(clockwise) Samsung Electronics President Koh Dong-jin, Samsung Bioepis President Koh Han-seung, President Chung of Samsung Advanced Technology Institute, President Han In-kyu of Hotel Shilla’s Duty-free and logistics division, President Sung Yeol-woo of Samsung Group’s Future Strategy Office, and President Chung Hyun-ho of Samsung Group’s Future Strategy Office.(Photos:Samsung Group)

Samsung Business Group carried out a reshuffle of Samsung Group subsidiaries, promoting six executives to president and another to senior executive vice president and transferring eight others. Samsung Electronics top executives, including Kwon Oh-hyun, Vice Chairman in charge of Solutions; President Yoon Boo-ken of Consumer Electronics; and President Shin Jong-kyun of Mobile & Communications Business have been retained. But the presidents, who concurrently took the helm at each division, have handed over their jobs as the heads of their respective divisions to their junior executives. The move may be construed as the business group’s steps to ensure a smooth generational shift, industry analysts said.

Among the prominent rising figures are new Samsung Electronics President Koh Dong-jin, who replaces President Shin Jong-kyun as the new head of the Mobile & Communications Business Division. President Koh, born in 1961, is a graduate of Sungkyunkwan University.  He obtained a master’s degree in technology policy from University of Sussex, U.K. Koh held such positions as the president of Samsung Electronics’ European Mobile & Communications Research Institute and the chief of Samsung Electronics’ Mobible & Communications Development and Management Team. He was groomed as the successor of President Shin as he was promoted as the head of the research office of the division last December. 

Vice Chairman Kwon, who concurrently served as the president of Samsung Advanced Technology Institute, transferred his think tank job to Senior Executive Vice President Chung Chil-hee. New President Chung of Samsung Advanced Technology Institute held such positions as the head of the LSI Development Office of the Semiconductor Division, the chief of the Flash Development Office, and the president of the Semiconductor Research Institute. Chung is one of the prominent figures credited as Samsung Electronics’ “semiconductor legends.”

Samsung Electronics President Kim Ki-nam, who now takes helm at the overall Semiconductor Division and the System LSI Business Division, is additionally in charge of the Convergence Mobile & Communications Business Division designed to nurture new growth engines. 

Among the six new presidents are former senior executive vice president Chung Hyun-ho, who headed the personnel team of Samsung Business Group, and ex-senior vice president Sung Yeol-woo, who led the legal affairs team of the group. Senior Executive Vice President Koh Han-seung of Samsung Bioepis has been promoted to president & CEO of the company in recognition of his roles in creating the new bio business. 

Senior Executive Vice President Han In-kyu of Hotel Shilla has been promoted to president, who takes the helm at the duty-free and logistics division of Hotel Shilla. The group also conducted a regular personnel change for the year 2016, involving 294 promotions: promoting 29 to senior executive vice president, 68 to executive vice president and 197 others to vice president. 

The latest reshuffle is focused on making Samsung Electronics subsidiaries and other group subsidiaries slimmer and more efficient. 

The 294 executive promotions is the lowest level since 2009 when only 247 executives were promoted. 

Samsung Electro-Mechanics promoted 10 executives, including two to senior executive vice president, two to executive vice president and six others to vice president. In particular, new Senior Executive Vice President Huh Kang-hyun has been credited with developing Samsung Electro-Mechanics’s hit product, multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCC), and elevating the company to the top leader of the global MLCC market.