tylerd

Brian Roemmele has been preaching this for some time. Check out his Quora article for more insights:

lkrupp said:

Okay, let's get something straight. The Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese don't like each other and it goes back centuries or even millennia. The Chinese and Japanese are said to consider Koreans to be the mutts of Asia. So reports of Chinese selecting phones other than Samsung should not surprise anyone. Racism is a player here.

This is broadly true, but more accurately, it's Chinese and Koreans that share a dislike of the Japanese. For context, look into the history of WW2 and specifically the way that the Japanese treated Koreans and Chinese (and even more specifically, how they treated the women of those countries).

The Chinese have had good relations with the Koreans until recently. In the past year, the Chinese have become generally more nationalistic, and they do not like the military support that South Korea has given to the USA. The Koreans allowed us to install a missile defense system that the Chinese government strongly opposes. This has led to mass boycotts of Korean made products and businesses that were previously quite popular. 

(FYI I lived in Beijing and Seoul until recently)

I lived in Beijing until recently, and when you're on the ground there, you get to understand some details about Chinese culture. The middle to upper class really appreciate luxury foreign goods. This can be Mercedes cars to LV bags. Apple products fall into the same category. The masses may buy cheap domestic phones, but the people that have money are willing to spend on quality (whether perceived or actual).

gatorguy said:

sog35 said:

nothing will come of this.

lets face it.  30% of the Korean economy is Samsung. Unless Samsung wants this guy in jail, he ain't going to jail.

even if he's found guility, the Korean president will simply pardon him

Of course something will come of it if he's guilty. You've apparently not been following recent stories about Korean government and the current recently-impeached President selling influence in her administration. It's a big deal. Read the story.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-politics-samsung-group-idUSKBN14V0G6

Hi @gatorguy ; - As @Rayz2016 stated, South Korea is quick to pardon the guilty chaobol (family owned conglomerates) in Korea. The fact that Park is now also being persecuted probably won't change things much. Unfortunately, it is known that these companies routinely bribe politicians and judges. 

Here is an example of a chaebol leader getting off in the interest of "revitalizing the economy", but there are many other cases:

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/park-grants-pardon-to-chaebol-chief

And don't forget about Lee Kun-hee of Samsung (the father of the aforementioned). Here's the tl;dr from the WP article below:

"That sentiment has intensified in recent years, a period during which Samsung has obstructed price-fixing investigations — drawing only minor fines — and seen its chairman indicted for financial crimes, only to receive a presidential pardon “in the national interest,” as a government spokesman put it."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-s-korea-the-republic-of-samsung/2012/12/09/71215420-3de1-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_story.html

I used to live there, so I have a lot of exposure with the Koreans. The corruption is very overt.

Side note: They LOVE Apple there. That store is going to be HUGE