March 25, 2025
Samsung Electronics has announced the sudden passage of co-CEO Han Jong-hee, who died of heart attack on Tuesday, leaving newly appointed leader, Jun Young-hyun, as the sole chief executive at a critical time for the company.
The 63 years old Hans, had led Samsung’s consumer electronics and mobile devices division since becoming CEO in 2022.
Following his death, Samsung had confirmed in a regulatory filing that Jun, who was appointed co-CEO just last week at the annual shareholders’ meeting, will now oversee the entire company.
Han Jong-hee’s death comes as the South Korean tech giant struggles to regain its footing in the competitive semiconductor and smartphone markets.
Jun was previously promoted in 2024 to head the semiconductor division, which has lagged behind rivals such as SK Hynix and TSMC in the booming artificial intelligence chip sector.
In response to the news of Han’s death, Samsung’s shares fell by 0.5%, mirroring a broader decline in the South Korean stock market.
Samsung, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, has faced a turbulent period, with declining earnings and a slumping share price as it struggles to keep pace in advanced chipmaking and contract manufacturing.
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The company also recently lost its position as the top smartphone seller to Apple.
Han, who had been with Samsung for nearly 40 years, was instrumental in shaping the company’s global dominance in the television business.
His passage could have a long-term strategic implications, particularly in marketing and the home appliance sector, which faces rising trade uncertainties.
At last week’s shareholder meeting, Han acknowledged that 2025 would be a challenging year, pledging that Samsung would adapt to new U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump by leveraging its global supply chain.His absence now raises questions about the company’s ability to navigate these geopolitical and economic challenges.
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Reuters, had reported that in the semiconductor sector, Samsung trails SK Hynix in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which companies like Nvidia (NVDA.O) depend on for AI graphics processing units.
“I sincerely apologise for the recent stock performance not meeting your expectations. Over the past year, our company failed to respond effectively to the rapidly evolving AI semiconductor market,” said Han.
Han was set to attend Samsung’s launch event for new home appliances on Wednesday.
Sources indicate that Samsung is also looking to expand its footprint in the automotive electronics market as part of its growth strategy.Meanwhile, Samsung chairman Jay Y. Lee, currently in China for the China Development Forum, visited Xiaomi’s (1810.HK) car factory in Beijing and BYD’s headquarters in Shenzhen.
Samsung declined to comment on Lee’s visit to China.
Lee has faced legal challenges for the past decade, following his father Lee Kun-hee’s heart attack in 2014.
Although he was cleared of charges related to his succession of the family-owned conglomerate in February, prosecutors have appealed the court judgement.
