More than 400 employees were present to commemorate the milestone, together with the Company’s executive team including Kinam Kim, Vice Chairman & CEO of Device Solutions (DS) Division, Hyunsuk Kim, President & CEO of Consumer Electronics (CE) Division, Dongjin Koh, President & CEO of IT & Mobile Communications (IM) Division.

Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee, through a video message, extended his gratitude to all Samsung employees for their dedication over the past 50 years and emphasized the Company’s commitment to build upon its legacy and become a Centennial company.

“The past 50 years were only possible thanks to the dedication and hard work of each and every one of you,” said Vice Chairman Lee. “Looking to the next 50 years, let’s free our imaginations and dream of an extraordinary future.”

Underscoring Samsung’s pledge to contribute to the global society through innovative technologies, Vice Chairman Lee said, “Applying our new technologies, let’s build a healthier and happier future. By sharing and growing together we will become the very best in the world.”

Executives and Employees Look Forward to Building a Worthy Legacy

At the anniversary event, executives and employees marked the achievements over the past half-century and pledged to embark on a new journey toward a leading Centennial company.

Kinam Kim, Vice Chairman & CEO of DS Division, shared three key goals towards Samsung’s continued growth in the next chapter of the Company’s life.

“Unpredictable change, driven by material shifts in demographics and consumer behavior, will be a hallmark of the next era of the technology industry,” he noted. “So to ensure our survival in the new era, we must pursue relentless self-innovation. We must never cease to learn, be bold and fearless in our pursuits and execute thoroughly when undertaking all our tasks.”

The second goal reflects the Company’s philosophy of always putting the customer at the heart of its business. “By staying ahead of their needs and expectations and by finding ways to thrive in evolving markets, we can continue to ensure that customers are at the center of our business,” stressed Vice Chairman Kim.

Finally, “Let us all work together to help Samsung continue to evolve into a company that contributes to a better world and stay a respected and beloved company for future generations,” he said. “I ask that all of us not forget our responsibilities as good corporate citizens in the journey.”

Samsung executives and workers around the world have been engaging in volunteer work in recent weeks to give back to their communities, in a more meaningful way to mark the Company’s anniversary and show appreciation. The activities include donation campaigns and education projects for young students.

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Gim, armed with a cat snack, attempts to keep the kitten in place until the rescuers arrive

Gim caught a glimpse of the kitten the same day – 40 minutes later, in fact. She waited around long enough during her lunch break to find the kitten called NyangNyang – the Korean equivalent of ‘meow meow.’ She saw something furry in her peripheral vision and knew it had to be the kitten.

The memo that started it all: “Sick kitten. Help”

It turns out the note was written by a worker in a nearby cafe who wanted one of the campus’ workers to help rescue the cat. And when Yura Gim first saw NyangNyang, it was clear to see why a rescue mission was proposed. Even from a distance, it was clear to see that NyangNyang was sick. One of its eyes were closed due to problem it had developed and its fur was matted and unkempt. It even looked spiritless by the way it was sat down. There was no alternative – NyangNyang had to be helped.

The Mission Begins

And so the mission started in earnest. Gim already has a cat of her own and denying a feline rescue was out of her comfort zone, especially for one so young and ill. She decided to bring in reinforcements – namely, her Samsung colleagues. Yura Gim works in the Marketing Group of the Networks Business at Samsung Electronics but she knows the broad skill sets that reside within the four walls of Digital City. To get the best help for NyangNyang, this became a crowd-sourced mission to save the cat.

Gim turned to the internal communications platform to seek help

Yura Gim turned to the internal Samsung communication system Live Talk to ask for help and what she received was encouraging. She was already getting replies within five minutes. ‘I want to help,’ said one. ‘Let’s save the cat together,’ said another. ‘I want in if you raise a fund for the cat,’ said a third. It became a community project driven by Yura Gim, who became known as ‘Meow Butler’ for the amount she cared about NyangNyang’s wellbeing.

