Samsung unveils new unit to explore new business opportunities

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of memory chips and smartphones, said on Monday it has established a unit tasked with exploring new business opportunities, as part of the electronics giant's annual reshuffle of its top-level executives.

The unit, called the "Future Business Planning Division," will be led by longtime Samsung executive Jun Young-hyun, currently vice chairman of Samsung SDI Co., a display unit of Samsung Group, the company said in a statement.

The annual reshuffle saw two co-CEOs of Samsung Electronics -- Han Jong-hee and Kyung Kye-hyun -- retain their posts, in an apparent move to stabilize the company's leadership, about a year after Chairman Lee Jae-yong took the helm, reports Yonhap news agency.

The unit was "created to explore new business opportunities beyond its existing operations," Samsung Electronics said in the statement.

Under the reshuffle, two vice presidents were also promoted.

Yong Seok-woo, who has served in various capacities at the company's display division, was promoted to a president and will be in charge of the display division.

Kim Won-kyong, a former diplomat who joined Samsung Electronics in 2012, was promoted to a president and will head the company's division on global public affairs.

Samsung's latest reshuffle was smaller in scope compared with past ones. Last year, a total of seven executives were promoted to president, including Lee Young-hee, the company's first-ever female president.

The latest reshuffle is also seen as a sign that Samsung is moving to tap more younger talents for top-level executive positions, with Yong becoming the first-ever company president born in the 1970s.

The reshuffle came as a prolonged global economic downturn and a struggling semiconductor industry have cast a cloud over Samsung Electronics' quarterly performance.

In the first and second quarters of this year, Samsung Electronics posted 640.2 billion won ($491 million) and 668.5 billion won in operating profit, respectively, marking the lowest quarterly earnings since the first quarter of 2009.