[Column] "It Was Always the Offense That Decided the Outcome"

The late Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Group, enjoyed playing table tennis with his son, current chairman Lee Jae-yong, during his lifetime. One day, while playing with his son, he lost by a large margin. It was because his son had changed his paddle. There are two types of table tennis paddles: the 'penhold' and the 'shakehand' styles. Typically, players with an aggressive playing style use the penhold grip, holding the paddle like a pen, while defensive players use the shakehand grip, holding the paddle as if shaking hands. Chairman Lee competed against the former chairman using the shakehand paddle, unlike his usual style. The former chairman had strategized expecting his son to play defensively, but instead, his son played aggressively and won decisively. Surprised by this, the former chairman asked his son why he switched to the shakehand paddle and they had various conversations. Through this, the former chairman realized the game’s principle that "the side that plays offensively has more chances to win." The image of Brazil, the epitome of attacking football dominating the world stage, and the example of Major League Baseball in the U.S., where teams with strong hitters rank high, flashed through his mind, leading him to firmly believe that while defense is fundamental in all sports, it is offense that decides the outcome.

This is mentioned in the former chairman’s essay, "Let’s Think a Little and Look at the World," published in November 1997. This passage came to mind again because of a message from Vice Chairman Jeon Young-hyun of Samsung Electronics, who expressed disappointment with the company’s performance. Jeon, who oversees Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business, declared after the company’s Q3 results were announced, "We will rearm ourselves with a challenging spirit that races toward higher goals, not with a defensive mindset aimed at merely protecting what we have." It was a resolution to shift to an offensive stance. It clearly seems that Samsung is at a point where it must attack. The prevailing industry view is that Samsung has been pushed onto the defensive by trying only to maintain its world-leading position. Falling behind in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) competition is attributed to a defensive posture that failed to capture the market early, and the sluggish foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) business is analyzed as a failure to create a distinct competitive advantage.

Chairman Lee, who played table tennis with the former chairman, surely understands the truth of offense well. Recently, during an interview with foreign reporters in the Philippines, he spoke about the troubled foundry and system LSI (semiconductor design) businesses, saying, "We are not considering a spin-off and are hungry for business growth." The word he used was ‘hungry,’ which conveys a stronger sense of eagerness than similar expressions. Perhaps it meant there is no room to retreat other than to attack.

At the beginning of this month, the foreign investment bank Macquarie lowered Samsung Electronics’ target stock price from 125,000 won to 64,000 won and described the company as a "weak semiconductor giant." This can be read as a critique of the giant’s passive stance in not attacking. A giant’s power and strength are demonstrated when it goes on the offensive. If it only shrinks back, it becomes less than a brave dwarf.