Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/12/05/samsung_promotes_heir_apparent/
Samsung anoints chairman's son and heir as vice-chairman
Set to be third generation of family to run giant chaebol
Posted in On-Prem, 5th December 2012 14:02 GMT
Samsung Electronics has promoted the son and heir apparent of its chairman to the job of vice chairman.
Jay Y Lee, son of chairman Lee Kun-hee, is already chief operating officer and president and is widely expected to be his father's successor.
"The promotion of Jay Y. Lee recognises his outstanding achievements as a leader of innovation and as a change agent, which has led to Samsung becoming one of the world’s beloved brands and to a commensurate rise in shareholder value," the firm said in a canned statement.
"Mr. Lee has also made invaluable contributions to the unprecedented growth of Samsung’s smartphone and TV businesses."
The Samsung group was started by Lee Byung-chull, Jay Lee's grandfather, and the electronics business is the most well-known arm of the giant South Korean family-run firm, known as a chaebol.
Politicians in the country have promised to democratise economics in the country, as ordinary Koreans express anger at how top-earning jobs are kept in the family. ®