Samsung CEO, Kwon Oh-hyun, Resigns Due To 'Unprecedented Crisis'

Samsung announced yesterday that Kwon Oh-hyun will be resigning as the one of the company’s CEOs. Kwon will also be leaving his posts at the company’s board of directors and Samsung Display, effective on March 2018.

The announcement of Kwon’s resignation comes as a surprise and his reason for leaving is a bit vague. In his statement, Kwon said he decided to leave Samsung because the company is facing an “unprecedented crisis.” Kwon sent out a letter to employees to announce his resignation.

“It is something I had been thinking long and hard about for quite some time. It has not been an easy decision, but I feel I can no longer put it off,” Kwon said in his letter. “As we are confronted with unprecedented crisis inside out, I believe that time has now come for the company start anew, with a new spirit and young leadership to better respond to challenges arising from the rapidly changing IT industry.”

The “unprecedented crisis” that Kwon may be alluding to is the arrest of Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of the Samsung. In August, Lee was sentenced to five years in prison for corruption after he was found guilty of being involved in bribing the then-South Korean president, Park Geun-hye.

“There are no words to describe how proud I am that we built together one of the most valuable companies in the world. We have come a long way to create a company that truly changes how people live, work and communicate with each other,” Kwon said. “But now the company needs a new leader more than ever and it is time for me to move to the next chapter of my life.”

Kwon also shared his sense of pride and honor with his employees, thanking them for their dedication and commitment to Samsung.

Kwon first joined Samsung back in 1985 as a researcher of the company’s Semiconductor Research Institute in the US. Before he became one of Samsung’s CEOs in 2012, he also served as the president and head of both the System LSI Division and the Semiconductor Business. Kwon eventually became the CEO of Samsung Display in 2016.

Kwon's resignation announcement arrived the same day that Samsung predicted record profits for the second straight quarter. For the third quarter of 2017, Samsung expects to make around 14.5 trillion won (around $12.8 billion) in operating profit off 62 trillion won (around $54.7 billion) in revenue, according to The Verge.

With Kwon's resignation, there’s uncertainty with the leadership at Samsung. Choi Gee-sung, Samsung’s chief executive and president at the company’s digital media division, also resigned earlier this year. Gee-sung stepped down after it become know he was allegedly involved in Lee’s bribery scandal, according to Reuters.

Kwon's resignation won’t take into effect until March 2018, but Samsung will now have to find replacements to fill in the vacant roles in the company. Samsung hasn’t given out information on the timing of succession, nor did it share who will take on Kwon's responsibilities when he leaves next year.