The vacant chairman position at the South Korean tech giant, Samsung Electronics, has been filled by de facto leader Lee Jae-yong on Thursday.
Prior to this declaration, the company faced challenges in the third-quarter operating profits, a 31.39% decline yearly after a global economic fall hit the demand for consumer electronics, which led to the appointment of the ex-convict, Jae-Yong.
Jae-Yong was convicted of fraud and In August he received a presidential release after serving his jail time, to take over his late father, Lee Kun-hee’s position which has been vacant since 2020.
Samsung Electronics said in its statement that “demand for consumer products remained weak,” and affected earnings in the most significant period.
The company’s operating profit for July to September 2022 dropped to 10 trillion won ($7 billion), down from 15.8 trillion won for the same period last year.
Adding that it’s the first time the third-quarter results show a year-on-year decline in profit in nearly three years for Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, though it had experienced 3.79% increase in sales.
Reporting by Yonhap in the internal forum after his appointment, Jae-Yong said, “Our survival depends on future technologies.”
We can turn this crisis into an opportunity,” he added.