Samsung, once an also-ran to Japanese electronics manufacturers, has overtaken its Japanese rivals in the TV and handset markets for the past few years, and further widened the gap during the latest global economic downturn.
“Samsung has been improving for the past several years, but it has a lot to learn from Japanese companies,” Lee was quoted as saying in a meeting with Hiromasa Yonekura, new chairman of the Japan Business Federation, on Tuesday. Hiromasa, president of Sumitomo Chemical Co., visited Seongjiwon, Lee’s private office at his home in Hannamdong, central Seoul.
He also voiced the need for cooperation between Korea, Japan and China, citing their strength in manufacturing and growth potential.
“I think there are a lot of areas where Korean and Japanese firms can cooperate,” he said.
The private sector needs to take the lead (in the cooperation of the three Northeast Asian countries),” he said.
This is his first official activity since he returned to the helm of Samsung Electronics, the flagship unit of Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, on March 24. He left for Europe yesterday to campaign for Korea’s bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in its eastern city of PyeonChang. Lee, a member of the International Olympics Committee, plans to meet other IOC members in Switzerland and Italy, and plans to come back to Korea around the end of April.
Lee received a suspended jail term and a fine of 110 billion won ($98 million) for breach of trust in August. The government granted a special presidential amnesty, saying it hopes Lee would rally support for PyeongChang’s third bid to host the Winter Olympics.
Lee subsequently came back to Samsung Electronics, citing the crisis facing the Korean electronics giant. The massive recalls of Toyota have been a wake-up call for Lee, accelerating his return to Samsung’s top job, a Samsung Group spokesperson said.
The massive recalls of Toyota cars have spurred Samsung Electronics and other affiliates of Samsung Group to examine their global operations to see whether a quality management system is in place, the Samsung spokesperson said.
Chung Ki-yong, president of Samsung Economic Research Institute, also yesterday gave a presentation on “lessons learned from the Toyota crisis, in a weekly meeting of chief executives of Samsung Group affiliates.
One of the major factors for Toyota’s problems is its overseas production. Recognizing this, Samsung Electronics said it has maintained the quality of its handsets made overseas similar to those in Korea, and the company is trying to secure ‘absolute quality’ in areas regarding handset safety.
Some Samsung affiliates have a system in place to enable them to check defects in products made globally in real-time, the spokesperson said
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기