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Samsung Electronics (hangul:삼성전자; KSE: 005930, KSE: 005935, LSE: SMSN, LSE: SMSD) is an electronics company headquartered in Seoul, Korea. The name samsung literally means "three stars" in Korean. more...

Samsung was founded in 1938 by Byung-Chull Lee (1910-1987); it was incorporated in 1951 as Samsung Corporation. Its subsidiary, Samsung Electronics, is one of the largest electronics companies in the world. Founded in Daegu, South Korea, it operates in approximately 58 countries. The turnover in 2003 was about 101.7 billion USD. Samsung is recognized as being one of the top 10 brand names in the world.

Samsung Electronics saw record profits and revenue in 2004. In 2005, Samsung overtook Sony as one of the world's most valuable brands, and is now ranked #20 in the world.

Legal history

Samsung is now one of the leading manufacturers in plasma displays, although it has struggled with building an image of being an innovator created by legal controversies over patent infringements with companies such as Fujitsu who claim to have created plasma display technology first. Samsung has also faced controversy in Korea for its policies towards workers, described by some as anti-worker, although such claims are widely disputed.

On November 30, 2005, Samsung pleaded guilty to a charge it participated in a worldwide price-fixing conspiracy during 1999-2002 that damaged competition and raised PC prices. In a deal with prosecutors, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiary, Samsung Semiconductor Inc., are to pay $300 million in fine. As a result of this investigation, Hynix was to pay $185 million in 2005, and Infineon, $160 million in 2004. Micron Technology cooperated with prosecutors and no fine is expected.

Business areas

Samsung Electronics focuses on five business areas: Digital Media, Telecommunication Network, Digital Appliance, Semiconductor, and LCD.

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