[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] SamsungElectronics has become the first South Korean company to receive the highest rating in the Shared Growth Index evaluation for 15 consecutive years. The company was recognized for its contributions to win-win cooperation activities aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—including workforce development and the establishment of smart factories—beyond merely providing technical development and financial support to its partner companies.

SamsungElectronics announced on the 11th that it had earned the highest rating in the “2026 Shared Growth Index Evaluation” released by the Shared Growth Committee. SamsungElectronics is the only company to have received the highest rating for 15 consecutive years since the evaluation was introduced in 2011.

The Shared Growth Index is a metric that evaluates the level of shared growth between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is divided into five grades: Excellent, Good, Average, Insufficient, and Very Insufficient. This evaluation was based on performance in 2025.

SamsungElectronics has been expanding the scope of its mutual growth cooperation by extending support not only to first-, second-, and third-tier suppliers but also to SMEs with which it has no business relationship. In 2010, the company established a 1.4 trillion won mutual growth fund to provide low-interest loans for partner companies’ technology development and facility investments. In 2024, it established an 800 billion won Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) fund in partnership with South Korea’s five major financial holding companies. This fund provides interest-free loans to help small and medium-sized partner companies secure the facilities and technologies necessary for ESG management.

The company is also contributing to strengthening the technological competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises and fostering talent. Since 2009, SamsungElectronics has hosted “Outstanding Technology Briefings” to showcase technologies from domestic universities and research institutions, and has opened up some of its patents to small and medium-sized enterprises, transferring more than 2,500 patents free of charge to date. In 2013, the company established the Win-Win Cooperation Academy to provide job-specific training—including manufacturing, quality, procurement, and sales—to employees of partner companies. To date, approximately 270,000 people have completed the training, and the company has supported the hiring of about 9,800 people through partner company job fairs and online recruitment portals.

Since 2015, SamsungElectronics has supported the construction of customized smart factories at 3,600 locations nationwide for small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2018, in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs, the company expanded its support to include even SMEs with which it has no business relationship; this year, through the “Smart Factory 4.0” initiative, it is also supporting the adoption of manufacturing AI solutions. In addition, the company has been recognized for its contributions through ongoing educational initiatives for youth and adolescents, such as the Samsung Youth SW & AI Academy (SSAFY) and Samsung Dream Class.