The Lee Jae-yong Era... Samsung's Evolved 'Future Together'

Focusing on Two Themes: Youth Education and Win-Win Cooperation
Full-Scale Promotion of 'Miraedonghaeng CSR'

On the 8th, Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, visited 'Donga Plating,' a small and medium-sized enterprise located in Busan that received support from Samsung Electronics for building a smart factory, and toured the manufacturing site.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Samsung, which has long carried out various CSR activities based on the belief that 'Samsung can only sustain growth if our society is healthy,' is undergoing changes in its CSR.

According to the business community on the 8th, Samsung, which once operated more than 600 large and small CSR programs, has reviewed its existing CSR programs based on Chairman Lee Jae-yong's 'Future Together' philosophy of 'sharing together and growing together is the path to becoming the world’s best,' using the criteria of ▲contributing to desirable changes in our society ▲being sustainable over the long term ▲and solving social challenges, and has embarked on a comprehensive reorganization.

To contribute more practically to 'solving social challenges,' Samsung is intensifying and systematizing its CSR programs around two themes: youth education and win-win cooperation, and is actively promoting the 'Future Together CSR.' Future Together CSR continues the tradition of business patriotism; if business patriotism contributes to Korea’s growth through business, Future Together CSR embodies the philosophy of contributing to building a strong community by resolving youth unemployment and social polarization.

It is interpreted as reflecting Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s usual belief that 'a community that is not healthy cannot grow, and companies cannot survive in a market that has lost vitality,' and that 'we must sincerely and persistently contribute to desirable changes in our society.'

Future Together CSR is based on ▲uniting the capabilities of all Samsung affiliates to jointly operate representative CSR programs, ▲expanding voluntary participation of employees, and ▲strengthening cooperation with professional NGOs and civil society.

How Future Together CSR Has Evolved

First, Samsung has drastically reorganized from the previous method of operating numerous CSR programs dispersed and overlapping by each affiliate to a method of uniting the capabilities of affiliates to jointly operate representative CSR programs. For example, SSAFY, which Samsung Electronics operated alone, now involves five electronics affiliates and S-1, and 23 Samsung affiliates participate in the 'Hope Stepping Stone' project to engage in 'Creating Hope.' This change is seen as an effort to enhance operational substance and qualitative advancement in line with changing times, aiming to increase the expertise and social contribution of each program.

The CSR operation system has shifted from a 'company-led' model to one that greatly expands 'voluntary participation of employees.' Employees select the Samsung representative CSR programs they wish to donate to through the in-house 'CSR portal,' and the company matches the employees’ donations with an equal amount of '1:1 matching funds' contributed to the respective CSR programs.

Compared to the previous donation method where the company decided the use of employees’ donations, this new approach significantly expands employees’ autonomy and choice. Samsung actively reflects feedback from employees and external parties such as NGOs in the planning and operation of CSR programs and regularly discloses program outcomes and the use of donations transparently.

Future Together CSR has evolved from the past in that it involves not only 'Samsung' but also professional NGOs, experts, government, and local governments in various fields. This is interpreted as an effort to expand consensus with civil society and enhance the ability to solve 'social challenges' by incorporating diverse expertise into CSR programs through an operating committee composed of external experts.

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