Samsung denies report claiming new executive VPs had to be younger than chairman

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Thu, November 30, 2023 | 01:27

Companies

Samsung denies report claiming new executive VPs had to be younger than chairman

Posted : 2022-12-08 16:10

Updated : 2022-12-09 16:00

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong / Yonhap

Tech giant denies report on 'age cap' for high-ranking executives

By Park Jae-hyuk

Samsung Electronics brushed off a media report claiming that the company was wary of Chairman Lee Jae-yong's apparent reluctance to promote executives older than himself during the first annual executive reshuffle since his ascent.

The tech giant said Thursday that the ages of its executives were irrelevant to their promotions earlier this week, denying a news report that the proportion of older executives among newly-appointed vice presidents fell sharply this year.

"The report was based on a faulty interpretation of statistics," Samsung Electronics wrote on its official website. It is unusual for the company to refute media reports through its official website.

A day earlier, a local news outlet reported that the proportion of newly-appointed executive vice presidents born in 1968 or before fell to 14.5 percent this year from 32.4 percent in 2021. The Samsung Electronics chairman, who was promoted in October from vice chairman, was born in June 1968.

Based on the data, the news outlet claimed that Samsung Electronics' executives older than the chairman may face difficulties in being promoted to higher levels. This came after the conglomerate appointed multiple executives in their 40s as executive vice presidents, indicating its intention to seek a generational shift inside the organization.

Seen above are newly-appointed executive vice presidents of Samsung Electronics. From left are Lee Keum-joo, 51, executive vice president in charge of DRAM process and development; Moon Sung-hoon, 48, executive vice president for strategic product development of smartphones; and Lee Jung-won, 45, executive vice president for modem system development. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics, however, emphasized that the news outlet had to look at the "ages" of the newly-appointed executive vice presidents, instead of the "years" they were born.

"People born in 1968 were 53 last year and they are 54 this year," the company said. "Among our newly-promoted executive vice presidents, the proportion of those aged 55 and older is 16.9 percent this year, not that different from last year's 19.1 percent."

Asking journalists to be cautious about publishing incorrect reports and raising unreasonable speculation, Samsung Electronics added that its executive reshuffle was based on their performances.

"We will continue to hire well-performing figures with high growth potential, regardless of their positions and careers," the company said.

pjh@koreatimes.co.kr