November 21, 2024

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Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong (right) and Verizon Communications CEO Hans Vestberg pose for a photo after their meeting at Verizon headquarters in New York City on Nov. 18, 2021. (Samsung Electronics)

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong took off for the US on a trip tightly packed with business meetings with tech leaders and government officials there, with the goal of strengthening existing partnerships for the company's future development, the tech giant said on Thursday.

Lee will participate in some 30 meetings scheduled "minute by minute" with heads of major technology firms, and lawmakers and government officials across the US until mid-June, Samsung said. The places he will visit include New York, Washington, DC and Silicon Valley, California. Lee departed from Seoul on May 31, after attending the ceremony for the Ho-am Prize.

On Tuesday, Lee met with Verizon Communications CEO Hans Vestberg to discuss possible collaboration between the two companies in promoting Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy smartphone series, which is set to launch next month.

The two leaders discussed running joint promotional events for Samsung's upcoming foldable smartphones, and displaying Galaxy smartphones in Verizon stores to offer visitors a hands-on experience with Samsung's latest AI features, Samsung said.

The Korean smartphone supplier is expected to launch its new foldable handset, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, along with the Z Flip 6 as well as the Galaxy Ring, its wearable device, in the Galaxy Unpacked event slated for July 10 in Paris, France.

Lee's move appears to show his desire to cement Samsung's leadership in bendable smartphones, where the company is deemed as a pioneer. According to data released by Counterpoint Research, Huawei, the US-sanctioned Chinese smartphone maker, became the world's bestselling foldable smartphone vendor for the first time in the first quarter this year, beating Samsung.

The two chiefs talked about new technologies and services utilizing artificial intelligence and ways to raise customer value via technological innovation. They also discussed the prospects of next-generation telecommunications technologies, Samsung added.

“In the business that everyone does, we should do it better than any other. And for a business that nobody has started, let’s do it faster than any other,” Lee was quoted as saying after his meeting with the Verizon chief.

Samsung Electronics President and mobile business chief Roh Tae-moon, Network Business President Kim Woo-june and Choi Kyung-sik, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America, accompanied Lee in his meeting with the Verizon head.

Verizon, the world's biggest telecommunication service provider, is one of the five sources of revenue for Samsung. The two companies have close working relations across all telecommunication sectors, including mobile devices such as the Galaxy smartphone series, tablet PCs, wearable gadgets and network equipment.

In 2020, Samsung bagged a $6.65 billion contract to develop 5G network infrastructure for Verizon, which is to run through 2025. It is the largest export deal made in Korea's telecommunication equipment industry.

According to Samsung, its strong partnership with Verizon is based on the years-long friendship between Lee and Vestberg. Their ties go back to 2010, when Lee, then a vice president at Samsung, and Vestberg, then the CEO of Ericsson, met at the Mobile World Congress tech show in Spain.

"In the process of signing the 2020 deal, Lee and Vestberg also held multiple meetings over video calls to discuss the details of the contract and new opportunities for collaboration," Samsung said.

Lee left Seoul on the day he attended the ceremony for the company's legacy award, the Ho-am Prize, recognizing individuals and groups that have made significant contributions to academics, the arts, social development and the welfare of humanity.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)