Samsung Electronics co-CEO Han Jong-Hee died from cardiac arrest on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the South Korean tech giant. Han was 63.
Born in 1962, Han had overseen Samsung’s consumer electronics and mobile devices businesses since 2022, according to the company. He was named Samsung Electronics vice chairman and CEO in 2022. Han’s co-CEO, Jun Young-Hyun, was appointed to the position last week.
In an internal message, Samsung paid tribute to Han, stating, “He dedicated more than 37 years of his life to leading Samsung’s TV business to become a global leader.”
The company added, “Our deepest condolences are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
No announcement has been made regarding Han’s successor, according to the spokesperson.
About Han Jong-Hee
Han joined Samsung Electronics nearly 40 years ago. He built his career in the TV business. Han became vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics in 2022. He was also one of the company’s board members.
He chaired Samsung’s shareholder meeting last week, where he and other executives were grilled by shareholders after the company’s failure to ride an artificial intelligence boom made it one of the worst-performing tech stocks last year.
In semiconductors, Samsung lags behind SK Hynix in HBM chips that Nvidia and others rely on for AI graphic processing units.
“First and foremost, I sincerely apologise for the recent stock performance not meeting your expectations. Over the past year, our company failed to adequately respond to the rapidly evolving AI semiconductor market,” Han said.
He was scheduled to attend Samsung’s launch event for new home appliances on Wednesday.
