Samsung has dealt with the various operations of its business through a central organization for over 60 years. The central organization has had many titles. It was most recently known as the Future Strategy Office, it served as the conglomerate’s control tower and had significant authority over business decisions.
Samsung decided to dismantle the Future Strategy Office earlier this year as the company found itself embroiled in an influence-peddling scandal. However, with a growing leadership vacuum at the company, new reports indicate that Samsung might be thinking about bringing back the control tower.
Samsung’s Control Tower
Samsung executives were accused of bribing government officials to win support for a controversial merger. The investigation has led to the imprisonment of Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong. The company also decided to dismantle the Future Strategy Office as the authority head by it was also believed to be one of the reasons of collusion between the company and the government.
Lee Jae-yong has been sentenced to imprisonment for five years and even though he’s appealing the ruling, it may be a while before he comes out, and that’s assuming he wins the appeal. Prior to his imprisonment, Lee was playing a major role in the conglomerate’s management as he’s the successor to his father, Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh-hyun has been the de-facto head of the conglomerate since Lee Jae-yong was arrested and he has now confirmed that he will be stepping down in March 2018. This leaves a serious leadership vacuum at the world’s most profitable tech company.
According to a report out of South Korea, Samsung is likely to consider measures to stabilize its leadership structure and it might result in the revival of its time-tested control tower organization.
