Samsung Electronics CEO, Chairman and Head of Components business, Kwon Oh-Hyun announced his resignation from the company’s management. Kwon’s resignation is the latest management upheaval in the company, following the imprisonment of the de facto chief Jay Y. Lee.
In a letter to the employees, Kwon said he had been thinking about his departure “for quite some time” and could “no longer put it off.” Kwon also serves on the board of Samsung Electronics but will step down from all his roles by March 2018. “I believe that time has now come for the company (to) start anew, with a new spirit and young leadership to better respond to challenges arising from the rapidly changing IT industry,” he added in the letter.
Kwon also added the company was “confronted with unprecedented crisis inside out,” referring to the imprisonment of Jay Y. Lee on corruption charges. Kwon’s resignation shows the bribery charges on Jay Lee could have had a major impact on the company’s operations and culture. The South Korean tech giant was also supposed to report their operating profits for the quarter ending in September. The leadership troubles, however, have not affected the company’s earnings. The projected operating rate of the company nearly tripled in three months, compared to a year ago. The company expects to have made around $ 54.7 billion in revenue and $ 12.8 billion in operating profits. This latest quarter reports mark the highest ever quarterly figure representing a 28% increase in year on year revenue and a 170% jump in operating profits.
Kwon joined Samsung in 1985 as a researcher and took on the position of the CEO in 2012. He was made the chief executive officer of Samsung Display in 2016. According to a spokesperson for Samsung, a successor will be appointed for the company very soon. Speaking about Samsung, Kwon said he was proud of being a part of one of the most valuable companies in the world.“But now the company needs a new leader more than ever and it is time for me to move to the next chapter of my life,” he added.