“Let us go beyond the Samsung of today and build a true global top-tier company. I will stand at the forefront.”

This was an excerpt from a post titled "Challenges for the Future," uploaded by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong to the company's internal bulletin board on October 27, 2022, the day he assumed the chairmanship. At the time, Chairman Lee diagnosed, "Unfortunately, over the past few years, we have not been able to move forward." At the same time, he emphasized, "Now is the time to act more boldly and with greater challenge."

True to the chairman’s pledge, over the past four years, Samsung has completely surpassed the "Samsung of that era." In 2022, Samsung Electronics’ annual operating profit stood at around 43 trillion won, but this year it is estimated to reach an astonishing 372 trillion won—making it a company generating more profit than formidable tech giants such as Nvidia, Apple, and Google.

Quietly Welcoming the 4th Anniversary of Inauguration

Chairman Lee will mark the fourth anniversary of his inauguration on the 27th. Samsung is reported to have prepared no separate messages or events for the occasion. The greatest achievements made by Chairman Lee over the past four years are widely cited as the recovery of technological competitiveness and the achievement of record-high earnings. Once experiencing a shaky position in the memory semiconductor sector, Samsung Electronics overwhelmed its competitors in February of this year by mass-producing the world’s first 6th-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4). Sales and operating profits have continuously broken record highs.

The foundry business, selected by Chairman Lee as a new growth engine, has expanded its global market presence by securing orders from big tech clients such as Google, Nvidia, and Broadcom. Meanwhile, the Mobile Experience (MX) Business Division, which oversees smartphones, created a sensation in the market by launching the ‘Galaxy Z Fold 8’, the world's first foldable phone to apply a passport-style form factor. Not only Samsung Electronics but also key affiliates such as Samsung Biologics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Life Insurance, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance are seeing an upward trajectory in their performance.

In business circles, Chairman Lee's leadership is pointed to as one of the core backbones enabling Samsung’s high-flying streak. Since taking office, the chairman has emphasized the necessity of organizational culture innovation. A prime example is when he educated affiliate executives on the "Samsung-ness" and presented them with crystal plaques inscribed with the phrase: "A Samsung person strong in crises, skilled at reversals, and ruthless in winning."

Analyses also suggest that Chairman Lee’s global network has shone brightly. Over the past year, he has met with numerous global big shots to explore cooperation plans, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Evaluations suggest that this network significantly influenced Samsung Electronics' ability to sign an HBM supply contract with Nvidia and secure massive orders from Tesla, Apple, and others.

Piling Challenges, Including Labor-Labor Conflicts

However, a mountain of tasks remains to be solved. Chairman Lee has named Artificial Intelligence Transformation (AX) as one of the key future tasks, ordering that all business value chains be integrated with AI. Many analysts point out that AX must be further accelerated to yield concrete results.

Recent labor-labor conflicts surrounding performance bonuses are also a difficult challenge for the chairman to resolve. The widening gap in bonuses between the semiconductor and non-semiconductor divisions has intensified internal strife among employees, leading to broader social conflicts.

Organizational restructuring and executive personnel reshuffles are also crucial variables. Over the past three years, Samsung Electronics has been conducting regular personnel appointments in late November—earlier than usual—to formulate next year’s business strategies more swiftly. When Chairman Lee will return as a registered board member is also a point of major interest in the business community.

Meanwhile, core electronics affiliates such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung SDI are reportedly set to officially handle "CEO succession candidate group reports" as formal agenda items during their board meetings ahead of this week's third-quarter earnings announcements.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]