The Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics marked the 42nd anniversary of its entry into the semiconductor field on Dec. 6.
“Discard the ‘can’t do’ mindset.” was the catchphrase that Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun, President Kim Ki-nam and President Jun Dong-soo said out loud every morning while working as researchers when Samsung Electronics made its move to tap the new business in the early 1970s.
The anniversary day falls on Dec. 6, 42 years after Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee splurged to acquire Korea Semiconductor, the nation’s first semiconductor company, Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business, which had an arduous task, has made strides.
The business is now writing new legends. Samsung Electronics owned a 50 percent share in the global DRAM market in the third quarter of this year and a 44 percent portion of the global NAND flesh memory market on the second quarter of the year.
In 1970, DRAM (dynamic random access memory) was initially developed by Intel.
Such companies as Intel and Texas Instruments had enjoyed their heyday for a decade. In the 1970s, Japanese companies, including NEC, Hitachi and Toshiba, had dominated the global semiconductor market when Samsung Electronics attempted to strengthen its presence in the market. Samsung Electronics’ full-scale entry into the industry was Samsung Group Chairman Lee’s idea. Chairman Lee persuaded his father and founder Lee Byung-chull to invest in the field, saying, “I’ve found a semiconductor whenever I disassembled every machine. Founder Lee announced the so-called Tokyo Declaration in 1983 to embark on a full-scale investment in the field.
Samsung Electronics succeeded in developing 64K DRAM and began to sell products soon after the company began to learn basic technologies on semiconductors from Micron of the United States and Sharp of Japan. In 1986, TI filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics, which was later slapped with an $85 million compensation ruling, equivalent to 80 percent of the operational profit Samsung earned in that year. Even some Samsung Electronics executives recommended its withdrawal from the semiconductor business following the death of the founder Lee.
In 1992, Samsung Electronics began to turn the tide when the company succeeded in developing 64M DRAM for the first time in the world. The following year, Samsung Electronics rose to the world No. 1 DRAM maker. Samsung Electronics’ run prompted global semiconductor companies to form an alliance. Qimonda, a merger of European semiconductor companies, went belly up in 2009. In 2012, Elpida, a consolidation of Japanese semiconductor companies, was handed over to Micron.
Samsung Electronics had won the fierce competition. Samsung Electronics continues to make history this year. The market survey company DRAM Exchange reported that Samsung Electronics saw its share in the global DRAM market surge to 50.2 percent in the 3rd quarter of this year, an unprecedented rise to top the 50 percent barrier.
The company owned a whopping 64.5 percent share in the segment of mobile DRAMs for smartphones. Samsung Electronics’ charming business performance is owed to the fact that the company is mass-producing 18nano technology DRAMs, compared to its rivals’ use of 20 nano-technology. Samsung Electronics dominates the NAND flash market with 3D NAND products.
The company owned a 44.1 percent share in the NAND flash market in the second quarter of the year, surpassing the first NAND flesh memory starter, Toshiba with a 26.3 percent share. Samsung Electronics’ memory business posted 9.86 trillion won in the 3rd quarter of this year, equivalent to 100 billion won in daily sales. The company is predicted to top 10 trillion won in the fourth quarter of the year.
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