Samsung stakeholders have been left reeling after one of the firm’s three chief executives confirmed his resignation late last week.
“I believe the time has come for the company to start anew with new spirit and young leadership to better respond to challenges,” said Kwon Oh-hyun, who is considered the company’s second in command.
The timing has confused many as it had been predicted that Kwon would take on a bigger role within the organisation following the recent departure of a number of other execs, including former chairman Jay Y. Lee.
Lee, the heir to the entire Samsung group, was sentenced to five years in prison back in August after being found guilty of bribery and embezzlement charges.
The timing has caused further confusion as the resignation came on the same day Samsung posted record third quarter profits. However, it seems Kwon has been considering the move for some time and said in a statement that he could “no longer put it off.”
“We are fortunately making record earnings right now, but this is the fruit of past decisions and investments; we are not able to even get close to finding new growth engines by reading future trends right now,” he said.
Despite the sudden resignation, Kwon will remain with the company for some time with plans to serve on the board until March 2018.
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