Tag: Samsung

It is interesting that according to the article that Samsung employees have seen their average pay rise by 25% since last year and want to go on strike now for even more pay:

Samsung Electronics headquarters in Seocho District, southern Seoul / Yonhap

The estimated average monthly pay for Samsung Electronics employees reached 12 million won ($7,966) in the first quarter of this year, analysis showed Tuesday, as the company’s unionized workers moved closer to a possible strike over performance bonuses.

The Korea CXO Institute released its report, titled “Analysis of Estimated Average Employee Pay at Samsung Electronics in the First Quarter of 2026,” on Tuesday, estimating the average first-quarter compensation per employee at roughly 36 million won.

This figure amounts to about 12 million won per month for the tech giant’s 125,000 domestic employees, representing a more than 25 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It was a big day recently for the Lee family that founded the Samsung group:

Founding family members of the Samsung Group gathered on Friday to witness the commissioning of Lee Ji-ho, the eldest son of Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong, as a Navy officer following his completion of an 11-week officer candidate course.

The commissioning ceremony was attended by Chair Lee, his mother, Hong Ra-hee; the honorary director of Samsung’s Leeum Museum of Art; and his sister Lee Seo-hyun, the president of Samsung C&T.

Lee Ji-ho’s mother and Chair Lee’s ex-wife, Lim Se-ryung, was also in attendance.

Lee served as the flag representative for the 139th class of officer candidates, a role the Navy says is given to those who show exemplary conduct by cooperating closely with fellow trainees and actively participating in drills.

The 139th class consists of 84 candidates, including Lee.

Born in the US in 2000, Lee held dual citizenship, which he renounced to enlist and serve in the Navy.

Lee’s decision to enlist has been viewed as significant, given how uncommon it is for members of the Samsung family to complete military service.

Chair Lee’s eldest son is expected to serve for a total of 39 months, including 36 months of mandatory duty after three months of training. The officer service period in South Korea is 39 months across all branches, compared to 18 months for Army enlistees, 20 months in the Navy and 21 months in the Air Force.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but good on Lee Ji-ho for doing his mandatory service. He could of easily gotten out of it by remaining an American citizen, but instead decided to commission as an officer and do extra time in service.

I have seen Koreans who are college graduates agree to do longer military service by becoming officers just to have better working conditions compared to just being a standard draftee. Being an officer though requires long military service of 39 months compared to the 18 months of a draftee:

Lee Jee-ho, the only son of Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong, began his mandatory military service Monday as a Navy officer candidate.

The 24-year-old, who was born in the United States in 2000, entered the Jinhae Naval Base Command in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, in the afternoon, accompanied by family. His enlistment follows last week’s announcement that he would renounce his US citizenship and fulfill his compulsory service obligations.

Lee will undergo an 11-week training program before being commissioned as an ensign on Dec. 1. He is slated to serve 39 months.

South Korea requires all able-bodied men to serve in the military for at least 18 months.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but good on Lee’s son for agreeing to complete his mandatory military service. With him being an American citizen could have avoided military service all together, but still decided to do it.

Since Samsung has so much production in Vietnam compared to Apple’s heavy reliance on China, they probably are in better position to navigate the growing trade war between the U.S. and China:

Samsung Electronics remains on alert amid the Donald Trump administration’s unpredictable trade policies, despite the United States granting tariff exemptions for smartphones, laptops, personal computers and semiconductor equipment.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Saturday (local time) that those devices will be excluded from the sweeping 10 percent baseline tariff on nearly all countries, as well as the retaliatory 125 percent duty on China.

Following the updated guidance, Samsung has been considered one of the beneficiaries along with Apple and TSMC. Bloomberg described the measure as a “big win” for major tech firms.

The optimistic outlook stems from Samsung’s heavy reliance on production in Vietnam, which is on the verge of facing a 46 percent “reciprocal tariff” from the U.S. if trade talks between Hanoi and Washington fail following the current 90-day pause. The Korean company produces nearly 50 percent of all Galaxy smartphones sold globally at its Vietnamese facilities.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This sounds like a way for the Korean government to reduce Apple’s marketshare in Korea by imposing this ban because any smartphone is a possible recording device not just Apple phones:

South Korea’s military is considering a comprehensive ban on iPhones in military buildings due to increasing concerns about possible leaks of sensitive information through voice recordings, according to multiple military sources on Tuesday.

The sources, a group of ranking officers who wished to speak on condition of anonymity, said that the Air Force headquarters released an internal announcement on the military’s intranet server on April 11, instructing a complete prohibition on any device capable of voice recording and which do not permit third-party apps to control inherent functions, effective June 1, with “iPhones” cited as items subject to the ban.

According to the document, the decision to ban iPhones in the military came from joint meetings held by the headquarters of the Army, Navy and Air Force, located at Gyeryongdae in South Chungcheong Province.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

This is a big incentive for Samsung to build a chip plant in Texas:

The U.S. government announced a plan Monday to award Samsung Electronics up to $6.4 billion in grants to support the Korean tech giant’s chipmaking investment in central Texas, as it strives to strengthen domestic semiconductor production.

The Commerce Department said it has reached a nonbinding preliminary agreement with Samsung to provide the grants under the CHIPS and Science Act to back the company’s expected investment of more than $40 billion, in the establishment of a “leading-edge semiconductor ecosystem” in the state.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Is this the next tech revolution where instead of everyone walking around with smartphones, everyone is instead wearing headsets?:

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, center, poses with LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan, left, and LG Corp. Vice Chairman Kwon Bong-seok, during a visit to LG Twin Tower in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of LG Electronics

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta, the U.S. tech giant behind leading social network services like Facebook and Instagram, held meetings with officials from Korean tech companies, Wednesday, to expand the extended reality (XR) ecosystem and foster cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI).

The Meta founder, who arrived in Korea the previous night, marking his first trip here since 2013, visited LG Electronics’ office and met with the company’s CEO, Cho Joo-wan. The discussions centered around technological cooperation related to extended reality (XR).

On the same day, the Meta chief also held private meetings with officials from XR-related startups in Korea. Later in the evening, he met Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong at Seungjiwon, Samsung Group’s VIP guest house located in Seoul.

Zuckerberg’s meeting with Korean tech company representatives is seen as a move to try to build a strong software and hardware manufacturing ecosystem like Meta’s rival Apple.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like there will not be any more jail time for Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong:

A Seoul court acquitted Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Monday in connection with the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates allegedly conducted to help him take over control of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate.

The Seoul Central District Court delivered the not-guilty sentence for Lee, three years and five months after he was indicted on charges of involvement in market irregularities in the merger of Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corp. to solidify his managerial control of the group at a lower cost.

Lee was charged with stock price rigging, breach of trust and accounting fraud in the course of the controversial 2015 merger, where three Samsung C&T shares were offered for one Cheil share. 

The merger was seen as crucial to Lee’s succession as the heir of the family-controlled group, as his father, Lee Kun-hee, had suffered a heart attack the previous year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.