SEOUL • South Korea's Samsung Electronics yesterday said it will merge its mobile and consumer electronics divisions and named new co-chief executives in its biggest reshuffle since 2017 to simplify its structure and focus on growing its logic chip business.
The sweeping move is the latest sign of centralised change at the world's largest memory chip and smartphone maker, after vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong was paroled in August from a bribery conviction.
The head of visual display business, Mr Han Jong-hee, was promoted to vice-chairman and co-CEO, and will lead the newly merged division spanning mobile and consumer electronics as well as continuing to lead the TV business.
Mr Han has risen through the ranks in Samsung's visual display business, without experience in mobile.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics' CEO Kyung Kye-hyun was named co-CEO of Samsung Electronics and will lead the chip and components division.
The newly merged businesses differ in size. The mobile business made 3.36 trillion won (S$3.9 billion) in operating profit in the July-September quarter, compared with consumer electronics' 760 billion won.
Other high-profile promotions included naming as vice-chairman Mr Chung Hyun-ho, the head of a "task force" which analysts said is a central coordination unit for decision-making in Samsung Electronics and affiliate companies.
"There may be more prompt execution of funds or decision-making," said Meritz Securities analyst Kim Sun-woo.
The last time that Samsung Electronics named new chief executives was in late 2017.
The Samsung Group is focusing on areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics and biopharmaceuticals, and plans to invest 240 trillion won in these fields in the next three years.
Group flagship Samsung Electronics is aiming to overtake TSMC to become No. 1 in chip contract manufacturing by 2030 by investing about US$150 billion (S$205 billion) in logic chip businesses including foundries.
Late last month, Samsung chose Taylor, Texas as the site of a planned US$17 billion chip plant in the United States after months of deliberation, coinciding with Mr Lee's first business trip to the country in five years.
REUTERS
