Samsung Electronics will hold a board meeting on Tuesday to discuss new director nominations to be proposed at next month’s shareholders’ meeting.
According to industry insiders, the board will review nominations for both internal and external directors for approval at the upcoming meeting.
Samsung’s board currently consists of nine members: three internal and six external directors. According to the company’s bylaws, the board must have between three and fourteen members, with external directors making up at least three members and the majority, by Korean commercial law.
The internal directors are Han Jong Hee, head of the Device Experience (DX) division (Vice Chairman); Roh Tae Moon, head of the Mobile Experience (MX) division (President); and Lee Jung Bae, an advisor and former head of the Memory Business Unit.
The external directors are Kim Han Jo, Chairman of the Hana Financial Public Interest Foundation (Board Chair); Kim Jun Sung, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at the National University of Singapore; Heo Eun Nyung, Deputy Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering at Seoul National University; Yoo Myung Hee, former Trade Negotiation Chief; Shin Je Yoon, former Chairman of the Financial Services Commission; and Cho Hye Kyung, a professor at Hansung University specializing in AI applications.
Traditionally, the internal board members include the heads of the DX, DS (Device Solutions), and MX divisions, with additional appointments varying based on company needs.
Last year, Samsung’s internal board started with five members but was reduced to three after Kyung Gye Hyun, head of the DS division, resigned in May. At the end of the year, Park Hak Kyu, head of the DX division’s Management Support Office (CFO and President), was reassigned as President in charge of the Business Support Task Force following an organizational restructuring, stepping down from the board and reducing the number of internal directors to three.
The current internal director, Lee Jung Bae, is expected to leave on March 15. Roh Tae Moon’s term also expires, but given his stable leadership in the smartphone business, his reappointment is likely.
Jeon Young Hyun, currently an unregistered executive and head of the DX division, will be appointed as the new internal director. In last November’s restructuring, he also took on the role of head of the Memory Business Unit within the DX division, emphasizing the strengthening of semiconductor competitiveness with a focus on memory. The possibility of additional appointments is another key point of interest.
Board Chair Kim Han Jo and CIO Kim Jun Jun Sung face term expiration among the six external directors. Kim Han Jo will step down after completing a six-year tenure, including one reappointment. Kim Jun Sung, appointed in 2022, is eligible for reappointment.
Samsung is projected to appoint semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) experts as new external directors, continuing its trend from last year when it hired robotics specialist Professor Cho Hye Kyung.
Once the new board is formed, the new chair will be selected after next month’s shareholders’ meeting. Shin Je Yoon, the oldest and most senior external director, is considered a strong candidate.