south koreans live in 'the republic of samsung,' where the galaxy note 7 crisis feels personal - samsung

Koreans sometimes call their country the Republic of Samsung, and they only have halfjoking.
Samsung accounts for 20% of China's gross domestic product, with a global footprint.
When Koreans watch Samsung TV, they can have a drink from the Samsung refrigerator --
Apartment, then use Samsung credit card when going out to run errands.
So people at Samsung Electronics are feeling a little uneasy.
In the United States, the company's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone has been in crisis.
The world's most popular mobile phone brand announced on Tuesday that it will stop making the phone permanently, after it was discovered that customers who are concerned about consumer safety recalls are still vulnerable to battery explosions.
Analysts estimate that the latest model Note 7 in Samsung's two high-end smartphones could cause more than $15 billion in losses and give up sales.
The company has sold about 3 million Note 7 devices, has produced up to 5 million units and plans to produce about 10 million units.
This mistake has left many in South Korea wondering if the national economy will feel the impact as well.
An editorial on Tuesdaya Ilbo, a high-
According to The Daily Economic News, "it is no exaggeration to say that Samsung is in decline and South Korea's economy will be weak.
"Many Koreans feel that their fate is closely related to the fate of the company.
"South Koreans are embarrassed by the crisis because they think Samsung is a representative of South Korea," Kim said . "
Joe, professor of economics, Hancheng University, Seoul.
At the time of Samsung's crisis, many people in South Korea were tired of the big family, the chaebol.
State-owned enterprise groups control various industries of the national economy.
As the world's fifth largest economy, these companies have helped South Korea exceed its weight relative to its population.
Largest exporter
But they are threatened by forces from home and abroad.
The growing competition in manufacturing from other parts of Asia has weakened in some ways.
Suspicious business activities and internal family fights have plagued others.
This summer, a slowdown in global trade led to the bankruptcy of South Korea-Jin shipping.
Development cutting
Cutting-edge consumer technology puts Samsung in a prominent position.
In the past century, it has become South Korea's largest chaebol, expanding from food to household appliances to personal gadgets to batteries, screens and parts.
Samsung enterprises have separate departments in shipping, insurance and construction.
But with questions about the Haibo model, even the tech giant has been asked to develop more entrepreneurs in a dynamic country.
While the Galaxy Note 7 crisis is bad news for Samsung, Li said the problem of defective phones is different from a wider discussion, is it wise to focus so much economic influence on several big companies?
Seoul, a lawyer at the Seoul Center for Legal and Business Studies.
"What's happening with Samsung right now is a problem with electronics.
Public discontent with the chaebol system is related to structural issues, such as corporate tax evasion and succession of senior positions.
Nevertheless, strong handset sales have driven more than half of Samsung's operating profit this year, with a market value higher than the next three major businesses associated with chaebols --
Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, SK Groupcombined.
Last year, Samsung reported revenue of about $166 billion and operating profit of about $22 billion.
With worries about the economic impact, the legend of the burning of shiny and expensive smartphones has also received amazing attention from Koreans.
The story of the Galaxy Note 7 phone burning when the user charges at home or in public places has been widely viewed and shared online.
A video that has watched more than millions of times seems to show a Burger King worker wearing oversized oven gloves fumbling for the burning Galaxy Note 7 while trying to handle it.
The most watched South Koreans are users of the Galaxy Note 7, who have to worry about the possibility that phones in their pockets or handbags can become smoking and burning ash at any time.
Most people took advantage of Samsung's recall.
According to data compiled by South Korea's government agency technology and standards, Samsung has replaced or provided a refund of 389,000 of the 456,000 Galaxy Note 7 phones in South Korea.
To reduce the risk of a fire, the government has been hunting down Samsung to collect as many phones as possible. In the U. S.
It is reported that the Note 7 phone of nearly 100 people is overheated and sells for nearly $900.
In South Korea, Samsung is the epitome of success and excess.
While South Koreans admire how the conglomerate has grown into a global business giant, many are also dissatisfied with the generous government support the company has received and are shocked by the story of executive malpractices
Convictions include tax evasion and bribery of politicians.
To some extent, due to this complex emotional mix, there are usually not many criticism reports from Korean media about Samsung.
Samsung is also a major advertiser, and the media may worry about losing revenue if they lose favor with the company.
In addition, as Samsung has so much responsibility for the national economy, journalists sometimes regard enthusiastic and positive reporting as a patriotic responsibility, thus increasing the wealth of the company.
However, in a post on Tuesday in South Korea entitled Huffington Post-
The language version has edited dozens of online articles that it says are actually damage control for Samsung.
The post downplayed the crisis with the Galaxy Note 7, accusing some people of using euphemism to avoid the word "explosion, "At the same time, it accused others of trying to ease Samsung's burden by reporting that the problem was blamed on batteries made in China. Samsung's long-
The fate of the term will be partially determined in October.
27 at the annual general meeting, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Li
It is expected that Yong 'an will be appointed as executive director and will officially hold the highest position of the company.
Samsung Electronics shares hit a record high last week after a radical investor called for a change in management to spin off the company.
But this week's gains have been offset by a 6% drop.
Samsunghas has surpassed Nokia, BlackBerry, HTCand LG to become the world's largest mobile phone seller in the past five years using global advertising blitzes.
Analysts say it is expected to fight to maintain its prominence. Many would-
Buyers of Be Note 7 have chosen Samsung's Galaxy S7 model.
Apple is Samsung's closest competitor, and sales could increase if it could attract millions of Note 7 buyers to buy the iPhone.
But sales of the two competitors are separated by tens of millions of smartphones and different operating systems, which may scare users.
Kim, an economics professor, added that if Samsung moves forward transparently, it can recover at home.
This is not the case so far.
Samsung's brief statement did not reveal the scope of the problem, and the chaotic recall led to questions about whether the company knew what caused the failure.
Greater certainty is rewarded.
"Koreans," Kimsaid said, "they have always been very sympathetic to Samsung's mistakes. "Shin Sun-ho, a 40-year-
The old delivery driver who uses the Samsung Galaxy s6 smartphone says consumers are facing a bigger dilemma than Samsung.
"I don't worry about Samsung;
They are very rich and can solve any problem . "
"It's more of a burden for everyone who has to go to the store now to change their phones. "paresh. dave@latimes.
Reporter Borowiec reports from Seoul.
Dave, The Times staff writer, reports in Los Angeles.
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: This article was updated to add details of the impact of the crisis on Samsung's business.
The article was originally published at 10: 05. m.