'2-Week Business Trip to the US' Chairman Lee Jae-yong: "Let's Achieve the Business No One Else Can"

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has embarked on a roughly two-week business trip to the United States, during which he will attend more than 30 scheduled meetings. He will meet with CEOs of major U.S. IT, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor, and telecommunications companies, as well as political and government officials, to explore new growth engines and strengthen cooperation.

According to Samsung Electronics on the 6th, Chairman Lee departed for the U.S. on the 31st of last month immediately after the Samsung Ho-Am Prize award ceremony held at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. He plans to cover about 30 engagements across the continent, from the East Coast in New York to the West Coast’s Silicon Valley, until mid-month.

On the 4th (local time), Chairman Lee met with Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon, in New York to discuss cooperation plans regarding next-generation communications and sales of new Galaxy products.

In November 2021, Lee Jae-yong, then Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, visited Verizon headquarters and took a commemorative photo with CEO Hans Vestberg. [Photo by Samsung Electronics]

Chairman Lee and CEO Vestberg exchanged views on business-wide topics including technology and service plans utilizing AI, prospects for next-generation communication technologies, strategies to enhance customer value through technological innovation, expanding the Android ecosystem for Verizon customers, and cooperation to boost sales of new Galaxy products in the second half of the year. In particular, they discussed joint promotions related to the new Galaxy products and ways to allow customers to experience the AI features of the new Galaxy models within Verizon stores.

The meeting was attended by Samsung Electronics’ Mobile eXperience Division head No Tae-moon, Network Division head Kim Woo-joon, and North America President Choi Kyung-sik. After the meeting, Chairman Lee said, "Let’s excel at businesses everyone is doing better than anyone else, and be the first to succeed in businesses no one else can."

Samsung Electronics plans to accelerate the development of next-generation communication businesses by strengthening cooperation with Verizon, its fifth-largest sales partner and the world’s largest telecommunications carrier. Verizon is Samsung Electronics’ largest trading partner among global telecom operators. The two companies maintain a close cooperative relationship across Galaxy smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, and network equipment.

Notably, the 'long-term network equipment supply contract including 5G' signed between Samsung Electronics and Verizon in 2020 is valued at 7.9 trillion KRW, marking the largest single export contract in the history of Korea’s telecommunications equipment industry. This contract enabled Samsung Electronics to make a full-scale entry into the U.S. 5G market.

The company explained that the extensive partnership between Samsung Electronics and Verizon, spanning from Galaxy devices to network equipment, is supported not only by Samsung’s advanced technology but also by the long-standing and special relationship between Chairman Lee and CEO Vestberg.

Chairman Lee and CEO Vestberg have maintained a friendship for over 10 years, beginning when they both attended the Mobile World Congress in Spain in 2010 as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and Ericsson Chairman, respectively.

Their relationship continued even after Vestberg moved to Verizon, resulting in the large-scale equipment supply contract in the 5G field. During the contract process, Chairman Lee and CEO Vestberg frequently held video calls to discuss new cooperation plans.

In the smartphone device sector, Samsung Electronics is also enhancing its status as a global telecommunications market leader and 'first mover' by launching the world’s first AI smartphone, the Galaxy S24, earlier this year.

In addition to the latest Galaxy S24, Samsung Electronics is leading the expansion of AI adoption by supporting existing customers of products released last year, such as the Galaxy S23, Z Fold5, Z Flip5, and Tab S9, to enjoy the benefits of 'Galaxy AI' through software updates.

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