Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh-hyun to Resign

Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE) Chief Executive Kwon Oh-hyun, who has overseen the firm's lucrative components business, will resign and relinquish his vice chairman post by March, the company said on Friday.

Mr. Kwon, 64 years old, is one of three CEOs at Samsung Electronics, which is split into divisions that focus on mobile devices, electronic components and consumer electronics.

The decision to step down was Mr. Kwon's and Samsung doesn't have a mandatory retirement age for executives, a company spokesman said.

Mr. Kwon said in a statement that Samsung "needs a new leader more than ever and it is time for me to move to the next chapter of my life."

The veteran Samsung executive had taken a larger role in steadying the company after its de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, was detained by authorities in February over his alleged role in South Korea's bribery scandal, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Lee, who was convicted in August, has denied wrongdoing and his appeals trial started this week.

The announcement came on the same day Samsung said it expects third-quarter profits to be the company's highest ever. Samsung said it expects robust demand for its semiconductors and displays to push operating profit to 14.5 trillion South Korean won ($12.8 billion).

Samsung is scheduled to report its results later this month.

Write to Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2017 23:08 ET (03:08 GMT)