Samsung Electronics celebrated its fifty-first birthday today, but there were no grand public celebrations, and the commemoration of the company's founding took place rather quietly. The company's vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, the most feared son of the recently deceased chairman Lee Kun-hee, did not show up at the celebrations at all.
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The celebration itself took place at the company's headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and was the first major corporate event since the death of Lee Kun-hee. Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, who oversees Samsung's semiconductor business, gave a speech in which he paid tribute to Kun-hee and highlighted his legacy. Among other things, Kim Ki-nam said in his speech that one of the company's goals is to transform into a top innovator with an innovative mindset and the ability to face entrenched challenges. He also added that the death of the company chairman was a great misfortune for all employees. Other topics Ki-nam mentioned in his speech included social responsibility along with adopting a corporate culture built on mutual trust and respect. Around 100 attendees, including CEOs Koh Dong-jin and Kim Hyun-suk, watched a video summarizing the company's achievements this year, including helping mid-sized companies build small face mask factories and record high income for the third quarter.
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When the company's anniversary celebration was held last year, Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong left a message to attendees in which he outlined his vision for a successful century-old company, and in his speech he also focused on his desire to develop technology in a way that enriches people's lives and also a benefit to humanity and to society. "The way to be the best in the world is to share and grow, hand in hand," he stated then. However, he himself took part in the celebration of the company's founding for the last time in 2017. According to some sources, he does not want to appear in public in connection with the bribery affair.
