Nine out of 10 people think Samsung contributed greatly to S. Korean economy

Nov 25, 2020, 09:30 am

AsiaToday reporter Jeong Seok-man

Nine out of 10 South Koreans think Samsung Electronics has contributed greatly to the South Korean economy, according to a survey. Many Koreans seemingly believe Samsung is having a positive impact on domestic economic development by taking the lead in exporting semiconductors while expanding investment and employment amid the pandemic.

Over 70% of respondents expect that Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who has taken his father Lee Kun-hee’s place in the management of the company, will show his leadership capabilities. However, nearly 60% of respondents believe that his ongoing bribery trial will hinder the conglomerate’s growth.

The perception survey was conducted to 1,030 people aged 18 or over from November 17-18 by survey agency R&Search. Commissioned by AsiaToday, the poll had a confidence level of 95 percent with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

According to the poll, the majority of people gave a positive evaluation of the global electronics titan. When asked whether the development of Samsung Electronics contributed to the nation’s economy, 90.3 percent of respondents were positive, with 67.6 percent “strongly” agreeing and 22.7 percent agreeing. Only 6.8 percent of respondents were negative, with 3.6 percent disagreeing and 3.2 percent strongly disagreeing.

As for the strengths of Samsung Electronics, more than half of respondents picked ‘excellent workforce’ (54.4%) and ‘constant investment’ (50.2%), followed by ‘leadership’ (24.2%) and ‘crisis management’ (18.4%). For the most competitive business sector, most respondents chose ‘semiconductors’ (95.3%), followed by ‘smartphone’ (64%) and ‘home appliance’ (13.4%). Based on the competitiveness, nearly 90 percent of respondents said that Samsung Electronics will continue to grow as a global company amid the rapidly changing business environment and fierce competition.

There were both expectations and concerns about Lee Jae-yong’s leadership. When asked whether Lee will be able to demonstrate top management abilities, 76.9 percent of respondents showed high expectations. It seems many people highly recognized Lee’s leadership as the de-facto leader of Samsung since his father’s hospitalization following a heart attack in 2014.

However, many respondents voiced their deep concerns over legal risks that Lee Jae-yong faces from two trials for his alleged role in a controversial merger and fraudulent accounting seen as linked to his succession. 61.4 percent of respondents said Lee’s trial would have an impact on Samsung Electronics’ growth, while 32.2 percent said it would not.

Many respondents picked ‘strengthening competitiveness as a global company’ (74.4%) as the biggest task for Samsung, followed by ‘social responsibility’ (50.5%), ‘governance structure’ (29.3%), and ‘legal risk’ (15.3%).

#Samsung Electronics #Lee Jae-yong #economy #R&Search; #survey