Samsung won't demote the leader who directed the company's mobile division on its rise to the top of the market, a revelation that puts to rest previous reports that J.K. Shin would be replaced when the company released its annual list of management changes.
Several sources had reported Samsung's three-CEO structure would be shaken up or even move to a more traditional formula when the company announced its latest changes in management.
B.K. Yoon, CEO of Samsung's Television and Home Appliances divisions, was expected to expand his role with the company by taking on Shin's post as CEO of Samsung Mobile.
After an announcement of management changes didn't include a demotion of Shin, June Lee, Samsung's head of corporate communications, indicated the Samsung Mobile CEO has earned the company's trust to steer his division out of its current slump.
"J.K. Shin has made big contributions in making Samsung Electronics the No. 1 maker of mobile phones," stated Lee. "The scope of personnel reshuffling is narrower than it has been before,"
While Shin retained his post, his unit lost D.J. Lee and no replacement was announced. Lee headed up Samsung Mobile's sales and marketing sector.
While the global market for smartphones grew approximately 27.2 percent in the third quarter of 2014, year over year, Samsung was the only mobile device manufacturer to suffer a slide in sales, according to IDC Research. Samsung remains the largest vendor of mobile devices by volume, but its 32.2 percent hold of the mobile market in the third quarter of 2013 slipped to 23.7 percent a year later.
"With continued competitive pressure from nearly every side coupled with cooling demand, the company's volumes have declined from their previous record highs at the start of the year," stated IDC.
While investors have begun to scrutinize Samsung's slumping mobile division, the company has maintained inefficiencies in ancillary operations and among partners have been making its mobile unit appear more stressed that it is.
To stabilize and to grant its mobile division more time to rebound, Samsung recently announced its intent to buy back approximately $2 billion of its shares. The buyback would be the first since 2007 and it would be the second-largest in the company's history.
Samsung expects to buy back the shares between Nov. 27 and Feb. 26, 2015, according to a regulatory filing.
