Samsung to focus on quality upgrade

By Lee Min-hyung

Samsung Group is moving to improve product quality this year, in a bid to recover its brand image following the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, and the firm’s link to the political scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi Soon-sil.

Management of the nation’s largest conglomerate held this year’s first weekly meeting Wednesday. Presidents and high-ranking executives of key affiliates highlighted the need to overcome the ongoing crisis and market uncertainty here and abroad by realigning management capacity to make more quality products.

In particular, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun reaffirmed that the company would push for reform so as not to repeat anything like last year’s Galaxy Note 7 production termination.

“For this year, we are going to do what I said in my New Year’s address,” he told reporters without elaboration.

The remark came after the Samsung executive delivered his New Year’s address to employees, Monday. He said the company would focus on winning back customer trust and making sweeping changes to product quality.

Some of Samsung Electronics’ top management ― including consumer electronics division head Yoon Boo-keun and visual display unit chief Kim Hyun-seok ― did not attend the meeting due to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the United States.

The world’s largest trade show begins Thursday (local time) in Las Vegas. As the tech fair is considered the most influential venue to sign business-to-business (B2B) contracts with global clients, other Samsung presidents ― such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics President Lee Yoon-tae and Samsung Electronics’ memory business head Jun Young-hyun ― said they would be going to Las Vegas tonight for meetings with clients and to seek new business opportunities.

The executives, however, declined to comment on the ongoing political turmoil in which the company and other Seoul-based conglomerates are suspected of providing illicit funding for Choi and her family.

With the scandal drawing a growing public backlash, Samsung had to delay its planned year-end executive reshuffle and other corporate activities.

For the regular weekly meeting, Samsung invited Rutgers University professor Kim Won-yong, who spoke on platform business strategy and disruptive innovations. He urged Samsung to embrace the ongoing shift from a traditional manufacturing business to the platform industry.