Samsung Electronics dismisses the speculation that the head of the underachieving mobile division will leave. Heir of Samsung Group chooses to keep the man that was appointed by his ill father.
The weak smartphone sales performance, along with the worst earnings for the past three years, made staff at Samsung nervous for the annual reshuffle. Most fear of losing their jobs, but co-chief executive J.K. Shin is sure that he is still the head of Electronics unit's mobile division regardless of dropping sales of smartphones.
Semiconductor business chief, Kwon Oh-hyun, and consumer electronics head, Yoon Boo-keun, also retained their jobs.
Analyst said Jay Y. Lee, successor and only son of Samsung's patriarch Lee Kun-hee, chose to keep his father's key people in order to ensure stability and strengthen his own position.
Head of local research firm Chaebul.com, Chung Sun-sup, said, "With Samsung undergoing major changes in the midst of the succession process, like selling affiliates and listing units, it would have been too unsettling to change leadership."
Chung said that it may be too much for Lee to change the people his father assigned.
Head of corporate watchdog CEO Score, Park Ju-gun, said Lee, whose father is still in the hospital following a heart attack in May, needs time to maintain his position in South Korea's largest conglomerate.
Senior Vice President Lee June of Samsung Groups told reporters that Shin was a major player in ensuring Samsung Electronic's top status in the handsets business in a global scale.
With rivals Apple and Xiaomi Technology bumping down the brand, Samsung's shares in the smartphone market decreased for the last three quarters that lead to speculations that Shin's stay with Samsung will end soon.
According to Samsung Electronics insiders, employees's are now focusing on the follow-up management reshuffle and reorganization plans that will happen later this week.
