Corning stepping stone for Samsung's global leap: Chairman Lee

Their relationship dates back to 1973 when Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull and Amory Houghton Jr., then-chairman of Corning Inc., met to discuss a business partnership.

Back then, Samsung Electronics Co. wanted a specialty glass maker to produce black-and-white cathode-ray TV tubes in competition with GoldStar, the predecessor of home appliance giant LG Electronics Inc.

Samsung and Corning then launched a joint venture – the beginning of their close partnership that has lasted five decades.

"Corning's close friendship and cooperation has been a solid stepping stone for Samsung to leap into the global community,” said Jay Y. Lee, chairman of Samsung, at a Corning event on Friday to commemorate the US firm’s 50th anniversary of its business in Korea.

“Based on our trust and cooperation, let's create unprecedented technology, technology that no one has imagined, and technology that benefits humanity.”

KOREA, ‘CORNING’S SECOND HOME’

At the event held at Corning Precision Materials’ plant in Tangjeong, Asan, south of Seoul, Corning Chairman and Chief Executive Wendell Weeks called Korea “Corning’s second home.”

With dedicated 3,000 Corning executives and employees in Korea, the US specialty glass maker hopes to continue to expand together with Samsung, he said.

At Friday’s event, Lee and Weeks shook hands and shared a hug onstage in a show of their close relationship.

On Thursday, the Corning CEO said at a press conference it will invest $1.5 billion in Korea over the next five years, including spending on building a supply chain to produce next-generation, ultra-thin bendable glass in the country.

The investment is part of Corning’s pledge to increase its spending in Korea, announced during Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s US trip in April.

With the $1.5 billion investment, Weeks said the company will make Korea its global bendable glass manufacturing hub.

Samsung uses Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus in its smartphones, including the latest Galaxy Z Flip5 series.

Corning’s flagship Gorilla Glass is also embedded in Apple’s iPhones thanks to its high level of scratch resistance.

From their partnership in cathode-ray tube TVs, Samsung and Corning’s tie-up has evolved to launch Samsung Corning Precision Materials in 1995 to manufacture glass substrates for liquid crystal displays.

Samsung Display Co., Korea’s leading display maker, is Corning’s second-largest shareholder with a 9% stake.

Write to Ye-Rin Choi at rambutan@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.