Lee Jae-yong Shares Management Plans for the Year with Presidents at First New Year's Dinner

On January 2, the first working day of the new year, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong hosted a New Year's dinner for the presidents of Samsung's affiliates. With the company's key executives in full attendance, Chairman Lee reportedly discussed his management plans for the year, along with strategies to accelerate the transition to artificial intelligence (AI) and the recovery of the semiconductor business.

Yonhap News

The dinner began at around 5:30 p.m. and ended at approximately 8:20 p.m. at the Samsung Electronics Seocho Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The menu was reportedly a course meal prepared by Hotel Shilla.

Attendees included Roh Tae-moon, President and Head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division and CEO of Samsung Electronics; Yong Seok-woo, President and Head of the Visual Display Business; Han Jin-man, President and Head of the Foundry Business in the Device Solutions (DS) Division; and Lee Cheong, President and CEO of Samsung Display.

At the event, Chairman Lee is believed to have emphasized market trends and technological leadership, including artificial intelligence (AI).

Samsung Electronics has set its vision as an "AI-driven company" and is driving a company-wide transition to AI. In the New Year's address delivered earlier that day to all employees by former Vice Chairman and President Roh, the company's ambition to become a leading AI company was also highlighted.

As concerns about a "Samsung crisis," which surfaced early last year, have recently eased due to the recovery of the semiconductor business, industry observers believe that Chairman Lee called on executives to make their utmost efforts.

Until 2014, Samsung held the New Year's dinner for its presidents to coincide with the birthday (January 9) of the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee. However, since Chairman Lee Jae-yong took office, the dinner has been held on the first working day of the new year, starting in 2023.