Samsung Electronics' de facto leader Lee Jae-yong during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit on May 20, 2022 in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. |
Samsung Electronics' de facto leader Jay Y. Lee was named executive chairman on Thursday, a symbolic move confirming that South Korea's most valuable company will be officially run by the third generation of its founding family.
The change reflects a role Lee, 54, has held since his
father, the late patriarch and Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, was
hospitalized in 2014, analysts said. The elder Lee died in 2020.
Lee has been vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, the crown
jewel of South Korea's biggest business conglomerate, since 2012.
"The Board cited the current uncertain global business
environment and the pressing need for stronger accountability and business
stability in approving the recommendation," Samsung said in a statement.
The appointment comes as Samsung, the world's biggest maker
of memory chips and smartphones, faces mounting business headwinds amid a sharp
downturn in worldwide tech demand, caused by soaring inflation, interest rates
and a gloomy economic outlook.
Samsung reported a 31% drop in third-quarter profit on
Thursday and said geopolitical uncertainties were likely to dampen demand until
early 2023, as the global economic downturn slashed appetite for electronic
devices.
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