Just sending this from a discussion forum of Koreans and East Asians on Samsung .

BTW just on the question of Brit companies in SK -other than HSBC and Tesco which
are big there the following British property companies have offices in SK
CBRE
Jones Lang Lassalle
Savills
Land Securities
Collier International


From Asia's finest

May 3 2011, 08:15 PM
Many Koreans pride over supposedly "Korean" companies like Samsung. They make proud statements like, "I'm Korean, our people make Samsung," which seems to be a fair statement, right? Not necessarily.

According to Samsung's Stock Ownership Structure, FOREIGNERS actually own most of Samsung. In particular, of the total shares outstanding, foreigners own/control over 55%. This doesn't include categories like "Major Shareholder Related Parties," which Samsung subsidies own/control over (of which foreigners own the majority) and Treasury Stock that the company keeps (again, mostly owned by foreigners).

Ownership structure of Samsung Electronics as of the end of December, 2010
Total Stock


To put things into perspective, domestic individuals own a mere 5% the overall company.

Of the Preferred Stock, foreigners own a staggering 82%. Of the Common Stock, foreigners own over 50%, mainly because most of the common stock is under the control of Samsung subsidies, which foreigners own the majority of.

Preferred Stock

Common Stock

So, what does this imply about Samsung? Is it a "Korean" company as many Koreans like to think and are so proud of?

Here's an informative Samsung commercial that shows South Korea being transformed from a peasant society to a modern one:
WATCH: