An 11-year-old Samsung investor attended the company’s general shareholder meeting on Friday and scolded its top executives over the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. The shareholder — known only by his last name Yu — stood up during the meeting and commented on the last year’s debacle that resulted in Samsung issuing two recalls before ultimately discontinuing its Android-powered phablet. The fifth-grader said he’s hoping that another fiasco of the Galaxy Note 7’s magnitude won’t happen again regardless of how long Samsung takes to develop its next high-end smartphone. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun noted Yu’s remarks and labeled his actions as “historical,” adding that the 11-year-old might be the youngest Samsung shareholder ever and promising that the company will reflect on his comments.
That turn of events must have put young Yu’s mind at ease seeing how he admitted he was nervous before speaking out as he never attended a general shareholder meeting before. The 11-year-old reportedly owns two shares of the South Korean tech giant which he purchased after saving some of his pocket money. He also doesn’t own a smartphone yet but told reporters he’s looking to buy the LG V20, seemingly unphased by the fact that the device he wants was made by a direct competitor of the company he invested in.
The lighthearted exchange between Yu and Kwon aside, Samsung’s latest general shareholder meeting wasn’t particularly pleasant as numerous investors criticized the company over the corruption scandal that saw its Vice Chairman and de facto heir Jay Y. Lee arrested and seemingly suspended the firm’s plans to split into two and adopt a holding company model with the goal of unlocking additional shareholder value. Likewise, the 11-year-old investor wasn’t the only one who was troubled by the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco as his sentiment was mimicked by numerous other shareholders, while some requested Samsung to compensate families of its former employees who died of leukemia that was possibly connected to the working conditions in the company’s chip-making factories. Regarding the Galaxy Note 7 debacle in particular, Samsung is hoping to start making amends for it with the upcoming Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus which will be unveiled next Wednesday, March 29.