Samsung boss stresses importance of integrated design in future strategy meeting

The future design strategy meeting was held at Samsung's R&D center in Seoul. Lee explained the importance of extensive design integration that encompasses both hardware and software. Lee, who is facing fraud allegations regarding the merger of two Samsung business divisions, also said that the convergence between products and services improves with 5G, AI, and IoT technologies. He said, “Let us achieve another design revolution. Let us endlessly challenge ourselves for the future.”

The following top executives attended the meeting:

• TM Roh, CEO of IT and Mobile Communications
• DJ Koh, co-CEO of IT and Mobile Communications
• Han Jong-hee, CEO of the TV division
• Kim Hyun-seok, CEO of Samsung Electronics Consumer Electronics
• Choi Yoon-ho, Director of Management Support
• Seung Hyun-jun, Director of Samsung Research
• Lee Don-tae, Director of Design Management Center

Before this strategy meeting, each Samsung business unit used to have its own design strategy meet. The late Samsung chairman used to stress the importance of design, and he started Samsung's design revolution in 1996. Since then, the South Korean tech giant has formed a Design Management Center to improve product design, foster talent, and manage its design strategy.

Samsung currently has seven design centers—Seoul, San Francisco, London, New Delhi, Beijing, Tokyo, and Sao Paulo—globally, and more than 1,500 employees work there collectively. At the Seoul R&D center, Lee inspected products like service robots and wearable devices. The company has also set up the Samsung Art and Design Institute (SADI) to improve design integration.