With the start of the second millennium, Samsung begins its second century.
Humanity must now successfully manage the opportunities and challenges resulting from the new and quickly changing digital paradigm with equally revolutionary changes in the rules it uses to do business.

Currently, Samsung Group is undergoing changes in its business structure, management perspective and systems, and corporate culture to meet a global standard.

We regard the digital age as having both incalculable potential and risks. It's a time of intense competition-fortunes can be made or lost in the blink of an eye. However, at Samsung, we see challenges as opportunities. Which is one reason we believe that we are perfectly positioned to be one of the world's recognized leaders in digital technology.

Our commitment to being "World's Best" has succeeded in securing the number one global market share for thirteen of our products. Our target is nothing less than to have thirty number one "world products" by 2005, adding digital TVs, IMT 2000, and printers to our current world market leaders-semiconductors, TFT-LCDs, monitors and CDMA mobile phones.

At the same time, we are making historic advances in research and development of our overall semiconductor line, including flash memory and non-memory, custom semiconductors, and DRAM and SRAM.

For example, Samsung Electronics, which has been among the world's top 10 in US patents for four consecutive years, has 13,000 researchers representing a US$ 1.7 billion investment in Research and Development.

Samsung's brand value increased to US$8.31 billion in 2002 from US$6.37 billion in 2001 and was recognized by Interbrand Corporation as the fastest growing global brand. How did we make such astounding progress in such a short time? One answer is that we are perpetually engaged in achieving global competitiveness through continually improving our financial structure and profitability and looking at the structure of our organization. Reducing production costs and working hard to maintain our brand image have also contributed mightily to our surge. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics has secured a nation's credit rating from S&P and Moody's while Samsung Fire also has been recognized by S&P for its stability and growth potential and has received its second consecutive A rating.

Another clue to the quick pace of our development goes to the heart of our management philosophy "We will devote our human resources and technology to create superior products and services, thereby contributing to a better global society." Our active participation in various sports events around has helped promote community spirit as well as returning corporate profits to society. As a Worldwide Olympic partner in the wireless equipment sector for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Samsung provided 25,000 advanced digital wireless telecommunication devices including mobile phones.

In 2000, Samsung started its management program with a new twist and aimed to stay ahead of the great waves of digital changes now engulfing the world. We expect nothing less than to lead the digitalization of society with our advanced technologies, competitive products, and professional human resources.