The Lee family name is associated with Samsung, founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul.
Lee Byung-chul established Samsung Sanghoe as a small trading company in Daegu, Korea. The business later entered electronics, shipbuilding, construction, insurance, and other sectors, becoming one of South Korea’s major chaebol groups.
Samsung Electronics was established in 1969 and became the group’s best-known company. Ownership and control have involved several Samsung affiliates and members of the Lee family, rather than a single simple privately owned corporation.
Samsung means “three stars” in Korean, a name chosen to suggest something large, numerous, and enduring. It should not be confused with Samsung Electronics alone: Samsung Group encompasses a wider network of affiliated companies.