2023-10-22 17:07:14
LJF 30th Anniversary… Samsung Chairman presides over the first regular meeting since his official inauguration
Meeting for the first time in 17 years at ‘Seungjiwon’ for VIPs
Strengthening future industry cooperation amid complex crises
This “precious friend who walks a thousand miles together”
▲ The late Lee Kun-hee (left), former chairman, and Lee Jae-yong (right), chairman of Samsung Electronics
For the first time since his official inauguration, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong presided over the regular exchange meeting of Lee Kun-hee Japanese Friends (LJF), a group of partner companies in Japan launched by the late late Chairman Lee Kun-hee. It is a continuation of his father’s legacy of strengthening cooperation with Japanese companies over a long period of time amid ongoing complex global crises such as trade disputes and wars between the United States and China.
Samsung Electronics announced on the 22nd that Chairman Lee presided over the LJF regular exchange meeting at Seungjiwon in Hannam-dong, Seoul the day before. Samsung Electronics said that Chairman Lee and the executives of LJF member companies looked back on the achievements of 30 years of cooperation and pledged to overcome the global complex crisis at the meeting. In his welcoming speech, Chairman Lee said, “Collaboration with the Japanese parts and materials industry has been a great help in helping Samsung grow into the world-class company it is today.”
LJF is also said to have agreed to further strengthen partnerships for pioneering the future to achieve a global win-win by leading the core technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, including artificial intelligence (AI).
LJF, which consists of regarding 10 material and parts companies in Japan, including TDK, Murata Works, and Alps Alpine, was formed by former Chairman Lee in 1993 when he declared new management. At the time, former Chairman Lee emphasized, “Because the competitiveness of components determines the competitiveness of finished products, close cooperation with component companies is necessary for Samsung to prosper.” It is a closed meeting to the extent that not only photos of the meeting but also the list of member companies, except for a few, are made public. The regular exchange meeting was held every year except for 2020, when gatherings might not be held due to the spread of COVID-19.
The meeting on this day had the meaning of Chairman Lee officially succeeding the meeting of former Chairman Lee. In 2019, Chairman Lee presided over a regular exchange meeting on behalf of former Chairman Lee, who was ill. That is why the exchange meeting on this day was held at Seungjiwon, where the Samsung Group receives its best guests and where key decisions to prepare for the future are made.
Seungjiwon was the residence of founding chairman Lee Byung-cheol, and is where Chairman Lee held meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and executives of the Federation of Japanese Economic Organizations (Keidanren). It has been 17 years since an LJF meeting was held at Seungjiwon. Chairman Lee said, “For 30 years since the launch of LJF, the trust and cooperation between member companies and Samsung has not wavered at all despite the ups and downs of Korea-Japan relations,” adding, “Close cooperation with Japanese companies is essential for the future as well.”
As the international economic situation has recently changed rapidly, Chairman Lee has maintained a close relationship with the Japanese network that he has been working on for a long time, and the succession of the LJF exchange meeting is part of this. Chairman Lee emphasized on this day, “In order for Samsung and the Japanese industry to lead the future industry and enjoy greater prosperity, we must continue to have a relationship of trust and cooperation like ‘precious friends walking a thousand miles together’.”
Reporter Kim Min-seok
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