Samsung Electronics Holds 52nd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders... First Online Broadcast

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Samsung Electronics held its '52nd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders' on the 17th at the Suwon Convention Center in Gyeonggi Province.

Shareholders, institutional investors, Kim Ki-nam (Vice Chairman and CEO), Kim Hyun-suk (President and CEO), and Ko Dong-jin (President and CEO) attended the meeting. The agenda included ▲approval of financial statements ▲appointment of internal and external directors ▲appointment of external directors as audit committee members ▲approval of the limit on directors' remuneration. Samsung Electronics streamed the shareholders' meeting online for the first time this year and introduced an electronic voting system again this year following last year.

Kim Ki-nam, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, said in his opening remarks, "Despite difficult management conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic last year, we achieved solid results with consolidated sales of 237 trillion KRW and operating profit of 36 trillion KRW, thanks to the dedication and efforts of all employees and partners." He explained, "The Semiconductor (DS) division strengthened its leadership in the semiconductor market by expanding sales of differentiated high-capacity products in the memory business, and the system semiconductor business laid the foundation for future growth by expanding mass production of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) processes."

Regarding the set business, Kim said, "The Consumer Electronics (CE) division solidified its premium leadership by introducing new QLED TVs and Bespoke home appliances, and the IM division led the market by launching flagship smartphones equipped with advanced technologies and innovative foldable phones." He added, "Through this, the company's brand value in 2020 was evaluated at 62.3 billion USD by Interbrand, ranking 5th globally."

Kim continued, "To faithfully fulfill our shareholder return commitments, we paid a total of 28.9 trillion KRW in regular dividends over the past three years and decided to pay an additional 10.7 trillion KRW as a special dividend on top of the 2020 regular dividend." He stated, "From 2021 to 2023, the annual regular dividend amount has been raised to 9.8 trillion KRW, and if residual funds exceeding the regular dividend occur within 50% of the annual free cash flow, we will consider early partial returns."

Kim also said, "The company is undertaking various activities to improve the environment, such as enhancing energy efficiency and reducing harmful substances, to achieve sustainable growth." He added, "We are also fulfilling our social responsibilities by supporting many youths to receive quality education through Samsung Dream Class and the Youth Software Academy." He emphasized, "We provided management stabilization funds and logistics costs to partner companies struggling due to COVID-19, supported manufacturers of masks, diagnostic kits, and vaccine syringes, and offered the company’s training centers to aid COVID-19 recovery, striving to overcome the crisis through mutual growth. We also established the Samsung Compliance Committee as an independent organization to further strengthen compliance management."

Furthermore, Kim said, "To take a step forward, we will prepare future capabilities such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, and security, and establish a trusted 100-year company foundation through the establishment of an autonomous compliance culture."

Before presenting the agenda, Kim Ki-nam, Vice Chairman of the DS division, Kim Hyun-suk, President of the CE division, and Ko Dong-jin, President of the IM division, explained the management status of each business division and answered questions from attending shareholders and those watching the online broadcast.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.