Samsung boss outlines company's survival strategy amid ongoing crisis

Samsung Electronics chief Jay Y. Lee reportedly called for the company's executives to adopt a do-or-die mindset to overcome the crisis. The South Korean firm is currently facing several challenges, including falling market share and reduced profits, in multiple business segments.

According to a report from Yonhap News, Samsung Electronics chairman Jay Y. Lee called for the company's executives to adopt a do-or-die mindset to navigate the intense challenges posed by the new era driven by AI. This call was delivered as a video message to the company's 2,000-odd executives across several divisions.

While Lee didn't appear in the video, the message included management philosophies from Samsung's founding chairman, Lee Byung-chul, and former chairman, Lee Kun-hee. It said the company needs to strategic shift to overcome the current situation. Samsung's operating profit in Q1 2025 is expected to be 22.5% lower than the previous year.

In the video, Lee was quoted saying, “Samsung is facing a do-or-die survival issue. We need to reflect deeply from the top. We must invest for the future, even if it means sacrificing immediate profits.” Those who attended the video seminar also received a business card-sized crystal plaque engraved with motivational words that said, “Samsung people who are strong in crisis, good at reversal, and fierce in competition.“

It appears that the company is willing to sacrifice profits to gain the technological edge it once had over its rivals. Samsung's market share in the TV segment fell from 30.1% in 2023 to 28.3% in 2024 and from 19.7% in 2023 to 18.3% in 2024 in the smartphone segment. In the memory chip segment, its market share dropped from 42.2% in 2023 to 41.5% in 2024.

Samsung's biggest challenge is in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) segment. In an era where AI chips are in huge demand, HBM memory, which is necessary for AI chips to work, is in short supply. However, even in such optimal conditions, Samsung has been unable to sell its HBM memory chips to the biggest AI chip maker, Nvidia. In this segment, it has been overtaken by local rival SK Hynix.