Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong Tells Executives, "This Is No Time to Be Complacent Just Because the Numbers Have Improved"

According to The Financial News, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong recently told Samsung executives, "This is no time to be complacent just because the numbers have improved a bit," and stressed that this is "the last opportunity to restore our competitiveness." Samsung Electronics’ performance has rebounded sharply in recent quarters, but he made it clear that the company must not settle for this and instead accelerate efforts to rebuild its core technological edge.
According to business circles on the 25th, Samsung Group shared this message from Lee with executives during a seminar. Since last week, Samsung Group has been running a "values program to restore the Samsung Spirit" for around 2,000 executives at vice president level and below across all affiliates, including Samsung Electronics.
The training program reportedly included a video capturing the management philosophy of the late former chairman Lee Kun-hee. The video was first shown at a dinner meeting of affiliate presidents convened by Chairman Lee Jae-yong earlier this month, and is said to include key remarks by the former chairman as well as this year’s management strategies, such as those related to Artificial Intelligence (AI). In business circles, the video is widely seen as effectively serving as Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s New Year’s message to presidents and executives.
At last year’s executive seminar, Lee declared that Samsung Group had "lost its inherent strength" and invoked a do-or-die determination, saying the company must fight as if its very survival were at stake. That message was also delivered through a video shown at the presidents’ dinner at the time.
This year’s video reportedly revisited Lee Kun-hee’s "sandwich theory," carrying the message, "Our country is still stuck in a sandwich position. What has changed is that the competitive landscape has shifted and the situation has become even more serious."
The video also highlighted the current reality of being caught in the power struggle between the United States and China. Back in January 2007, at a Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) chairmen’s meeting, Lee Kun-hee remarked that "Korea’s economy is in a sandwich position, with China catching up and Japan still ahead." His comment reflected a sense of crisis that Korea lacked China’s price competitiveness while also failing to widen the technology gap with Japan, leaving it squeezed in the middle.
Observers say Lee Jae-yong’s decision to revive this expression underscores that Samsung Group now faces a business environment where, beyond competition with China and Japan, it must also navigate tough strategic choices and rising costs between China and the United States. Although Samsung Group’s performance improved last year and the company appears to have moved partially out of a crisis phase, his message is interpreted as a warning that the underlying structural risks remain unresolved.
Samsung Electronics struggled from 2023 through the first half of last year due to weakness in its semiconductor business. However, in provisional results released on the 8th of this month, the company reported fourth-quarter 2024 sales of 93 trillion won and operating profit of 20 trillion won, signaling a strong recovery. In this context, Chairman Lee’s repeated emphasis on restoring technological competitiveness rather than focusing on short-term earnings is seen as a call not to treat the current rebound as a signal that the crisis is over, but instead to push for more fundamental change.
His reference to a "last opportunity" also made it clear that if Samsung Group misses this window, there may be no second chance for a major rebound. It was a demand that executives demonstrate much stronger execution and resolve. To break through the current situation, Lee identified several key tasks: AI-centered management, securing top talent, and transforming the corporate culture.
Meanwhile, executives attending the seminar each received a crystal plaque engraved with their name and the phrase "From crisis to a new leap forward." Compared with last year’s crystal plaques, which bore the message "Samsung employees who are strong in crisis, skilled at comebacks, and relentless in competition," this year’s wording is seen as reflecting a determination to recognize the ongoing crisis yet once again demonstrate Samsung Group’s former strength through concrete action and results.
soup@fnnews.com Reporter Lim Soo-bin Reporter