SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics announced on Tuesday that its co-CEO, Han Jong-hee, has passed away at the age of 63 due to cardiac arrest.
Han was responsible for the company’s consumer electronics and mobile devices division, while his co-CEO, Jun Young-hyun, managed the chip business for South Korea’s largest corporation. According to a company spokesperson, Han died in a hospital on Tuesday while receiving treatment for his condition, and a successor has yet to be named.
In morning trading, Samsung Electronics’ shares remained unchanged. The company has faced challenges in recent quarters, experiencing weak earnings and declining stock prices as it fell behind competitors in advanced memory chips and contract chip manufacturing, sectors that have seen strong demand driven by AI initiatives. Additionally, Samsung has lost its position as the leading smartphone manufacturer to Apple.
Having joined Samsung Electronics nearly four decades ago, Han built a successful career in the television sector. He was appointed vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics in 2022 and served as a board member.
Last week, he chaired a shareholder meeting where he and other executives faced tough questions regarding the company’s inability to capitalize on the AI boom, which contributed to its status as one of the poorest-performing tech stocks last year.
In the semiconductor market, Samsung is currently trailing behind SK Hynix in the production of HBM chips, which are essential for AI graphic processing units used by companies like Nvidia.
“I truly regret that our recent stock performance has not lived up to your expectations.” Over the past year, we have not responded effectively to the rapidly changing AI semiconductor landscape,” Han stated. He was set to participate in Samsung’s event for the launch of new home appliances on Wednesday.
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