The Samsung Group (Korean: 삼성그룹) is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's largest chaebol and is the world's largest private conglomerate by revenue with an annual revenue of US $172.5 billion in 2009. The Samsung Group comprises numerous international affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand including Samsung Electronics, the world's largest technology company by sales; Samsung Heavy Industries, the world's second largest shipbuilder; Samsung Engineering was ranked 35th, Samsung C&T 72nd in a 2009 ranking of 225 global construction firms compiled by the Engineering News-Record, a U.S. construction journal. Samsung Life Insurance was ranked 14th in a 2009 ranking of Fortune Global 500 Industries. Samsung Everland, South Korea's first theme park opened in 1976 as Yongin Farmland. It is now the fifth most popular theme park in the world, beating out Epcot, Disney MGM and Disney's Animal Kingdom. Cheil Worldwide operates as a subsidiary of Samsung Group and was ranked #19 among the "World's Top 50 Agency Companies" by revenue in 2010. Shilla Hotel, a subsidiary of the Samsung Group, has been ranked #58 among the "2009 World's Best Top 100 Hotels" in the annual reader survey conducted by the prestigious international business magazine, Institutional Investor.
The Best Overall Generalist Sales Force survey ranks 22 firms that participated in Institutional Investor’s 2007 All-Asia Research Team survey. Samsung Securities (Investment Bank) was ranked #14 among the "2007 All-Asia Best Overall Generalist Sales Force Rankings" by revenue in 2007.
Gartner’s “Market Share Analysis: Top 10 Consulting Providers’ Revenue, Growth and Market Share, Worldwide and Regional 2009” is intended as a tool for service providers. Samsung SDS was second in Asia Pacific with IBM topping the list, and Accenture third.
Samsung Group accounts for about a fifth of South Korea's total exports. In many domestic industries, Samsung Group is the sole monopoly dominating a single market; its revenue as large as some countries' total GDP. In 2006, Samsung Group would have been the 35th largest economy in the world if ranked, larger than that of Argentina. The company has a powerful influence on the country's economic development, politics, media and culture, being a major driving force behind the Miracle on the Han River. Many businesses today use Samsung's international success as a role model. Samsung bought Media Group in 2010.