Samsung Electronics says its co-chief executive officer Han Jong-hee has died aged 63, after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Han passed away at a hospital in Seoul on Tuesday, a Samsung spokesperson told several media outlets.
A spokesperson also confirmed Han's death with Information Age.
“Our deepest condolences are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time,” Samsung said in a statement, cited by CNBC.
The executive led the South Korean tech giant’s consumer electronics division, while its recently appointed co-CEO Jun Young-Hyun is in charge of its chip business.
Samsung reportedly said Jun would now become sole CEO.
Han had been scheduled to give a keynote presentation at Samsung’s Bespoke AI event later this week.
He joined Samsung almost 40 years ago after earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Inha University in the South Korean city of Incheon.
Rising through the ranks, he became the head of the product research and development team for Samsung’s visual display division in 2011, before going on to lead the division in 2017.
Han was named vice chairman and co-CEO of Samsung in 2022.
Han 'instrumental' in Samsung's TV business
Samsung has previously stated that Han was “instrumental in fortifying Samsung’s paramount industry position” in its visual display business.
“Mr Han was central in the unveiling of Samsung’s worldclass LED TVs, and his numerous other innovations enabled the company to continually demonstrate its technology leadership,” Samsung said in a document published earlier this year.
“He was also instrumental in the development of Samsung’s own video processing technologies.”
Han apologised at a shareholder meeting last week for Samsung’s stock performance not meeting expectations amid the artificial intelligence boom.
"Over the past year, our company failed to adequately respond to the rapidly evolving AI semiconductor market," he was reported to have said.
