Samsung SDI Board Chairman Jeon Young-hyun Appointed as Head (Vice Chairman)
New Business Unit Established Directly Under CEO
Samsung Electronics chose to maintain the existing 'two-top system' led by Han Jong-hee, head of the DX (Device Experience) division (Vice Chairman), and Kyung Kye-hyun, head of the DS (Semiconductor) division (President), in its regular executive reshuffle for 2024, opting for management stability. While aiming for management stability, the company also established a new dedicated organization for new business ventures, led by Jeon Young-hyun, chairman of the Samsung SDI board, as the head (Vice Chairman).
Jong-hee Han, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, Head of the DX Division, and Head of the Home Appliances Business Division
◆Maintaining the Two-Person CEO System of Han Jong-hee and Kyung Kye-hyun
On the 27th, Samsung Electronics announced its 2024 regular executive reshuffle involving a total of five people, including two promotions to president and three changes in assigned duties. The two-person CEO system, led by Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee, who oversees mobile and consumer electronics, and President Kyung Kye-hyun, who is in charge of the semiconductor business, will be maintained in 2024. Analysts suggest that a large-scale personnel overhaul was difficult due to judicial risks, such as the recent prosecution seeking five years imprisonment and a 500 million KRW fine against Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong for alleged unfair merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.
However, the scope of duties assigned to Vice Chairman Han and President Kyung will be slightly adjusted to strengthen the capabilities of each business unit. Vice Chairman Han will relinquish his concurrent role as head of the Visual Display Business Division and will focus solely on the DX division and the Home Appliance Business Division. The position of head of the Visual Display Business Division, which handles the TV business, will be taken over by Yong Seok-woo, Vice President and Deputy Head of the Visual Display Business Division under the DX division, who will be promoted to president. Yong is a TV development expert. Since December 2021, he has served as development team leader and since December 2022 as deputy head, leading TV business growth across technology, sales, and strategy. With the TV market demand expected to remain sluggish through next year, he faces the challenge of further solidifying Samsung’s leading position in the TV business and strengthening technological leadership to prevent Chinese companies from catching up.
President Kyung, who must drive the recovery of the semiconductor market, will concurrently serve as head of the DS division and director of SAIT (Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, formerly the Comprehensive Technology Institute). SAIT is an organization that researches and develops future technologies on a 10 to 20-year horizon. Assigning the top semiconductor executive to lead Samsung Electronics’ most advanced R&D organization is expected to strengthen R&D in new technologies that can converge with semiconductors.
Kyung Kye-hyun, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics and Head of the DS Division, Director of SAIT
◆Establishment of Future Business Planning Group to Lead Samsung Electronics’ Future Growth
The most notable feature of this reshuffle is the establishment of the 'Future Business Planning Group' at the vice chairman level to discover new business areas beyond the existing businesses, while maintaining the two-person CEO system and pursuing management stability. The Future Business Planning Group will operate directly under the CEO.
Although Samsung is currently advancing future businesses such as foundry-centered non-memory semiconductors and bio sectors, there have been continuous criticisms that the company’s growth momentum has weakened. The creation of a dedicated new business organization can be interpreted as an effort to maintain a 'super-gap' position in memory semiconductors, secondary batteries, and to revitalize organizational morale.
Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman and head of Samsung Electronics’ Future Business Planning Group, is recognized as a key figure who has grown Samsung’s memory semiconductor and battery businesses to world-class levels. After serving as CEO of Samsung SDI, he has continued to demonstrate leadership as chairman of the board.
Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman and Head of Future Business Planning Group at Samsung Electronics
During his tenure as head of the Memory Business Division (President), Jeon worked alongside Kwon Oh-hyun, head of the DS division, and Kim Ki-nam, president of semiconductor operations, to lay the foundation for the memory 'super cycle' boom in 2017-2018. He accurately predicted the increasing demand for memory semiconductors such as DRAM and NAND flash. Additionally, while serving as CEO of Samsung SDI, he mass-produced the next-generation lithium-ion battery 'Gen5' and supplied it to major automakers like BMW. He later served as chairman of the Korea Battery Industry Association, leaving a significant mark in the secondary battery business and R&D.
Samsung Electronics stated about Vice Chairman Jeon, who will lead the new organization, "Based on his accumulated rich management know-how and forward-looking insight, he is expected to lead the discovery of future growth engines that will transform Samsung’s paradigm over the next 10 years." The company added, "We expect him to build a sustainable growth foundation by strengthening core business competitiveness and developing unprecedented technologies."
Meanwhile, Kim Won-kyung, who served as head of the Global Public Affairs team in Samsung Electronics’ DX division management support office, was promoted to president. He is a global external cooperation expert with a background in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Leveraging his extensive network and communication skills, he will serve as head of Global Public Affairs following his promotion, contributing to building global cooperative relationships. Kim Yi-tae, who served as head of Samsung Electronics’ external cooperation team and global media group, has been appointed as the new CEO of Samsung Venture Investment.
Samsung Electronics conducted this year’s regular executive reshuffle about a week earlier than the usual first week of December. This was to quickly recover from the poor performance of the semiconductor and DX division’s DA (home appliance) business units, which recorded a cumulative deficit of 12.7 trillion KRW in the first to third quarters, and to swiftly revitalize the organizational atmosphere.
Samsung Electronics plans to finalize and announce the 2024 regular executive appointments and organizational restructuring for positions below vice president soon. A global strategy meeting will be held in mid-next month to discuss next year’s business plans.
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