[Edaily Reporter SOYEON KIM ] SamsungElectronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee will mark the fourth anniversary of his inauguration on the 27th. Over the past four years, Chairman Lee has emphasized investment in the future even amid crises, and is now preparing for a new leap forward, building on SamsungElectronics’ record-breaking performance. With core businesses—centered on artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors—experiencing a boom, sustaining this growth momentum through technology investment, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and organizational restructuring is expected to be the litmus test of his future leadership.

◇ JY Prioritizes Future Growth Over Short-Term Results

According to business circles on the 25th, Chairman Lee is not expected to hold any separate official events or issue a public message to mark the fourth anniversary of his appointment on the 27th. He did not deliver an inaugural address when he took office in October 2022 either; instead, on the second anniversary of the late Chairman Lee Kun-Hee’s passing, he shared his reflections on the company’s internal bulletin board, stating, “Now is the time to move forward more boldly and challengingly.” He also did not issue a separate message during the memorial service for the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee on the 23rd, marking the sixth anniversary of his passing.

Chairman Lee has consistently emphasized the importance of a sense of crisis and future investment, calling for fundamental structural reforms at Samsung. At a seminar for executives last March, he stated, “What matters is not the crisis itself, but our attitude toward dealing with it,” adding, “We must invest in the future even if it means sacrificing immediate profits.” He has thus placed greater emphasis on securing technological competitiveness and a foundation for future growth than on short-term performance.

SamsungElectronics continues to set new records among Big Tech companies, with operating profits reaching 57 trillion won in the first quarter, 89 trillion won in the second quarter, and 107 trillion won in the third quarter of this year. The consensus estimate (average of securities firms’ forecasts) for next year’s annual operating profit stands at 560 trillion won. Since receiving an acquittal from the Supreme Court last year, Chairman Lee has been on a global offensive, securing large-scale contracts from Big Tech companies such as Tesla and Apple.

SamsungElectronics is accelerating its recovery in semiconductor technology competitiveness by becoming the first in the world to successfully mass-produce sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4). Amid Chairman Lee’s reminder last January that “this is no time to be complacent just because the numbers have improved slightly—this is our last chance to regain competitiveness,” expectations are growing that SamsungElectronics’ position in the global HBM market will strengthen further as it expands HBM4 supply in the second half of this year.

◇ Funds Secured from Semiconductors… Attention on Additional M&A

SamsungElectronics is expected to secure funds to invest in next-generation semiconductors and new businesses thanks to the memory market’s unprecedented boom. In particular, the possibility of additional M&A in areas such as robotics, automotive electronics, and AI is being discussed. SamsungElectronics has been pursuing portfolio diversification to enhance the competitiveness of its existing businesses while securing new growth engines.

Following last year’s acquisitions of the German HVAC company Flakt Group, the audio division of U.S.-based Masimo, and the digital healthcare firm Xealth, SamsungElectronics has also decided to acquire the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) business of Germany’s ZF through its subsidiary Harman. In the robotics sector, it laid the groundwork for business expansion by making Rainbow Robotics a subsidiary.

Samsung Electronics also strengthened its organizational foundation for identifying future business opportunities last year by formally elevating the Business Support Office to a full-fledged division and establishing an internal M&A team. It is reported that the company is reviewing additional acquisition targets in areas such as AI, HVAC, medtech, robotics, automotive electronics, and fintech. As its investment capacity has grown, the restructuring of its business portfolio through large-scale M&A is expected to accelerate.

◇ From Organizational Reform to Resolving Conflicts… A Test of Leadership

The company is also accelerating organizational restructuring and executive appointments to support its future growth strategy. SamsungElectronics has been bringing Chairman Lee’s “New Samsung” vision to life through regular personnel changes and organizational restructuring. Last July, it established the RX Business Promotion Office—a unit dedicated to the robotics business—directly under the CEO of the Consumer Electronics (DX) Division, thereby bolstering efforts to foster future businesses.

The business community is focusing its attention on the regular executive reshuffle, which is expected to take place as early as next month. SamsungElectronics has conducted its regular personnel reshuffle at the end of November for the past three years. Given Chairman Lee’s consistent emphasis on fundamental competitiveness, the selection of next-generation leadership to drive the AI transformation (AX) is expected to be a key point of interest in this reshuffle.

Internal organizational integration remains a challenge to be addressed. As the performance gap between the Semiconductor (DS) and Digital Experience (DX) divisions widens due to record-breaking results in the DS sector, it has become crucial to resolve conflicts among employees—in addition to labor-management disputes—and strengthen organizational cohesion. A business sector official stated, “To translate the semiconductor boom into sustainable growth, the company must secure future growth engines externally through technology investment and M&A, while simultaneously achieving internal organizational integration and leadership renewal.”