Samsung replaced the president of its mobile communications division in the latest management change at Samsung Mobile.
Koh Dong-Jin, who oversaw the launch of Samsung Pay and Knox mobile-phone security for enterprises, becomes president. He was executive VP of mobile R&D. He replaces Shin Jong Kyun (J.K. Shin), who remains a president and co-chief executive officer of Samsung’s electronics business.
Shin’s replacement follows the departure earlier this year of Samsung Mobile CMO Todd Pendleton.
The management changes comes as Samsung’s phone shipments head for their second consecutive year of decline as competition grows from Apple and Chinese smartphone vendors. Samsung lost its rank as the top smartphone vendor in China, and its mobile business earnings are expected to drop more than 8 percent this year to their lowest level since 2011, analysts said.
Shin, however, presided over Samsung’s rise to the top in smartphone share. The division in 2011 shipped only 94.2 million smartphones, but in 2014, it shipped 318.2 million smartphones.
