TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Willington Ngwepe to step down as Icasa CEO

      10 August 2022

      Samsung unveils its latest foldable smartphones

      10 August 2022

      Cape Town’s DataProphet expands funding to R165-million

      10 August 2022

      The tech proves it: South African women are better drivers than men

      10 August 2022

      BT, Seacom sign ‘strategic alliance’ for enterprise services

      10 August 2022
    • World

      Jumia says it’s past peak losses, shares jump

      10 August 2022

      Elon Musk sells $6.9-billion of Tesla to avoid Twitter fire sale

      10 August 2022

      Nvidia issues profit warning on slump in demand for graphics cards

      8 August 2022

      Buterin: Mining on Ethereum Classic won’t affect Merge

      8 August 2022

      Musk challenges Twitter CEO to a public debate

      7 August 2022
    • In-depth

      The length of Earth’s days has been increasing – and no one knows why

      7 August 2022

      As Facebook fades, the Mad Men of advertising stage a comeback

      2 August 2022

      Crypto breaks the rules. That’s the point

      27 July 2022

      E-mail scams are getting chillingly personal

      17 July 2022

      Webb telescope’s stunning images of the cosmos

      12 July 2022
    • Podcasts

      e4’s Adri Führi on encouraging more women into tech careers

      10 August 2022

      How South Africa can woo more women into tech

      4 August 2022

      Book and check-in via WhatsApp? FlySafair is on it

      28 July 2022

      Interview: Why Dell’s next-gen PowerEdge servers change the game

      28 July 2022

      Demystifying the complexity of AI – fact vs fiction

      6 July 2022
    • Opinion

      SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

      19 July 2022

      No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

      11 July 2022

      Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

      8 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»World»In surprise move, Samsung Electronics CEO to step down

    In surprise move, Samsung Electronics CEO to step down

    World By Agency Staff13 October 2017
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Samsung’s new Galaxy Note8 smartphone

    The CEO of Samsung Electronics is stepping down in a surprise resignation after decades at the company, saying it needed new leadership following a bribery scandal that led to the imprisonment of its de facto chief.

    Kwon Oh-hyun, who also serves as co-vice chairman, announced his retirement on Friday as the Suwon-based company reported record operating income of 14.5 trillion won (US$12.8bn) on booming demand for displays and memory chips. He said the company faces an “unprecedented crisis” despite the financial success.

    Kwon had emerged as the public face of Samsung Electronics after Jay Y Lee, grandson of the company’s founder, was detained on corruption charges and then sentenced to five years in prison in August amid a scandal that brought down South Korea’s president. While the latest financial results show Samsung’s business units operating smoothly, that in itself may present risks for Kwon, said Park Ju-gun, who tracks corporate executives at CEOScore.

    Nobody wants to be the chief of Samsung Electronics at a time like this; it’s too risky. It puts that person at odds with the controlling family

    “Nobody wants to be the chief of Samsung Electronics at a time like this; it’s too risky,” said Park. “It puts that person at odds with the controlling family. Only when he is in the shadow is he playing his role properly.”

    Friday’s results didn’t include net income or break out divisional performance. Final numbers are usually released two weeks later. Samsung’s shares fell less than 1% by midday Friday in Seoul. They have climbed more than 50% this year.

    Kwon, a semiconductor engineer who turns 65 this month, has met with President Moon Jae-in and attended events both at home and abroad since Lee was detained in February on corruption charges. Kwon will resign from the management board in March next year when his term ends, the company said.

    ‘Unprecedented crisis’

    “As we are confronted with unprecedented crisis inside out, I believe that time has now come for the company start anew, with a new spirit and young leadership to better respond to challenges arising from the rapidly changing IT industry,” Kwon said in the statement.

    Samsung has had a long tradition of stressing crisis even in good times for the business. Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who transformed the company from a copycat appliance maker to a global technology leader, said in 2010 that Samsung was entering a “real crisis”, just after the company achieved record annual sales of more than 130 trillion won.

    Jay Y Lee

    Lee has denied any wrongdoing and is appealing his conviction.

    Mark Newman, senior research analyst at Sanford C Bernstein said Kwon’s top deputies, President JK Shin, who is in charge of mobile products, or Kim Ki-nam, president of Samsung’s semiconductor business, may be in line to succeed Kwon.

    “It’s definitely unexpected,” Newman said. “I think the company is going to be fine. The company just needs to find a way to fill this hole that Kwon is leaving.”

    It’s the chip prices that are driving up the profit rather than the sales volumes. We’re expecting an operating profit of about 16 trillion won in the next quarter

    Samsung Electronics is the crown jewel of a conglomerate comprised of about 60 units selling selling life insurance, cargo ships and clothes.

    Despite the trial, the company’s business has remained robust, helped by strong demand for memory chips. Contract prices for 32GB DRAM server modules climbed 7.2% in the September quarter from the June period while prices for 128GB MLC NAND flash memory chips rose 4.7% in the same period, according to inSpectrum Tech.

    “It’s the chip prices that are driving up the profit rather than the sales volumes,” said Park Kang-ho, an analyst at Daishin Securities. “We’re expecting an operating profit of about 16 trillion won in the next quarter.”

    Samsung also leads in the next generation of screens called organic light-emitting diode displays, supplying them to Apple and other smartphone makers, even as it competes for dominance in the global market. It’s also seeking to release a phone with a bendable display next year to tighten the lead with Apple and fend off challenges from Huawei Technologies, Oppo and other Chinese rivals.

    Samsung is counting on the S8 and Note8 smartphones released this year to recover from last year’s debacle with the Note7. The company may benefit if Apple is unable to deliver a high volume of iPhone X smartphones as planned this year.  — Reported by Sam Kim, (c) 2017 Bloomberg LP

    Apple Jay Y Lee Kwon Oh-hyun Samsung Samsung Electronics top
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleStorms ‘wreak havoc’ on Telkom’s Openserve
    Next Article Court defeat means Jacob Zuma is running out of road

    Related Posts

    Samsung unveils its latest foldable smartphones

    10 August 2022

    Jumia says it’s past peak losses, shares jump

    10 August 2022

    Elon Musk sells $6.9-billion of Tesla to avoid Twitter fire sale

    10 August 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    How secure is your cloud?

    10 August 2022

    5 ways to make attack-path management more manageable

    10 August 2022

    Smart homes need even smarter Wi-Fi

    10 August 2022
    Opinion

    SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

    19 July 2022

    No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

    11 July 2022

    Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

    8 July 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.