The last few months of any given year are supposed to be busy ones for Samsung, with their latest Galaxy Note handset supposed to be flying off of shelves. So far however, this hasn’t been the case, and samsung has had to deal with a product recall for the Galaxy Note 7, their latest in the prestigious line of larger-than-life devices. The recall has been down to exploding batteries, something which Samsung has apparently found a solution to. Amid the fallout from this, we’ve seen Samsung’s stock price take a substantial hit, and now, the South Korean firm is mixing things up at the top, speeding up the succession of Jay Y. Lee, son of Samsung’s Lee Kun-hee.
In the fallout from the Galaxy Note 7 recall, it’s been announced that the board of Samsung Electronics, often referred to as the beating heart of the Samsung Group, has elected Jay Y. Lee as its Director. This is important for a number of reasons, but not least due to the fact that Jay Y. Lee is seen as the heir apparent to the Samsung Group as a whole, following the hospitalization of Lee Kun-hee back in 2014 at the hands of a heart attack. In South Korea, there is a lot of talk surrounding Y. Lee’s move to the top of Samsung, and many see it as a way for the family heart of Samsung to keep going. Whether or not he has the skills needed to keep the company performing well, will no doubt be proven with this new appointment. Reuters is quoting those “familiar with the matter” as saying that “rather than wait until next year’s annual meeting in March, the thinking was Samsung has a lot of things coming, so sooner rather than later.”
This is the sort of move that will no doubt have been all over the news in South Korea, but perhaps one that might not mean much to us here in the West. For Samsung, this move could perhaps give them a newfound confidence in amongst the turmoil that the Galaxy Note 7 recall has no doubt delivered the firm. Regardless, it looks as if the long-rumored “ascension to the throne” for Jay Y. Lee is finally underway.