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Samsung Group Is Doing a Cozy Merger

50 points by dsri 11y ago

treme 11y ago
Considering Samsung's been paying off justices & politicians for decades, it's very unlikely that they will lose any sort of legal battle in Korea. About a decade ago, the chief legal counsel of Samsung blew whistle on the extent of corruption that goes on within the company. Of course, nothing of consequence happened. Source: Korean Wiki on the whole incident linked below Google translate is poor for Korean, but you will get the gist of it. https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%82%BC%EC%84%B1_%EB%B9%84%EC%9E%90%EA%B8%88_%EA%B4%80%EB%A0%A8_%ED%8F%AD%EB%A1%9C https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%82%BC%EC%84%B1_%EB%B9%84%E...
- speeder 11y ago
  By the way: the family that owns Samsung are distant relatives of the deposed royal family and of several current politicians, so familial loyalty might be in play too.
hkmurakami 11y ago
I remember having dinner with a Korean friend (he grew up there and and came to the States for college) where I asked how strongly the family owning Samsung influences government. His response: "They don't influence government. They are above the government."
- dba7dba 11y ago
  Wall Street doesn't influence US govt. They are above the govt.
  - adventured 11y ago
    How do you explain the fact that finance is among the most regulated industries on earth, and the Fed directly controls the banks in numerous ways? How do you explain the Treasury forcing banks like Wells Fargo to join TARP against their own will? Wall Street is a branch office of the US Government's financial interests. They tell Wall Street what to do, and when to do it. They control all of the regulations, they have all of the guns, and they have all of the money (both taxing power and the US dollar). Hell, the US Government earns more on just student loan interest annually than the combined profit of both JP Morgan and Wells Fargo. Wall Street is comically weak compared to the US Government and the Fed. One single month of QE by the Fed tends to be more than the combined profit of the ten biggest American banks. Samsung revenue: $305 billion vs. South Korea GDP: ~$1.3 trillion That's one company with sales equal to 23% the entire size of their economy. By comparison, America's biggest company has sales equal to 2.7% of GDP. Wall Street doesn't even come close to the kind of economic dominance over the US economy that Samsung has over South Korea. America's biggest banks combined are about as big as Apple or Walmart in terms of sheer economic clout.
    - boedergip 11y ago
      You cannot compare the revenue of a company with the GDP of a country. http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/01/28/apple-is-not-as-big-as-israel-greece-denmark-or-hong-kong-please-get-a-grip/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/01/28/apple-is-...
    - dba7dba 11y ago
      Which Wall Street top head was charged and actually punished in court for brining about the Great Recession? None. Samsung's chairperson was charged and actually punished in court (although no actual prison time). At least he did go through the motion. WellsFargo/TARP happened because of the extraordinary circumstance called the Great Recession, WHICH was made possible because Wall Street got rid of regulations they didn't like, separation of retail-bank/investment-bank.
honest_joe 11y ago
Korea needs another Park Chung Hee
- pcurve 11y ago
  That's what a lot of elder generation Koreans want now. Korea has been following the foot path of other industrialized nations, but at more accelerated pace. The country has peaked and its current course is not sustainable.
  - thepk 11y ago
    Does Korea have it's own version of the US's Sherman Anti-trust act? I'm no expert but doesn't having an entire country's economy beholden to a handful of super conglomerates make it potentially dangerous for the country and its economy in large?
    - pcurve 11y ago
      Most Koreans see it as a necessary evil because the system of cozy relationship between government and large conglomerates have served the country so well, at least in their mind. I think the system is starting to backfire because the income gap between those affiliated with the conglomerates and those who don't has stratospherically diverged, creating 2/3-tiered society.
      - honest_joe 11y ago
        But most koreans are not employed by conglomerates or at least not directly (laws). There are more and more anti-chaebol laws (they can't make soap and jeopardize small and medium makers).

50 points by dsri 11y ago

treme 11y ago

Considering Samsung's been paying off justices & politicians for decades, it's very unlikely that they will lose any sort of legal battle in Korea. About a decade ago, the chief legal counsel of Samsung blew whistle on the extent of corruption that goes on within the company. Of course, nothing of consequence happened. Source: Korean Wiki on the whole incident linked below Google translate is poor for Korean, but you will get the gist of it. https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%82%BC%EC%84%B1_%EB%B9%84%EC%9E%90%EA%B8%88_%EA%B4%80%EB%A0%A8_%ED%8F%AD%EB%A1%9C https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%82%BC%EC%84%B1_%EB%B9%84%E...

speeder 11y ago
By the way: the family that owns Samsung are distant relatives of the deposed royal family and of several current politicians, so familial loyalty might be in play too.

hkmurakami 11y ago

I remember having dinner with a Korean friend (he grew up there and and came to the States for college) where I asked how strongly the family owning Samsung influences government. His response: "They don't influence government. They are above the government."

dba7dba 11y ago
Wall Street doesn't influence US govt. They are above the govt.
- adventured 11y ago
  How do you explain the fact that finance is among the most regulated industries on earth, and the Fed directly controls the banks in numerous ways? How do you explain the Treasury forcing banks like Wells Fargo to join TARP against their own will? Wall Street is a branch office of the US Government's financial interests. They tell Wall Street what to do, and when to do it. They control all of the regulations, they have all of the guns, and they have all of the money (both taxing power and the US dollar). Hell, the US Government earns more on just student loan interest annually than the combined profit of both JP Morgan and Wells Fargo. Wall Street is comically weak compared to the US Government and the Fed. One single month of QE by the Fed tends to be more than the combined profit of the ten biggest American banks. Samsung revenue: $305 billion vs. South Korea GDP: ~$1.3 trillion That's one company with sales equal to 23% the entire size of their economy. By comparison, America's biggest company has sales equal to 2.7% of GDP. Wall Street doesn't even come close to the kind of economic dominance over the US economy that Samsung has over South Korea. America's biggest banks combined are about as big as Apple or Walmart in terms of sheer economic clout.
  - boedergip 11y ago
    You cannot compare the revenue of a company with the GDP of a country. http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/01/28/apple-is-not-as-big-as-israel-greece-denmark-or-hong-kong-please-get-a-grip/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/01/28/apple-is-...
  - dba7dba 11y ago
    Which Wall Street top head was charged and actually punished in court for brining about the Great Recession? None. Samsung's chairperson was charged and actually punished in court (although no actual prison time). At least he did go through the motion. WellsFargo/TARP happened because of the extraordinary circumstance called the Great Recession, WHICH was made possible because Wall Street got rid of regulations they didn't like, separation of retail-bank/investment-bank.

honest_joe 11y ago

Korea needs another Park Chung Hee

pcurve 11y ago
That's what a lot of elder generation Koreans want now. Korea has been following the foot path of other industrialized nations, but at more accelerated pace. The country has peaked and its current course is not sustainable.
- thepk 11y ago
  Does Korea have it's own version of the US's Sherman Anti-trust act? I'm no expert but doesn't having an entire country's economy beholden to a handful of super conglomerates make it potentially dangerous for the country and its economy in large?
  - pcurve 11y ago
    Most Koreans see it as a necessary evil because the system of cozy relationship between government and large conglomerates have served the country so well, at least in their mind. I think the system is starting to backfire because the income gap between those affiliated with the conglomerates and those who don't has stratospherically diverged, creating 2/3-tiered society.
    - honest_joe 11y ago
      But most koreans are not employed by conglomerates or at least not directly (laws). There are more and more anti-chaebol laws (they can't make soap and jeopardize small and medium makers).