‘Let’s lead innovation at the forefront,’ Lee Jae-yong says

Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae-yong ordered a proactive response from the company’s executive and staff members to lead the future market after visiting the Busan site of Samsung Electro-Mechanics and examining the electric part production factory on Thursday. “The pace of changes is accelerating. We should not settle for the status quo nor fear changes,” emphasized Lee.

The vice chairman visited the production line dedicated to multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for electric parts. MLCC, often called the “staple of the electronics industry,” is a micro part that stably controls currents in electronic devices and prevents electromagnetic wave interference among parts. A car is equipped with 3,000 to 15,000 MLCCs for electric parts. The automobile industry predicts that the MLCC market will grow explosively as markets related to electric and self-driving cars are expanding.

Lee has been quite active visiting the sites of major affiliates, such as Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display, this year. He visited Samsung Electronics’ site in Manaus, Brazil during the Lunar New Year holiday, followed by Samsung’s smartphone factory in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province and Samsung Semiconductor Research Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.


Dong-Il Seo dong@donga.com