Samsung is the world's largest electronics company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea and is part of the Korean Samsung Group with a revenue of around $79.6 billion. It operates in approximately 58 countries and revenue in 2003 was over 101 billion USD. The name samsung literally means "three stars" or "tristar" in Korean.

The Samsung Group was founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul (1910-1987). It was incorporated in 1951 as Samsung Corporation. Samsung Electronics, a subsidiary, was founded in Daegu, South Korea.

Samsung Electronics saw record profits and revenue in 2004. In 2005, Samsung was one of the world's most valuable brands, and is now one of the top 20 in the world.

Samsung Electronics(SEC) was founded in 1969 by the name of Samsung Electric Industries. It manufactured electronic appliances such as color TVs, calculators, refrigerators, air conditioners and washers. By 1981, the company had manufactured over 10 milion black-and-white TVs. In 1988, it merged with Samsung Semiconductor & Communications. It developed world's first 64M DRAM in 1992. [1]

Samsung Group has reason to sing. The chaebol (family-controlled conglomerate) has surpassed its former archrival, the erstwhile Hyundai Group, to become the #1 business group in South Korea. Samsung's flagship unit is Samsung Electronics, which is the world's top maker of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and other memory chips, as well as a global heavyweight in all sorts of electronic gear, including LCD panels, DVD players, and cellular phones. Other affiliated companies include credit-card unit Samsung Card, Samsung General Chemicals, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Securities, and trading arm Samsung Corporation.