Samsung Shuffles Leadership: Jun Young-hyun to Head Struggling Semiconductor Unit

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. has appointed Jun Young-hyun, vice chairman and head of its future business division, as the new leader of its device solutions (DS) division, which oversees the semiconductor business. This unexpected reshuffle announced on Tuesday, comes as the tech giant faces challenges in the global semiconductor market.

The decision to replace the previous head of the semiconductor division, who also served as co-CEO, highlights Samsung’s strategic move to enhance its competitiveness amidst intense market pressures and lagging performance in the artificial intelligence boom. 

Samsung Electronics announced on Tuesday that former Vice Chairman Jeon Young-hyun has been appointed as the new head of the DS Division. This reshuffling has upgraded the head of the DS Division from president to vice president, transitioning Samsung from a ‘two-top’ to a ‘three-top’ system. The new system now includes Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee, head of the Device Experience (DX) Division, and Jeong Hyun-ho, head of the Business Support TF.

This strategic leadership change comes in response to Samsung’s worst semiconductor performance in 15 years, with added losses and criticism for lagging in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technologies essential for AI chips. The company aims to enhance its semiconductor business’s competitiveness by introducing new leadership and overhauling its organizational structure.

In a statement, Samsung Electronics said the personnel change was made to boost its semiconductor competitiveness amid an uncertain global business environment. Under Jun Young-hyun’s leadership, the company is determined to innovate technology and rejuvenate the corporate atmosphere to achieve a technological lead in semiconductors. 

Jun faces the immediate challenge of regaining leadership in the high-bandwidth memory market, currently dominated by SK hynix Inc., which has outpaced Samsung in this high-value, high-performance memory segment critical for AI advancements.

Jeon Young-hyun, earlier working with LG Semiconductor, joined Samsung Electronics’ memory division. He later became head of the memory division, earning a reputation as a ‘semiconductor legend.’ In 2017, he moved to Samsung SDI as CEO, where he led the electric vehicle battery business.

Samsung’s semiconductor division faces fierce competition from SK Hynix, which has exclusively supplied Nvidia Corp., the leader in the GPU market, with its 5th generation HBM, HBM3E (8-layer), since March 2024. 

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to Samsung’s booth at GTC 2024 and his endorsement of the HBM3E 12-layer product with a “JENSEN APPROVED” note signals strong industry support for Samsung’s efforts to reclaim its leadership in the high-bandwidth memory market.

To regain its market position, Samsung plans to mass-produce its industry-first HBM3E 12-layer product in the second quarter of 2024. This new product poses manufacturing challenges due to its complex stacking requirements and showcases Samsung’s memory, foundry, and packaging expertise. 

Samsung Electronics stated that Jeon Young-Hyun played a key role in elevating the company’s memory semiconductor and battery business to a global leadership position. The company was confident that his extensive management experience would help overcome the semiconductor crisis. 

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