Samsung’s junior Lee to be made president

Samsung’s junior Lee to be made president

Lee Jae-yong, chief operating officer (COO) Father-to-son succession process begins By Kim Tae-gyu, Kim Yoo-chul Lee Jae-yong, 42, the only son of Samsung Group owner Lee Kun-hee, will be promoted to president of Samsung Electronics in a year-end reshuffle at the conglomerate, Samsung officials said Tuesday. The confirmation came after the senior Lee, now chairman of Samsung Electronics, talked of promoting his son, now chief operating officer (COO) at the flagship firm, at Gimpo International Airport on his return from the Guangzhou Asian Games. Lee said “yes” twice, when asked about the promotion. The promotion will start the father-to-son succession at Samsung but at what speed is another matter. Officials said that the senior Lee will still be in charge. “We don’t expect the junior Lee to be CEO of the firm for now,” an official said. However, it is widely speculated that the senior Lee has finally made up his mind about his son being his successor, meaning that his two daughters will be given other tasks in possible spinoffs at the group. The 68-year-old leader of Korea’s largest business empire talked about the need for a new generation of young blood at the conglomerate last month. Previously, Chairman Lee had answered, “I don’t know” to the same question on his son’s promotion last weekend when the International Olympic Committee member took a flight to attend the Asian Games. This has prompted analysts to guess that he made the decision during his short stay in China. Joining Samsung Electronics in 1991, the junior Lee was elevated to executive vice president last year. Executive vice president is not so high a rank in Samsung Electronics, the world’s top maker of memory chips and flat-panel displays, as the outfit comprises a pair of vice chairmen and a total of 17 presidents. However, Lee has already assumed a significant role as COO at the firm during the past year under the stewardship of CEO Choi Gee-sung and eventually under the auspices of his father, Chairman Lee. If the 42-year-old is promoted for two years in a row, the father-to-son power transfer is projected to accelerate with old-generation executives being replaced by younger talent. “Young people will help Samsung make faster judgments in order to get ahead and keep ahead... Besides, young people are more adaptable to new cultures and the changing surroundings,” Chairman Lee was quoted as saying recently. From the perspective of ordinary people, it might be very fast for a new recruit to become president of the country’s largest firm in 20 years. In particular, the junior Lee spent several years out of Samsung studying in Japan and the United States. From the viewpoint of third-generation businesspeople, however, things might differ. Lee is representative of the third-generation of businessmen as the grandchild of the late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull. For example, Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun was made president in 2005 of sister company Kia Motors around 10 years after he entered Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, the country’s runner-up chaebol. At the age of 39, the only son of group Chairman Chung Mong-koo was promoted to vice chairman midway through last year. Regarding the 2011 management strategies, Chairman Lee said, “It will be tough (next year) but we will put forth efforts to chalk up profits like this year.” According to the tycoon, he is also well aware that Japanese companies are trailing Samsung closely. “In fact, the chase started a couple of years ago. We will continue to focus on our own tasks (to remain ahead of the pack).” 삼성 인사폭풍? 이재용 부사장 승진 이재용 삼성전자 부사장이 연말 사장단 인사에서 사장으로 승진할 것으로 예측된다. 이에 따라 삼성그룹의 전체 인사도 이재용 체제를 뒷받침하는 방향으로 진행될 것으로 예상된다. 이건희 삼성전자 회장은 17일 중국 광저우 아시아 경기를 참관하고 김포공항을 통해 입국하면서 “아드님 승진을 결정했느냐?”라는 기자들의 질문에 “예”라고 두 번 대답했다. 이 부사장의 승진을 기정사실화 한 것이다. 이 회장은 최근 부쩍 젊은 조직론, 젊은 인재론을 펼쳐 연말 인사에서 이재용 부사장의 승진이 예측되었다. 지난 주말 이 회장이 광저우로 떠날 때만해도 이 부사장의 승진 여부에 대해 “아직 잘 모르겠다”고 대답한 것에 비추어 광저우에 머물면서 결심을 굳힌 것으로 보인다. 삼성전자는 이 회장 이외에 부회장 2명, 사장 17명 체제를 유지하고 있어 부사장이 아주 높은 지위는 아니지만 이 부사장은 회사 전체 총괄 운영 책임자(COO)로 이미 중요한 역할을 맡고 있다.

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