Samsung Electronics vice chairman and chief executive officer Kwon Oh-hyun is stepping down after more than three decades at the company, saying that he\u2019s making way for new leadership amid a corruption trial surrounding the de facto chief.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs 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,\u201d Kwon said in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n
Kwon is one of the two vice chairmen at Samsung Electronics with Jay Y. Lee, who was sentenced to five years in prison in August for bribing a presidential confidante in return for help in succeeding his hospitalized father, Chairman Lee Kun-hee.<\/p>\n
The younger Lee has appealed, denying charges.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s stepping down even though Samsung\u2019s business remains robust. Earlier on Friday, the Suwon, South Korea-based company reported better-than-projected profit on booming demand for displays and memory chips.<\/p>\n
Operating income almost tripling to a record 14.5 trillion won ($12.8 billion) in the three months ended September, according to preliminary results.<\/p>\n
Kwon will resign from the management board in March next year when his term ends, the company said. Kwon has served as a vice chairman at Samsung Electronics since 2012 and also served as a senior executive at the company\u2019s display division since last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want my resignation to be an opportunity for a higher level of challenge and innovation and to overcome this difficult situation,\u201d Kwon said in the statement.<\/p>\n