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Appointment of Shin Jeyoon as Chairman of the Board
Samsung Electronics has restored its 'two-top system' by appointing Jeon Young-hyun, head of the DS Division (Vice Chairman), as CEO alongside Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee. By putting a veteran leading Samsung's semiconductor business at the forefront, the company aims to achieve both 'responsible management' and 'semiconductor innovation.'
On the 19th, Samsung Electronics officially appointed Vice Chairman Jeon Young-hyun as CEO through a resolution at the board meeting held immediately after the 56th regular shareholders' meeting. This established a dual CEO system with Han Jong-hee and Jeon Young-hyun.
Vice Chairman Jeon was appointed head of the DS (Device Solutions) Division in May last year and was named CEO Vice Chairman in the regular executive personnel reshuffle at the end of November of the same year. He joined Samsung Electronics' Memory Business Division in 2000 and went through roles in DRAM and flash development, strategic marketing, and served as head of the Memory Business Division from 2014. In 2017, he moved to Samsung SDI and served as CEO for five years. Last year, he was appointed head of Samsung Electronics' Future Business Planning Group, taking charge of discovering future growth engines for Samsung Electronics and its affiliates.
Samsung Electronics expects that Vice Chairman Jeon, who comes from a 'development engineer' background, will improve the performance of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business and restore fundamental competitiveness based on his accumulated technical expertise and management know-how. Since he was appointed as an inside director at the shareholders' meeting, he is also tasked with 'responsible management.'
Additionally, Samsung Electronics appointed Shin Je-yoon, an outside director (former Financial Services Commission Chairman), as chairman of the board at the same board meeting. This is the third case where an outside director has served as chairman, following Chairman Park Jae-wan in 2020 and former Chairman Kim Han-jo.
Samsung Electronics separated the roles of board chairman and CEO in March 2018 and appointed an outside director as board chairman for the first time in February 2020. This move aims to strengthen the independence of the board and enhance management transparency.
Chairman Shin Je-yoon has served as an outside director of Samsung Electronics since March last year. He is recognized as an international finance and financial expert, having held positions such as Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Chair of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Ambassador for International Financial Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Chairman of the Youth Financial Education Council. Based on his global financial network, Chairman Shin is expected to demonstrate strengths in understanding global financial market trends and investor communication going forward.
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