed one of the world's largest renewable energy projects, a deal worth $6.6 billion for an additional 2,500 MW of new wind and solar energy. Under the agreement, a consortium led by Samsung and the Korea Electric Power Corporation manages the development of 2,000 MW-worth of new wind farms and 500 MW of solar capacity, while also building a manufacturing supply chain in the province.

United Arab Emirates

In 2009, a consortium of South Korean firms, including Samsung, Korea Electric Power Corporation and Hyundai, won a deal worth $40 billion to build nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates.

Vietnam

In March 2008, Samsung received an investment certificate and began construction of its first mobile phone manufacturing plant in Vietnam, Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV) in Bac Ninh. The project originally had an investment capital of US$670 million, but it was quickly increased to US$1.5 billion, then to US$2.5 billion, nearly four times the original investment capital.

In the period from 2018 to 2022, Samsung contributed over US$306 billion in export revenue to Vietnam. In 2022 alone, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the figure reached US$65 billion, contributing significantly to Vietnam's total export value, which for the first time exceeded the US$700 billion threshold, reaching over US$732 billion.

In addition, Samsung has also brought Vietnamese businesses deeper into the global value chain and contributed significantly to the development of the electronics industry in Vietnam. Currently, the number of Vietnamese first- and second-tier suppliers in Samsung's global supply chain has increased tenfold, from 25 businesses in 2014 to 257 businesses by the end of 2022.

2007 slush fund scandal

Kim Yong-chul, the former head of the legal department at Samsung's Restructuring Office, and Catholic Priests Association for Justice uncovered Lee Kun-hee's slush fund on 29 October 2007. He presented a list of 30 artworks that the Lee family purchased with some of the slush funds, which were to be found in Samsung's warehouse in south of Seoul, along with documents about bribes to prosecutors, judges and lawmakers, tax collectors with thousands of borrowed-named bank account.

The court sentenced Lee Kun-hee to 3 years' imprisonment with 5 years' probation, and fined him ₩11 billion (US$9.62 million). But on 29 December 2009, the South Korean president Lee Myung-bak specially pardoned Lee, stating that the intent of the pardon was to allow Lee to remain on the International Olympic Committee.

Kim Yong-chul published the book Thinking about Samsung in 2010. He wrote detailed accounts of Samsung's behavior and how the company lobbied governmental authorities including the court officials, prosecutors and national tax service officials for transferring Samsung's management rights to Lee Jae-yong.

Lee Kun-hee's prostitution scandal

In July 2016, the investigative journal KCIJ-Newstapa released a video which appeared to show Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee paying a group of prostitutes for sex acts. The footage was filmed on five occasions between December 2011 and June 2013 both at Lee's residence and a secret rental home.

Police detained six suspects for taking the compromising videos without Lee Kun-hee's knowledge. Investigators stated that, by threatening to release the tapes, the suspects were able to extort ₩500 million (US$437,082.04) from Samsung, a claim which Samsung representatives denied.

One of the suspects, surnamed Seon, was a former executive of a competitor Chaebol, CJ CheilJedang, which used to be part of Samsung Group until its separation in 1993. Lee Kun-hee's older brother is Lee Jay-hyun, the Chairman of CJ CheilJedang, and the two shared a heated rivalry. This fraternal feud fueled rumours that, as a former CJ employee had been indicted, Lee Jay-hyun had co-ordinated the scandal against his younger brother. However, prosecutors were not able to find sufficient evidence that CJ's leadership had knowledge or involvement in its former executive's actions.

On 12 April 2018, Supreme Court of Korea sentenced the former employee of CJ CheilJedang to four years and six months in prison for blackmail and intimidation.

While it was speculated that prosecutors were looking into Lee Kun-hee's culpability for sex trafficking, charges were never pursued, likely due to his health. Lee Kun-hee had suffered a heart attack in 2014 and had lapsed into a coma, where he remained until his death in 2020.

2017 bribery scandal

In February 2017, de facto Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong was arrested for bribery, embezzlement, hiding assets overseas and perjury. In return for government approval for a merger of two Samsung affiliates, it was alleged that Lee paid ₩43 billion (US$37.59 million) to a close friend of incumbent President Park Geun-hye. He was convicted and initially sentenced to 5 years incarceration, but left prison after a year when the Seoul High Court suspended and halved his sentence. Then, following a retrial in 2021, Lee was sent back to prison for 2.5 years. He was released early after serving 10 months of his sentence in August 2021 as part of South Korea's yearly tradition of clemency on Liberation Day. In August 2022, Lee received a presidential pardon, which was supported by 70% of the Korean public, according to local polls.

Supporting far-right groups

The investigative team of special prosecutors looking into the 2016 South Korean political scandal announced that the Blue House received money from South Korea's four largest chaebols (Samsung, Hyundai Motor Group, SK Group and LG Group) to fund pro-government demonstrations by conservative and far-right organizations such as the Korean Parent Federation (KPF) and the Moms Brigade.

Price fixing

On 19 October 2011, Samsung companies were fined €145,727,000 for being part of a price cartel of ten companies for DRAMs which lasted from 1 July 1998 to 15 June 2002. The companies received, like most of the other members of the cartel, a 10% reduction for acknowledging the facts to investigators. Samsung had to pay 90% of its share of the settlement, but Micron avoided payment as a result of having initially revealed the case to investigators.

In Canada, during 1999, some DRAM microchip manufacturers conspired to price fix, among the accused included Samsung. The price fix was investigated in 2002. A recession started to occur that year, and the price fix ended; however, in 2014, the Canadian government reopened the case and investigated silently. Sufficient evidence was found and presented to Samsung and two other manufacturers during a class action lawsuit hearing. The companies agreed upon a $120 million agreement, with $40 million as a fine, and $80 million to be paid back to Canadians who purchased a computer, printer, MP3 player, gaming console or camera from April 1999 to June 2002.

Misleading claims

In Australia during 2022, Australia's competition and consumer commission fined Samsung AU$14 million. The fine came due to misleading water resistance claims for over 3.1 million smartphones. The commission stated that during 2016–2018 the company advertised its Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, A5, A7, S8, S8 Plus and Note 8 devices as able to survive short immersion in water. However, after many user complaints about the devices having issues after water submersion, such as charger port corrosion. The ACCC have officially labelled the fact these devices have "water resistance" listed as a feature misleading and proceeded with the fine.