Samsung Electronics has appointed Lee Jae-yong – known in the West as Jay Y. Lee – as its executive chairman, giving formal control to the grandson of the company’s founder, South Korean tech giant announced today. The announcement came on the same day that Samsung launched a series of disappointing profit resultsas profits fell 23 percent compared to the previous quarter.
According to Samsung’s official announcement justifying the appointment, “in approving the recommendation, the board of directors has mentioned the current uncertain global business environment and the urgent need for stronger accountability and business stability.” Samsung is currently experiencing a slump in demand for several of its key companies, including memory chips, mobile phones and TVs. It does not expect demand to pick up again until the second half of next year.
Lee’s rise is unlikely to change much for the company in the short term, Bloomberg notes, as he has long served as Samsung’s de facto leader. But formally taking control means Lee can make bigger strategic decisions to steer the company through a turbulent economic period, including pushing through acquisitions, mergers and channeling investments in emerging technologies.
“We are without a doubt at a crucial moment”
Lee, 54, succeeds his father, Lee Kun-hee, as head of South Korea’s largest company after his death in October 2020. Lee Kun-hee had been out of work for years after suffering a heart attack in 2014. embroiled in a corruption and bribery scandal since 2017 and sent to prison twice. Lee was given a presidential pardon in August of this year, paving the way for him to take formal control of the electronics giant. The pardon was reminiscent of the two given to Lee’s father, who was convicted of corruption and tax evasion in 1996 and 2008.
“We are without a doubt at a pivotal moment,” Lee said in a statement Bloomberg. “Now is the time to plan our next step. Now is the time to act, to be bold and steadfast in our focus.”
