Jobs, Samsung Electronics had 30-year love-hate relationship

Jobs, Samsung Electronics had 30-year love-hate relationship. October. 07, 2011 04:12. foryou@donga.com jaeyuna@donga.com.

Apple and Samsung Electronics might be waging a patent war against each other around the world, but have had a long-standing relationship of cooperation and competition over the past 30 years.

The CEOs of the two companies have had close ties with each other. The late Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull, his son and successor Lee Kun-hee, and grandson and Samsung Electronics CEO Lee Jae-yong often spoke to the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to exchange advice or hold negotiations.

Jobs met Samsung`s owning family for the first time in November 1983 at the founder’s office in Seoul. At the time, Samsung Electronics decided to expand its semiconductor business after much consideration and began building a chip plant in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, through a huge investment.

Lee Byung-chull, who was in his 70s at the time, sat face-to-face with the then 28-year-old Jobs. The young American entrepreneur confidently explained the specifications of Apple’s personal computer Macintosh, which was slated for release soon.

Lee Byung-chull is known to have told Samsung executives who joined the meeting, “Jobs is the figure who can stand against IBM.”

The founder advised Jobs to “confirm if his business is beneficial to humanity, value talent, and emphasize co-existence with other companies.”

In 1985, Jobs was thrown out of Apple, the company he co-founded, due to the failure of the Macintosh. Lee Byung-chull’s discerning eye for the talented Jobs was infallible, however.

Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 and grew into a corporate icon who rivaled IBM as Lee Byung-chull predicted by introducing electronic devices that captured the souls of consumers.

With Apple emerging as one of Samsung Electronics’ major parts suppliers, Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee is said to have met Jobs several times, but no details of their meetings have been disclosed.

Jobs had many things in common with Lee Kun-hee. Both of them sought talented people with near genius ability and were hooked on cultural content such as movies.

Samsung Electronics CEO Lee Jae-yong, however, saw Jobs more frequently than his grandfather and father did. Lee Jae-yong saw Jobs once or twice a year to cooperate with Apple by visiting its headquarters and participating in international IT expos and CEO conferences.

Before Apple’s revolutionary iPhone made its debut, Jobs reportedly explained the smartphone to Lee Jae-yong by disassembling it.

Jobs, who held a briefing on the primitive version of Apple’s PC for the late Samsung founder, explained his company’s smartphone to the latter’s grandson 30 years later.

While Jobs was maintaining personal ties with three generations of the Samsung owning family, Apple has emerged as Samsung’s largest client. Industry sources forecast that Apple will overtake Sony as Samsung’s largest customer by purchasing 7.8 billion dollars worth of electronics parts produced by Samsung. Sony is expected to buy 6 billion dollars worth of Samsung parts.

With Apple suing Samsung for patent infringement in April, however, the long-standing cooperation between the two companies is on the verge of collapse.

When Apple released its iPad 2 in March, Jobs called Samsung a “copycat.”

In response, Lee Kun-hee expressed regret over Jobs` comment on April 21, when he appeared at his office for the first time since a criminal investigation into the illegal handover of the company’s managerial right to Lee Jae-yong.

“People tend to hit a protruding nail,” Lee Kun-hee said. “Technology can be given by a leader or received by a follower.”

So how will Jobs` death influence the patent war between the two companies? A Samsung source said no change will be made and Samsung will make no comment on the matter until after his funeral.

After Jobs died, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung offered his condolences. “We express our deepest condolences to Steve Jobs, whom we respected. Jobs was a gifted entrepreneur who presented a way forward and led innovation for the global IT industry.”