Samsung Group plans to raise spending by more than 30% to ₩450-trillion (about R5.7-trillion) over the next half a decade to 2026.
plans to raise spending by more than 30% to ₩450-trillion over the next half a decade to 2026 to shore up businesses from chips to drugs as South Korea’s conglomerates grapple with growing economic and supply shocks.
The conglomerate — whose units from Samsung Electronics to Samsung Biologics dominate Korea’s economy — promised in a statement to create 80 000 jobs through to 2026, mostly in semiconductors and biopharmaceuticals. Samsung, run by the scion of one of Korea’s oldest and wealthiest families, is one of a handful of so-calledthat are outlining investment plans as the country’s new president takes office. President Yoon Suk Yeol, who began his five-year term on 10 May, has been a vocal supporter of the conglomerates and has made them a key pillar in his economic growth plans.
Samsung Group’s latest investment blueprint, which overlaps with public pledges made in 2021, comes about a year after family scion Jay Y Lee walked out of jail. The conglomerate’s leader, who was serving a sentence on graft charges, was paroled just months ahead of presidential election earlier this year.
In a statement, the group said about ₩360-trillion will be spent domestically while the rest will be invested overseas. Samsung Electronics is building an advanced, $17-billion US chip plant in Texas, a win for the Joe Biden administration as it prioritises supply-chain security and greater semiconductor capacity on American soil.