SMARTPHONE giant Samsung’s CEO Han Jong-hee has suddenly died at the age of 63.
Han, who put the tech company’s television business on the global stage, reportedly died of a heart attack.
Avalon.redHan Jong-hee attends a press conference at CES 2025, the world’s largest consumer electronics show[/caption]
EPASamsung Electronics Co. Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee speaks during the company’s annual general meeting at the Suwon Convention Center in Suwon, South Korea[/caption]
A Samsung spokesperson said: “Han Jong-hee died from cardiac arrest today.”
Han joined Samsung in 1988 and was seen as having played a key role in getting its high-end TV sets noticed worldwide.
He was credited by the company with taking Samsung televisions “to the pinnacle of the global market” – and keeping them there.
The firm wrote in a company biography published earlier this month: “Han was central in the unveiling of Samsung’s world-class LED TVs.
“His numerous other innovations enabled the company to continually demonstrate its technology leadership.”
Han was not part of the Samsung family, which still dominates the company, with third-generation leader Lee Jae-yong the current chief of Samsung Electronics.
Jun Young Hyun, the semiconductor chief executive, will now take over Hans’s duties as the company’s sole CEO, Samsung said in a regulatory filing.
He was survived by his wife and three children.
Han’s death comes as the world’s largest memory-chip maker faces business headwinds in its race to produce chips used in artificial intelligence.
Analysts have said Samsung was struggling to meet demand for chips used in AI servers, especially from US titan Nvidia.
Kim Dae-jong, professor of business administration at Sejong University in Seoul, said that Han’s death could deal a blow to Samsung’s strategy to keep its number one place in the global TV market.
He added: “Considering he has been deeply involved in Samsung’s TV business for decades, helping it firmly secure its global standing, his absence could affect its global strategy for years to come.”
Samsung, like other TV titans LG and TCL, has been packing ever more AI into huge screens that are inching towards being digital assistants capable of chatting with users and other devices in homes.
At the company’s general meeting of shareholders last week, the last public event Han attended, he also noted that the company would need fresh momentum to gain an edge in the competitive AI field.
“We will continue to pioneer in various areas such as robotics, medtech and next-generation semiconductors to secure new growth momentum,” he told the meeting.
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