ILLUSTRATION. FILE PHOTO – The logo of amsung Electronics is seen at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
Source: Reuters | Editor: Thomas Hadiwinata
KONTAN.CO.ID – SEOUL. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Tuesday (7/12) said it would merge its mobile and consumer electronics divisions, as well as appoint a new co-CEO. Samsung carried out the biggest organizational overhaul since 2017 to simplify its structure and focus on growing its logic chip business.
It is the latest sign of centralized change at the world’s largest maker of memory chips and smartphones, after Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee was granted parole in August last year from bribery.
The head of the visual display business, Han Jong-hee, was promoted to vice chairman and co-CEO, and will head the merged division, which covers mobile and consumer electronics. Han also remained as the leader of the TV business.
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Han has built his career in Samsung’s visual display business unit, and has never had any contact with the mobile phone business. Analysts said it was not clear what kind of change or division of labor would be expected under Han.
Kyung Kye-hyun, CEO of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, was appointed co-CEO of Samsung Electronics and will lead the chip and components division.
Merged businesses have different scales. The cellular business reported operating profit for the July-September period of 3.36 trillion won, or the equivalent of more than IDR 41 trillion. Meanwhile, consumer electronics generated a net profit of 760 billion won, or Rp 9.3 trillion.
The overhaul will help Samsung meet the challenges it faces in the mobile and consumer electronics business markets. This includes connecting devices to equipment on platforms that acquire and retain customers, said Yuanta Securities Korea analyst Lee Jae-yun.
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