SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) Co Ltd said on Tuesday it will merge its mobile and consumer electronics divisions, as it focuses on growing its logic chip business.
The sweeping move is the latest sign of change at the world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker, after Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee was paroled in August from a bribery conviction.
The head of visual display business, 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.
Han has risen through the ranks in Samsung (KS:005930)’s visual display business, without experience in mobile.
Kyung Kye-hyun, CEO of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, was named co-CEO of Samsung Electronics and will lead the chip and components division.
Samsung Group is focusing on areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics and biopharmaceuticals, and plans to invest 240 trillion won ($206 billion) 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 $150 billion into logic chip businesses including foundries.
Late last month, Samsung chose Taylor, Texas as the site of a planned $17 billion U.S. chip plant after months of deliberation, coinciding with Lee’s first business trip to the United States in five years.
