History

1980-1989 Entering the Global Marketplace

Samsung's core technology businesses diversified and expanded globally during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In 1978, Samsung Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics became separate entities. Samsung Aerospace Industries (now Samsung Techwin) was launched in February 1987, and Samsung has been developing its aerospace capabilities with unprecedented speed ever since.
Samsung also entered the systems development business, establishing Samsung Data Systems in 1985 (now Samsung SDS) as a leader in information technology services, including systems integration, systems management, consulting, and networking services.
Samsung's increasing focus on technology led to the creation of the company's two research and development (R&D) institutes that helped expand its reach even further into electronics, semiconductors, high polymer chemicals, genetic engineering, optical telecommunications, aerospace, and new fields of technology innovation from nanotechnology to advanced network architectures.
In 1987, Samsung's founding Chairman Byung-Chull Lee passed away after almost 50 years at the helm of the company. His son, Kun-Hee Lee, succeeded him as the new Chairman. During this period, Samsung challenged itself to restructure old businesses and enter new ones with the aim of becoming one of the world's top five electronics companies.