Samsung Chairman Inspects
Operations in Southeast Asia
Tours Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam

Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee inspected the Thai operations of Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics and their business strategies.
Samsung Chairman Lee dropped by the production lines of the two group subsidiaries on June 29 prior to his heading for Singapore where the International Olympic Committee opened its general meeting on July 6. He also participated in the meeting to support Korea's bid for keeping Taekwondo, Korean martial art, in the Summer Olympic Games.
He visited the operations in Thailand on the first leg of his swirling trip to Samsung operations in Southeast Asia. He was accompanied by Samsung Vice-Chairman Lee Hak-soo in charge of restructuring, Samsung Electronics President Lee Hyun-bong and Choi Ji-sung, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Kang Ho-moon.
Samsung Chairman Lee was briefed on the operation of the Samsung Electronics production line in Saha Industrial Complex in Thailand and looked around microwave oven and color TV production lines. Samsung entered the Thai market in 1988 as part of its efforts to make a foray into the Southeast Asian region with a population of 600 million, one-tenth of the global population, emerging as its strategic IT and home appliance market.
Lee then proceeded to Samsung Electro-Mechanics?video parts center in Wellgrow Industrial Complex in Thailand and toured an exhibition center on locally produced items and tuner production line. In particular, Lee had a luncheon meeting with the executives and employees of the plant at its cafeteria and heard about their volunteering activities related to the rehabilitation of the damages caused by tsunami tidal waves. The chairman
gave words of encouragement to the executives and staff members for having established a solid business foundation despite being in a difficult situation.
Lee stressed that the local operations would focus on repositioning themselves as premium brands by beefing up competitiveness of such sectors as brand, design and services, saying that the locally produced items have secured a competitive edge in terms of functions and technologies to some extent.
Chairman Lee asked the executives and employees of the plants to redouble social activities for supporting the needy local people to raise the reputation of Samsung and Corporate Korea.
Since its entry to the Thai market, Samsung Electro-Mechanics operations have conducted such social activities as a marathon contests for raising an anti-AIDS funding and a sponsorship for supporting Thai youth soccer squads. It received the 2004 Prime Minister's Best Industry Award from the Thai government in May last year.
The Samsung Electronics plant in Thailand on a lot of 31,000 pyeong 140 km southeast of Bangkok assembles color TVs, refrigerators, monitors, air-conditioners, and microwave ovens with its 2005 sale target of 1.23 billion. The Samsung Electro-Mechanics plant turns out such video parts as tuners with its 2005 sales goal of posting $280 million.
Chairman Lee also inspected the Samsung Electronics operation in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam after attending the IOC General Meeting in Singapore. nw

Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee shakes hands with one of the employees at Samsung Electronics?operation in Thailand.