One of South Korea's biggest names, Samsung,... celebrates its 80th anniversary today.
Despite the conglomerate's de facto leader being entangled in the political scandal that lead to the ousting of the former president, Samsung remains a top global name.
Lee Jeong-yeon has the details.
South Korean conglomerate Samsung commemorated its 80th anniversary on Thursday.
Although an anniversary would normally call for a big celebration, this year's commemoration was a rather quiet affair, what with the ongoing trial of political figures that were involved in the scandal that led to former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment last year. Samsung's de facto chief and vice chairman Lee Jae-yong was embroiled in that political scandal. An official from Samsung said there would be no festivities this year, and that Lee wouldn't be making any public appearances.
Instead Samsung celebrated the occasion by screening a documentary on the history of the company. Samsung also plans to run a corporate social responsibility program for a month.
Despite the political scandal, Samsung maintains its title as a number one 'global brand' in electronics including television and semi-conductors.
The company that started out with a capital of just 30 US dollars is now worth more than 360 trillion won, or 340 billion dollars. Not accounting for inflation, that's more than a 10-billion-fold jump in 80 years.
As for staff, what started out with a small team of 40 executives is now a huge organization with 500-thousand both in Korea and abroad.
The 16 Samsung subsidiaries listed on the KOSPI take up more than 30 percent of the KOSPI's total market capital, and Samsung Electronics makes up almost a quarter of all South Korean exports.

Lee Jeong-yeon, Arirang News