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Samsung Electronics shifts to English as written communication standard overseas

Published: 02 Feb. 2026, 17:40 Updated: 02 Feb. 2026, 18:02

A Samsung Electronics logo and a computer motherboard appear in this illustration taken on Aug. 25, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Samsung Electronics will use English as the standard language for written communication with its overseas subsidiaries to reduce delays and redundant work caused by translation and to speed up global collaboration, business sources said on Monday.

“We will unify written communication between Korea and overseas subsidiaries under a global standard so that colleagues around the world can connect as one global team and collaborate more seamlessly," Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon said in an internal message.

The new global communication guide will begin a pilot program this month before full implementation in March. The guidelines will first apply to Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display and Samsung Biologics before expanding to other affiliates.

Under the guidelines, all work-related emails and attached documents exchanged between Korea and overseas subsidiaries must use English from the initial drafting stage. Overseas subsidiaries must also prepare internal reports in English.

The policy applies to reports and official documents, including files created in Excel, PowerPoint and Word. It excludes verbal conversations, messaging apps, personal notes, draft materials for review and simple working-level coordination documents. Subsidiaries in non-English-speaking countries, on the other hand, may continue to use local languages for internal official documents.

Roh also urged employees to make more active use of AI tools such as Copilot and Knox Meeting. His comments followed feedback at a recent executive seminar held at Samsung's Human Resources Development Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi, where participants pointed out that the company underutilized AI tools despite having access to them.

Samsung Electronics employed about 137,000 staff overseas as of the end of last year, exceeding its domestic workforce of about 125,000. Some units have already moved toward routine English usage.

The foundry business within Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions Division and some units at Samsung Bioepis have prepared reports and materials and run meetings in English since last year.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE YOUNG-KEUN [[email protected]]