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I'm currently doing research with students from South Korea, this surprised no one. They actually have a saying about "Keeping in touch with a cousin's cousin i

by lowpro 10y ago

I'm currently doing research with students from South Korea, this surprised no one. They actually have a saying about "Keeping in touch with a cousin's cousin if they work at Samsung." In SK you're considered well off/rich if you or any family works there because it's the main tech business. After Choi Soon-sil the government is seen as corrupt through and through, in glad they're doing something about it, as most of the population (95%) disapprove.

rebootthesystem 10y ago
I had a business conflict with Samsung about a decade back. In the end, it cost us nearly a million dollars and probably many times more than that in opportunity cost. I found them to be extremely dishonest and, by reason of sheer size, very aware of the fact that they are able to virtually exist above the law. What I mean by that is that they have no problem whatsoever throwing their weight and money around to cause so much damage that you'd rather take the abuse and the loss instead of fighting them. In our case, they had one of their top three US executives blatantly lie in court. I could not believe it. This guy repeatedly lied under oath and his attorney (a Samsung attorney) did the same. Could we have won? Absolutely. It would have required a million dollars cash (on top of the damage they caused my business) and probably two years of being buried under an intense legal campaign designed to cause damage at every possible turn. Here's an example of what they did: They filed for a broad TRO (temporary restraining order) to keep us from talking to any of their competitors at a time when they breached a contract and discontinued components we designed into a line of products over a period of about ten months of work. Components the top Samsung executives in the US helped select and vouch for. The TRO covered getting within a certain radius of a trade show attended by Samsung as well as every single one of their competitors. The radius was such that we couldn't even park a car within walking distance of the convention center, much less come in and go talk to alternative component sources. A few weeks later the judge who oversaw the TRO chewed-out the Samsung attorney for resorting to such a nasty destructive approach. Still, the damage was done. You'd have to fly all over Asia to see the people we could have seen in a couple of days at the conference. So, yeah, I've seen one side of this beast and it's nasty. Nearly killed my manufacturing company. I don't generally think of large corporations as evil but in this case I could be convinced to make an exception.
- b1gtuna 10y ago
  It sucks that it happened to you, but Samsung turning back on its partners is a known tactic in SK. The sad part is Samsung is probably not the worst of the bunch in that country.
  - pcurve 10y ago
    My father was a "Samsung Man". That's actually a term that all Koreans know, and it used to be a badge of honor, especially in the 70s and 80s. Samsung used to take care of its employees well, paying great bonus, and giving its strong performers a piece of (or whole) sub-contracting business as retirement gift. Those were the old days. Now, all you hear are their brutal and sleazy business dealings a real shame considering they are 100x wealthier than when they were at the most generous.
    - sundvor 10y ago
      So sleaze bags get more wealth... What's more important, wealth or your reputation?
      - chii 10y ago
        With enough wealth, you get to buy reputation. So you tell me, which is more important?
        wowtip 10y ago
        Heh, that made me think of a certain software developer and have a small chuckle.
- jacobolus 10y ago
  My uncle was a lawyer on the other side of a legal dispute involving Daewoo in the 1990s. All the Korean chaebols operate similarly. (He’s a badass and bopped them in court though.)
- cookiecaper 10y ago

by lowpro 10y ago

rebootthesystem 10y ago

I had a business conflict with Samsung about a decade back. In the end, it cost us nearly a million dollars and probably many times more than that in opportunity cost. I found them to be extremely dishonest and, by reason of sheer size, very aware of the fact that they are able to virtually exist above the law. What I mean by that is that they have no problem whatsoever throwing their weight and money around to cause so much damage that you'd rather take the abuse and the loss instead of fighting them. In our case, they had one of their top three US executives blatantly lie in court. I could not believe it. This guy repeatedly lied under oath and his attorney (a Samsung attorney) did the same. Could we have won? Absolutely. It would have required a million dollars cash (on top of the damage they caused my business) and probably two years of being buried under an intense legal campaign designed to cause damage at every possible turn. Here's an example of what they did: They filed for a broad TRO (temporary restraining order) to keep us from talking to any of their competitors at a time when they breached a contract and discontinued components we designed into a line of products over a period of about ten months of work. Components the top Samsung executives in the US helped select and vouch for. The TRO covered getting within a certain radius of a trade show attended by Samsung as well as every single one of their competitors. The radius was such that we couldn't even park a car within walking distance of the convention center, much less come in and go talk to alternative component sources. A few weeks later the judge who oversaw the TRO chewed-out the Samsung attorney for resorting to such a nasty destructive approach. Still, the damage was done. You'd have to fly all over Asia to see the people we could have seen in a couple of days at the conference. So, yeah, I've seen one side of this beast and it's nasty. Nearly killed my manufacturing company. I don't generally think of large corporations as evil but in this case I could be convinced to make an exception.

b1gtuna 10y ago
It sucks that it happened to you, but Samsung turning back on its partners is a known tactic in SK. The sad part is Samsung is probably not the worst of the bunch in that country.
- pcurve 10y ago
  My father was a "Samsung Man". That's actually a term that all Koreans know, and it used to be a badge of honor, especially in the 70s and 80s. Samsung used to take care of its employees well, paying great bonus, and giving its strong performers a piece of (or whole) sub-contracting business as retirement gift. Those were the old days. Now, all you hear are their brutal and sleazy business dealings a real shame considering they are 100x wealthier than when they were at the most generous.
  - sundvor 10y ago
    So sleaze bags get more wealth... What's more important, wealth or your reputation?
    - chii 10y ago
      With enough wealth, you get to buy reputation. So you tell me, which is more important?
      - wowtip 10y ago
        Heh, that made me think of a certain software developer and have a small chuckle.
jacobolus 10y ago
My uncle was a lawyer on the other side of a legal dispute involving Daewoo in the 1990s. All the Korean chaebols operate similarly. (He’s a badass and bopped them in court though.)
cookiecaper 10y ago