In a surprise move, Samsung announced on Friday that its CEO and vice chairman Kwon Oh-hyun is to step down. Kwon was expected to take a bigger role at the company after de facto leader J Y Lee was arrested and jailed for bribery, but his surprise resignation has deepened concerns of a power vacuum.

25567317362 311a4fbaf6 b

"It is something I had been thinking long and hard about for quite some time. It has not been an easy decision, but I feel I can no longer put it off," Kwon said in a letter sent to employees. "As we are confronted with unprecedented crisis inside out, I believe that time has now come for the company to start anew, with a new spirit and young leadership to better respond to challenges arising from the rapidly changing IT industry."

The news came on the same day that Samsung forecast record third-quarter operating profit thanks to its thriving memory chip business, which has allowed the South Korean tech giant to brush off a punishing period in 2016 in which the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 recall made the biggest tech headlines.

Semiconductors were Samsung's top earner in the three months through June, making a record 8 trillion won ($7.19 billion). While memory chips were responsible for most of Samsung's profits, its mobile phone business was given a boost by its new Note 8 smartphone which received the company's highest number of pre-orders.

The timing of the announcement and Kwon's references to an "unprecedented crisis" suggest that Samsung is gearing up for major changes to its operational structure and internal culture following Lee's corruption scandal, but the move also increases uncertainty as to who will fill the gap that Kwon leaves.

Kwon has essentially functioned as the number two in Samsung Group, being not only the chairman of the board and a board director, but also head of the components business and Samsung Display. Also known as "Mr Chip", Kwon was instrumental in making Samsung's semiconductor business a global leader.

"We are fortunately making record earnings right now, but this is the fruit of past decisions and investments," continued Kwon in the letter. "We are not able to even get close to finding new growth engines by reading future trends right now."

Kwon said he will see out his term as chairman of the board and board director until March 2018, and will remain in his two other roles during the same period.

Tag: Samsung

Top Rated Comments

maflynn Avatar
96 months ago
Because..?
This is why:
Multiple Korean politicians and Samsung upper management were found illegally taking bribes and collusion. They are in jail.
They were caught with their hands in the cookie jar so to speak. With record profits, I'm not sure why someone would be so quick to resign. There's definitely more to the story that is not being told.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scottsoapbox Avatar
96 months ago
Now we can also enjoy forum posts about how Kwon Oh-hyun would have never let this happen. :cool:
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ntombi Avatar
96 months ago
No growth, riiight.

2nd largest global hip company.
Huge upstairs on servers and VM with onboard VNAND SSD’s,
Larger and faster requests for RAM chips,
Cars, friedges, home voice activated devices (echo Alexa etc), debuting,
More entrants into space exploration satellites etc!

And you think there is NO growth?! Riiight
Did you even read the OP, or did you jump right to the comments?

@Appl3FTW didn’t make it up, this is straight from Kwon’s resignation letter:

"We are fortunately making record earnings right now, but this is the fruit of past decisions and investments," continued Kwon in the letter. "We are not able to even get close to finding new growth engines by reading future trends right now."
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cljmac Avatar
96 months ago
Multiple Korean politicians and Samsung upper management were found illegally taking bribes and collusion. They are in jail.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
96 months ago
Because..?
Because they engaged in a bribery scandal which saw the heir to the company sentenced to five years in prison AND brought down the President of South Korea? Not to mention perjury about the secret deals they cut with the political class in SK to give them advantages directly through the nation's government to enrich their company and the owners. Certainly that's enough for you?
[doublepost=1507904271][/doublepost]
If I'm not mistaken Samsung makes the best displays and also provides components to many iPhone parts.

Clearly Apple likes them to a certain degree. So let's cut the fanboy crap.
I like diamonds. That doesn't mean I think blood diamonds are okay.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeepIn2U Avatar
96 months ago
If you read between the lines... he’s bailing out because he sees no growth in Samsung and they are going to be stagnant or behind in the future. He said the benefits they’re enjoying right now we’re from the previous investments. He sees nothing and they’re not doing anything right now for the next phase. Bahaha Samsung will fall.
No growth, riiight.

2nd largest global hip company.
Huge upstairs on servers and VM with onboard VNAND SSD’s,
Larger and faster requests for RAM chips,
Cars, friedges, home voice activated devices (echo Alexa etc), debuting,
More entrants into space exploration satellites etc!

And you think there is NO growth?! Riiight
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
iphone air concept weis

iPhone 17 Air Could Look Like This in Real Life

Friday February 14, 2025 3:41 am PST by
There have been several alleged leaked details of the iPhone 17 Air, Apple's rumored new slim iPhone, but images have been limited to grainy shots taken in component factories. However, this hyper-realistic concept created by WEIS Studio gives us the best idea yet of what Apple's thin device might actually look like. The concept design is inspired by recent leaks indicating that the device...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
M4 Mac mini Apple Video

Apple's Refurbished Mac Mini Pricing Has a Problem

Thursday February 13, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple this week began selling refurbished Mac mini models with the M4 chip for the first time, but this has led to a pricing conundrum. In the United States, Apple is offering a refurbished Mac mini with the base M4 chip, 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and Gigabit Ethernet for $509, down from $599 new. This is the standard 15% discount that Apple offers on refurbished Macs. The issue is...