Samsung: The Dual Succession That Will Define Korea's Largest Conglomerate in a Critical Cycle of AI and Memory

On 21 November 2025, Samsung Electronics announced a leadership restructuring that reflects the complexity of managing the largest semiconductor and electronics conglomerate in the world during a technological transition cycle. The company formalised a dual CEO structure: TM Roh as President and CEO of the Device Experience Division (DX, covering mobile, televisions, and home appliances) and Young Hyun Jun as Vice President and CEO of the Device Solutions Division (DS, which includes memory and semiconductors).

Roh, who was already leading the mobile business, was also appointed to supervise the Samsung Research division. Jun remains at the forefront of the memory business, which is, in absolute terms, the most strategic for the company in the context of AI.

The HBM Memory Battle

Samsung's semiconductor division is facing its toughest moment in years. Korean competitor SK Hynix has captured a significant advantage in the High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) market, the type of high-performance memory that powers Nvidia's GPUs used in training AI models. Nvidia qualified HBM suppliers from SK Hynix for its Hopper and Blackwell products, while Samsung was still working on the approval of its HBM3E modules.

Recovering in this segment is Young Hyun Jun's number one priority. The HBM market is expected to grow from USD 4 billion in 2023 to more than USD 30 billion by 2027, according to analysts from TrendForce. Whoever dominates this segment in the next two years will have a structurally challenging position to contest.

TM Roh's Challenge in Mobile and Experience

TM Roh inherits a mobile business under different pressures: Apple's growing capability to capture premium customers globally, the rise of Chinese brands such as Xiaomi and Huawei in medium and low-cost markets, and the necessity to differentiate the Galaxy line with AI integrations perceived as superior by users.

The Galaxy S25, launched in 2025 with deeper integration with language models from Anthropic and Google, received a positive reception, but analysts still question whether the AI features are sufficient to justify the price premium over Chinese competitors.

The Geopolitical Context

Samsung's position is directly affected by American export restrictions on chips to China and the geopolitical competition in semiconductors. The company operates large memory facilities in China (in Xi'an) that are subject to restrictions on access to next-generation production equipment, creating a long-term strategic dilemma regarding the viability of maintaining this presence in a supply chain architecture that is being progressively bifurcated into distinct geopolitical blocks.