Renault Samsung Motors is a South Korean automobile manufacturer. It was first established as Samsung Motors in 1994 and started selling cars in 1998, just before South Korea was hit by the Asian financial crisis. Negotiations with Renault started in December 1998 and in September 2000 Renault bought a 70% stake for $560 million. Samsung Motors was created after the Samsung's Chairman Kun Hee Lee recognized the automobile industry as the culmination of several other industries. For the Samsung group this would allow to leverage resources and technologies from the entire group including... Samsung Electrics and Samsung Electronics. Unfortunately for Samsung shortly after Samsung Motors was established the Asian financial crisis hit. Samsung divested itself of SMI as well as other non-core subsidiaries. SMI was put up for sale, with Daewoo Motors being one of the first interested companies but as the crisis deepened was itself bought by GM. Hyundai Motors was also considered as a possible buyer, but corporate politics and strife between the Samsung Group and the Hyundai Group made this impossible. Coupled with his personal affection for cars, Mr.
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