Another Meow Butler soon joined the fray. Donghoon Oh develops hardware for the Networks Business. “I decided to help rescuing NyangNyang because the kitten was sick and had no protection from its mother,” he said. “Other baby cats are protected and cared for by their mothers, but NyangNyang was going to die if we did not save it.”

The next step was to open up the community of potential helpers wider still. Gim opened a public chat room and just as with the Live Talk conversation, she was getting replies quickly. Within 30 minutes, people were sharing their cat rescue experiences and giving advice for rescuing NyangNyang. But the cat was still at large. Although there had been numerous brief sightings of NyangNyang, no one had been able to rescue it because it was so shy and elusive.

The Rescue

That all changed when Yura Gim went in search of NyangNyang armed with a cat treat to lure it out of hiding. It was around 8pm and the sun had set. Yura Gim decided to head towards the Hanmaum Health Care Center where NyangNyang had been spotted previously. By sheer luck, she spotted the kitten.

3119 rescuers, emergency responders for Samsung Digital City, rushed to the scene upon receiving the call

NyangNyang finally came out of hiding and still looked very sick. It was also being cautious while coming forward to take the treat from Yura Gim. Another stroke of luck meant that local 3119 rescue personnel were nearby.

“The baby cat ran away towards the back of some plastic boxes,” said one of the rescue team. “I pushed one of the boxes to the glass wall and managed to trap the kitten. When we finally rescued it, its nose was running yellow mucus and it was making a gurgling sound every time it breathed. There were many scars around its nose and one of its legs was bleeding.”

Members of the “Saving NyangNyang” community were concerned about its health

The good news is that after NyangNyang was rescued, it was in the right hands and was able to be professionally treated and cared for.

Back to Health

It was at 8.30pm on July 18 when NyangNyang was finally rescued. Thanks to the contributions of the well-wishers in the chat room, NyangNyang’s hospital fees were raised quickly. It turns out that Sang in Baek of the Environment Safety & Health Group, one of the 3119 rescue personnel, was a member of the chat room. The timescale from Gim first finding the note to NyangNyang receiving treatment was just 34 hours.

NyangNyang enjoys a healthy life under Ju’s foster care

NyangNyang now lives temporarily with Ju Hyeonji of the Software Engineering Lab, Digital Appliances Business, who heard the story of NyangNyang from her team colleague and decided to become a foster caretaker of the kitten without hesitation until it finds a permanent home.

While living with Ju, NyangNyang has recovered very quickly. At first, the baby cat would not come out from the corner, but now it is playing, eating and sleeping as much as it wants. The inflammation on its eye was cured in just a week and the cold symptoms disappeared as well. Its weight has increased by 400g. In the past, the kitten was dirty and powerless, but now it is a mischievous little kitty cat.

Bringing People Together

NyangNyang now lives a new life because of the people who devoted their time, money and efforts to saving it. NyangNyang did more than it ever realized. It brought people together for the common good of saving a sick kitten. It was only after the rescue had taken place that the people from the chat room met for the first time.

Yura Gim (left), Donghoon Oh (center) and Hyeonji Ju (right) sit together to share NyangNyang’s story

“Nobody in the open chat room knew each other,” said Yura Gim. “We trusted each other, anonymous individuals, to save this small baby cat.”

The chat room still exists today, with many of the people choosing to remain members of it. If nothing else, it’s a reminder of what happens when people work together as a collaborative team to do good for others.

Additional Images

NyangNyang was first spotted sick outside a health care center in Samsung Digital City, Suwon, sick and helpless

A note was posted, where the initial SOS memo was posted, sharing NyangNyang’s updated status, relieving passersby and other concerned parties of their worries

• A mysterious note left in Samsung Digital City,Suwon about a sick kitten was spotted by Samsung employee and cat lover Yura Gim, who decided to act on it
• Gim enlisted the help of her Samsung colleagues, and then a wider community of helpers via a public chat room to help find and recue the kitten, and also raise funds to pay for its hospital treatments
• Fortunately, she spotted the kitten and with the help of emergency responders from Samsung Digital City, she was able to take the kitten to hospital for it to receive the care it desperately needed
• The kitten is now fit and healthy and is currently living temporarily with Gim’s colleague Hyeonji Ju until it finds a permanent home

Samsung Electronics is making a concerted effort in the United States, Europe and China – markets that are well-equipped with infrastructure for the development and transmission of renewable energy – to increase its use of renewable energy. As part of this effort, Samsung plans to source renewable energy for 100% of the energy used for all of its factories, office buildings, and operational facilities in the United States, Europe and China by 2020. In the medium to long-term, the company will seek to further increase its use of renewable energy around the world.

