UpFour.
Explained

Are LG and Samsung the Same Company? No — Here's the Difference

LG and Samsung are separate, competing South Korean companies with different founders and owners. Here is how they relate, and where they supply each other.

By Guides written from official Android and Samsung documentation, with every source linked and every article dated3 min read

Short answer

No. LG and Samsung are entirely separate companies. Both are South Korean conglomerates and direct competitors, founded by different families — Samsung in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul, LG in 1947 by Koo In-hwoi.

Two separate Korean companies. Samsung: Founded 1938 in Daegu, Founder Lee Byung-chul, Controlled by the Lee family, Headquartered in Suwon, Name means three stars. LG: Founded 1947 in Seoul, Founder Koo In-hwoi, Controlled by the Koo family, Headquartered in Seoul, Name from Lucky-Goldstar.
Founded nine years apart by different families. Direct competitors ever since.

LG and Samsung are not the same company, not owned by the same people, and not subsidiaries of one another. They are rivals, and among the most direct rivals in consumer electronics. For Samsung's own background, see is Samsung Korean or Japanese.

The two companies side by side

SamsungLG
CountrySouth KoreaSouth Korea
Founded1938, Daegu1947, Seoul
FounderLee Byung-chulKoo In-hwoi
Controlling familyLee familyKoo family
HeadquartersSuwonSeoul
Name origin"Three stars" in KoreanFrom Lucky-Goldstar

Both are chaebol — large, family-influenced Korean conglomerates — which is the main reason they get confused. They occupy similar positions in Korea's economy and sell overlapping products in the same shops.

Where the confusion comes from

  • Same country, same industries. Both make TVs, phones, monitors, fridges, washing machines and air conditioners.
  • Similar corporate structure. Both are sprawling family-influenced groups with many subsidiaries.
  • Adjacent shelf space. In a showroom the two sit side by side, in similar packaging, at similar prices.
  • LG supplies Samsung, and vice versa. They are competitors and suppliers to each other, which genuinely muddies the picture.

They compete — and supply each other

This is the part that surprises people. LG Display has supplied LCD panels used in some Samsung televisions, and Samsung has bought components from LG's parts businesses. LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI are both major battery manufacturers serving overlapping customers.

Cross-supply between rivals is completely normal in electronics. Samsung Display sells OLED panels to Apple, its largest competitor in smartphones. Component divisions sell to whoever will buy.

So "LG makes some parts inside Samsung products" is sometimes true, and it does not make them the same company any more than Samsung supplying Apple makes those two the same company.

Where they differ as brands

Choosing between them. Do: Phone — Samsung, since LG exited phones in 2021, OLED TV — LG for WOLED, Samsung for QD-OLED, both excellent, Appliances — compare the model, not the brand. Avoid: Assuming they are the same company, Assuming shared components mean shared ownership.
Compare the specific model rather than the badge — brand loyalty between these two is not well supported.

Televisions. LG is best known for WOLED panels, which it manufactures itself and sells to other brands. Samsung pushes QLED LCD sets and its own QD-OLED technology, made by Samsung Display. Both are OLED, built differently.

Phones. Samsung is the world's largest Android manufacturer. LG exited the smartphone business in 2021, so LG no longer makes phones at all. Existing LG phones stopped receiving updates some time ago.

Appliances. Both are major players and compete closely. Neither has a decisive general advantage.

Displays and monitors. LG Display and Samsung Display are two of the largest panel makers on earth, and direct competitors.

A brief history of each

Samsung began in 1938 as a trading company dealing in dried fish and groceries. It moved through textiles and insurance before founding Samsung Electronics in 1969, making black-and-white TVs, then committing heavily to semiconductors in the 1970s and 1980s.

LG started in 1947 as Lak-Hui Chemical Industrial (pronounced "Lucky"), making cosmetics. It later founded GoldStar to make radios and electronics. The two merged into Lucky-Goldstar, shortened to LG in 1995. The "Life's Good" slogan came afterwards as a backronym, not the origin.

Which should you buy?

They are close enough that the answer is per-product, not per-brand:

  • OLED TV — LG has the longer track record with WOLED; Samsung's QD-OLED is brighter and more colour-saturated. Both are excellent.
  • Phone — Samsung, by default. LG no longer makes them. If you are comparing Samsung models, see how much Samsung phones cost.
  • Appliances — compare the specific model, not the badge.
  • Monitor — both are strong; check the panel and the specification rather than the logo.

Compare the individual model and its reviews. Brand-level loyalty between these two is not well supported by the products.

Other Korean electronics brands

For completeness, since they are also frequently confused:

  • Hyundai and Kia — Korean, but automotive. Hyundai and Kia are related to each other; Hyundai holds a controlling stake in Kia.
  • SK Hynix — Korean, and the world's second-largest memory chip maker after Samsung.
  • Daewoo — a former Korean conglomerate, largely broken up after 1999; the brand persists on licensed products.

In short

No. Samsung and LG are two separate South Korean companies, founded by different families nine years apart, competing directly across televisions, appliances and displays. They occasionally supply each other with components, which is ordinary practice in the industry and does not indicate common ownership.

Frequently asked questions

Are LG and Samsung the same company?

No. They are entirely separate South Korean companies and direct competitors. Samsung was founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul and LG in 1947 by Koo In-hwoi, and they are controlled by different families.

Does LG make parts for Samsung?

Sometimes. LG Display has supplied LCD panels used in some Samsung TVs, and the two buy components from each other's parts divisions. Cross-supply between competitors is normal in electronics and does not mean shared ownership.

Does LG still make phones?

No. LG exited the smartphone business in 2021 and no longer produces phones. Existing LG handsets have stopped receiving software updates.

What does LG stand for?

LG comes from Lucky-Goldstar, the merger of Lak-Hui Chemical (pronounced Lucky) and GoldStar Electronics. It was shortened to LG in 1995. The Life's Good slogan was created afterwards.

Sources & further reading

Official documentation used while writing and checking this guide. Every link was verified at the last update.

  1. Samsung Global NewsroomSamsung
  2. Samsung phone specifications databaseGSMArena
#lg#samsung#south korea#company

Machine-readable version: Markdown source

Related guides