South Korean media: Before meeting with India's richest man, Samsung spent "hundreds of millions" on renovation in a single day
At the end of November, before Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India's largest company, Reliance Industries, visited Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Seoul's Seocho District and met with Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics spent 100 million KRW (about RMB 480,000) to purchase top-tier furniture, renovating the VIP lounge. Samsung clearly made great efforts to match the status of India's richest person.
On the 3rd, according to the South Korean interior design industry, the first planning company consulted a well-known interior design company on November 22nd, requesting "to equip the VIP lounge with furniture for the Ambani family's visit to Samsung Electronics' Seocho office within one day." This event took place three days before the chairman of Ambani visited South Korea.
It is said that Samsung went to such great lengths because not only would Lee Jae-yong attend, but all major CEOs would also be present. On that day, the head of Samsung Electronics DX department, Roh Tae-won, president of Samsung SDI, Choe Joosun, president of Samsung SDS, Lee Joon-hee, vice chairman of Samsung Heavy Industries, Choi Sung-an, president of Samsung C&T, Oh Seok-je, president of Samsung E&A, Nam Gyeong-hong, and president of Samsung C&T Commercial Department, Lee Jae-yeon gathered together to meet with Ambani.
It is reported that the VIP lounge was equipped with sofas, cushions, tables, carpets, and lighting from well-known brands such as Zanat Koba and CASSINA Sengu. In addition, there were home appliances from Samsung Electronics to promote the company's flagship products. The overall scope of the interior renovation is unknown, but the total cost exceeded 100 million KRW.
According to a Samsung official, "the urgent construction might have been due to an executive who had previously confirmed the movement pointing out issues with the old furniture," and "in addition, this was a gathering of senior executives after Samsung's regular senior personnel adjustments, so it would naturally require more effort."
Reliance Industries is India's largest company and is currently pushing forward the construction of the world's largest AI (artificial intelligence) data center in India. For Samsung, Reliance Industries is a "big client" that can cooperate with in multiple fields such as chips, AI, communications, displays, and construction. Both sides have maintained a cooperative relationship. In 2012, Samsung supplied 4G (fourth-generation mobile communication) network equipment to India's largest telecom company, Reliance Jio, and has been supplying 5G equipment since 2022.
In 2024, Lee Jae-yong personally attended the wedding of Ambani's younger son, and the two had a very close personal relationship. However, Ambani's visit to South Korea was not publicly disclosed, and he left after a confidential visit.
Source: Chosun Ilbo
Original: toutiao.com/article/1850457629506567/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.