Did you know: Samsung once burned 150,000 phones just to make a point

Actions speak louder than words. That was the mindset of Samsung’s late Chairman, Lee Kun-hee. Back in the 90s, he was fed up with the company’s direction. He was a man obsessed with quality, which was something Samsung wasn’t exactly known for in those days.

In 1995, when defect rates for Samsung’s phones hit an all-time high, Lee figured out that all those speeches about quality he was making weren’t having the effect he was hoping for. So, he decided to make his point with a move so bold it became company legend: he gathered a few thousand employees in a factory courtyard and burned 150,000 Samsung phones right in front of them.