Samsung Promotes Chairman’s Daughter to Key Position

[Anonymous]

Samsung Promotes Chairman’s Daughter to Key Position
By Min-Jeong Lee

Samsung Group, South Korea’s biggest conglomerate whose flagship unit includes Samsung Electronics Co, unveiled its annual promotions on Monday most of which were relatively low-key. Except for one:  the promotion a daughter of Chairman Lee Kun-hee to a key role.

The group said it will promote Lee Seo-hyun, one of Mr. Lee’s two daughters, as president of a division at  Samsung Everland Inc., which is controlled by the Lee family and serves as a de facto holding company for the group.

Samsung Everland also operates an amusement park and has long been used as a key investment vehicle in maintaining the family’s ownership over the roughly 80 Samsung affiliates.

The move is being interpreted as one of the many incremental steps Samsung has to take for a transition of power from Chairman Lee to his three children — son Jay Y. and daughters Boo-jin and Seo-hyun.

Lee Kun-hee and his three children held a combined 46% stake in Samsung Everland at the end of September, with the two daughters  each owning a 8.37% stake. Lee Boo-jin already has an executive position within Samsung Everland.

Ms. Lee’s appointment follows a recent decision by affiliate Cheil Industries Inc.  to sell its fashion business to Samsung Everland for 1.05 trillion won ($992 million), saying the company will focus on making chemicals and materials that are used in electronic devices instead.

Around the same time last year, Jay Lee was promoted to vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, which was also interpreted as taking him closer to eventually heading the world’s biggest smartphone maker.

Samsung Group currently functions like a control tower for major management decisions but it isn’t a legal entity.

Samsung’s annual management reshuffle, which is announced over the course of several days, usually includes promotions and transition of jobs for many senior executives.

In Monday’s announcement, Samsung Electronics also named a new chief executive for its display unit, Park Dong-gun, replacing Kim Kinam. Mr. Kim will take on a new role as the head of the memory-chip unit, the company said in a statement.

Lee Seo-hyun, a daughter of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

Samsung Promotes Chairman’s Daughter to Key Position
By Min-Jeong Lee

Samsung Group, South Korea’s biggest conglomerate whose flagship unit includes Samsung Electronics Co, unveiled its annual promotions on Monday most of which were relatively low-key. Except for one:  the promotion a daughter of Chairman Lee Kun-hee to a key role.

The group said it will promote Lee Seo-hyun, one of Mr. Lee’s two daughters, as president of a division at  Samsung Everland Inc., which is controlled by the Lee family and serves as a de facto holding company for the group.

Samsung Everland also operates an amusement park and has long been used as a key investment vehicle in maintaining the family’s ownership over the roughly 80 Samsung affiliates.

The move is being interpreted as one of the many incremental steps Samsung has to take for a transition of power from Chairman Lee to his three children — son Jay Y. and daughters Boo-jin and Seo-hyun.

Lee Kun-hee and his three children held a combined 46% stake in Samsung Everland at the end of September, with the two daughters  each owning a 8.37% stake. Lee Boo-jin already has an executive position within Samsung Everland.

Ms. Lee’s appointment follows a recent decision by affiliate Cheil Industries Inc.  to sell its fashion business to Samsung Everland for 1.05 trillion won ($992 million), saying the company will focus on making chemicals and materials that are used in electronic devices instead.

Around the same time last year, Jay Lee was promoted to vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, which was also interpreted as taking him closer to eventually heading the world’s biggest smartphone maker.

Samsung Group currently functions like a control tower for major management decisions but it isn’t a legal entity.

Samsung’s annual management reshuffle, which is announced over the course of several days, usually includes promotions and transition of jobs for many senior executives.

In Monday’s announcement, Samsung Electronics also named a new chief executive for its display unit, Park Dong-gun, replacing Kim Kinam. Mr. Kim will take on a new role as the head of the memory-chip unit, the company said in a statement.

Lee Seo-hyun, a daughter of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

[Author]

December 4, 2013 at 12:41 PM