Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is returning to Korea on the morning of the 23rd through the Gimpo Business Aviation Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, after completing a business trip to Vietnam. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporters Dongwoo Lee and Changhwan Lee] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to Korea on the morning of the 23rd through Gimpo Airport after a 4-night, 5-day trip to Vietnam. Vice Chairman Lee, who inspected local business operations in Vietnam, plans to travel to Japan again within the year.
On the morning of the 23rd, Vice Chairman Lee returned to the Seoul Gimpo Airport Business Center via a Korean Air charter flight at around 7:15 a.m. After a brief temperature check, he left the airport saying, "I need to go to Japan once within the year to meet customers," but added, "However, nothing has been decided yet."
When asked whether there are any local semiconductor investment plans as requested by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vice Chairman Lee did not respond.
Vice Chairman Lee took a prepared vehicle to a temporary clinic near Gimpo Airport to undergo a COVID-19 test. He plans to wait at the temporary clinic until the test results are out before moving to his residence.
Earlier, Vice Chairman Lee departed for Hanoi, Vietnam on the 19th. This was just five days after returning from a six-day business trip to Europe on the 14th.
On the 20th and 21st, Vice Chairman Lee visited Samsung’s complex sites located in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen near Hanoi, where he received business status reports and inspected smartphone and display production plants.
Vietnam is Samsung Electronics’ largest mobile phone production base, producing about half of the smartphones Samsung sells.
This time, Vice Chairman Lee also visited the construction site of the 'Vietnam Research and Development (R&D) Center,' which was scheduled for a groundbreaking ceremony in February but was canceled, to receive updates on the construction progress.
The R&D center being built in Hanoi is a building with three underground floors and 16 above-ground floors, with a total floor area of approximately 80,000 square meters, making it the largest Samsung research complex in Southeast Asia.
About 3,000 R&D personnel specializing in software and hardware related to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets will work here. The center is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.
During his visit, Vice Chairman Lee said, "In the post-COVID era, we must develop the capability to respond swiftly to any major changes and find opportunities amid crises," adding, "Let’s look out for those who might fall behind and push forward a little more to move toward the future."
On the evening of the 20th, Vice Chairman Lee also had a private meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. It is known that Prime Minister Phuc requested Samsung to build a semiconductor factory in Vietnam during this meeting, which was their first encounter in about a year since the Korea-ASEAN Special Summit in November last year.
After finishing his schedule in Hanoi, Vice Chairman Lee stayed in Ho Chi Minh City on the 22nd, touring Samsung Electronics’ TV and home appliance production plants and discussing mid- to long-term business strategies.
After returning to Korea, Vice Chairman Lee is expected to plan his next business trip while also preparing for his trial. The retrial of the 'Choi Soon-sil state affairs manipulation' case is set to resume on the 26th. On the 22nd, the first hearing related to allegations of management succession was held, during which Vice Chairman Lee’s side denied the prosecution’s charges.
Meanwhile, Han Jong-hee, President of the Visual Display Business Division, who returned with Vice Chairman Lee, announced plans to launch Samsung Electronics’ next-generation TV display, the Mini LED TV, in the first half of next year.
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