Samsung Electronics Revamps Leadership to Sharpen Competitive Edge

Samsung Electronics announced significant leadership changes within its semiconductor division on November 27, reshuffling top executives in its memory and foundry units. Despite these changes, Vice Chairmen Jun Young-hyun and Han Jong-hee will continue to share leadership responsibilities. This reorganization, part of Samsung’s annual executive overhaul for 2025, is designed to enhance its position in the global semiconductor market.

As part of the reshuffle, two executives were promoted to president, while seven others were appointed to new roles. Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, who heads the Device Solutions (DS) division, will now oversee the memory business, succeeding President Lee Jung-bae. Jun, who last led the memory unit in 2017, is returning to this role after a seven-year interval.

Samsung’s struggling foundry business, which has recently posted multi-trillion won quarterly losses, will now be led by Han Jin-man, previously an executive vice president and president of Device Solutions America. Han, who was promoted to president in this reshuffle, brings extensive experience in DRAM and NAND flash development, as well as strategic marketing within the semiconductor division.

To strengthen the foundry unit, Samsung has introduced a chief technology officer (CTO) position at the president level, appointing Nam Seok-woo, the former head of FAB Engineering & Operations, to the role. Nam, a specialist in semiconductor process development, has previously overseen the development of all memory products at Samsung’s semiconductor R&D center.

In another strategic move, Kim Yong-kwan, formerly the executive vice president of a business support taskforce, was promoted to president of management strategy for the DS division. His new role will involve identifying emerging business opportunities to fuel growth.

Additionally, Park Hark-kyu, a trusted aide of Chairman Lee Jae-Yong, was named president of the business support task force within the Device Experience (DX) division, which handles Samsung’s electronics products. Renowned for his expertise in finance and restructuring, Park is expected to work closely with Vice Chairman Jeong Hyeon-ho to strengthen the division.

The DX Division, under Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee, will see minimal changes as key unit leaders remain in their positions. Han will continue to oversee both the DX and Digital Appliances (DA) divisions.

Among other notable personnel shifts, Lee Won-jin, an advertising expert who previously worked at Google, will replace Lee Young-hee as head of global marketing. Meanwhile, Samsung Bioepis CEO Ko Han-sung will transition to lead Samsung Electronics’ future business planning unit, positioning the company for its next phase of growth.

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