In line with this commitment, Samsung Electronics has joined the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF’s) Renewable Energy Buyers’ Principles and the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Business Renewables Center.

In Korea, Samsung Electronics fully supports the government’s national strategic plan to increase the country’s renewable energy use by 20% by 2030. Beginning this year, as an initial commitment, Samsung will additionally install approximately 42,000㎡ of solar panels in Samsung Digital City, its headquarters in Suwon. The company will continue to add approximately 21,000㎡ of solar arrays and geothermal power generation facilities beginning 2019 in its Pyeongtaek campus and 2020 in its Hwaseong campus.

With these efforts in place, Samsung Electronics is positioned to increase its use of renewable energy globally to match the equivalent amount of energy created by an average 3.1GW solar power plant by 2020. This amount of electricity is comparable to the annual energy consumption of about 115,000 four-person Korean households.

As part of its extended strategy, Samsung Electronics will also engage its partners across the supply chain. Beginning next year, Samsung plans to work with its top 100 partner companies to help them set their own renewable energy targets, in partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project Supply Chain Program, which the company intends to join next year.

“Samsung Electronics is fulfilling its duty as a corporate citizen by expanding and supporting the use of renewable energy. As demonstrated by our expanded commitment, we are focused on protecting our planet and are doing our part as a global environmental steward.” said Won Kyong Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Public Affairs, Samsung Electronics.

“We welcome Samsung Electronics’ declaration to expand the roll-out of renewable energy across its global sites,” said Jochem Verberne, Global Partnerships Director, WWF. “This is an important step and we look forward to working with Samsung on further measures to reduce the company’s climate impact across its value chains.”

Further details regarding the company’s renewable energy plans will be available in the Samsung Electronics Sustainability Report 2018 on June 15.

Rooftop solar panels on the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology site in Samsung Digital City, Suwon, installed in 2013

As part of Samsung Electronics’ efforts to source renewable energy, solar panels have been installed in parts of Samsung Digital City, Suwon

Beginning 2018, Samsung Electronics will additionally install a total of 63,000 ㎡ of solar arrays and geothermal power generation facilities in its Suwon, Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong campuses

The building’s centerpiece is C-Lab Square, a wide meeting space that allows staff to hold interactive workshops and seminars with the help of multimedia solutions. The C-Lab Factory, equipped with power and precision tools, 3D printers, a laser cutter and more, offers space for C-Lab hopefuls to get to work on the nitty-gritty of developing blueprints and prototypes. Meanwhile the Idea Lounge offers a book café, vending machines and sofas – an ideal place to head for those who need a rest from lab work.

To celebrate the opening of C-Lab Space, Samsung held a competition to select 12 final winners who made presentations based on their ideas, with an employee vote determining the results. The winning teams will now work on their projects for a year, and will soon be able to start using the C-Lab Space facilities to further develop their ideas.

Below is a peek at what’s going on inside the exciting new C-Lab Space complex.

C-lab staff work on their innovations at the C-Lab Factory.

A staff member reads away at his leisure in the Idea Lounge.

A competition took place at C-Lab Square, where employees voted to select 12 final projects.

C-Lab, established at the end of 2012, is one of Samsung’s primary Innovation Programs, and helps its employees to nurture creative business ideas, and to encourage creative thinking throughout the company. C-Lab has supported over 100 projects, and has participated at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), South by Southwest (SXSW), as well as other large-scale global tech gatherings.