Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is thought to have been making key decisions since his father was hospitalized after a heart attack in 2014. (Photo : Getty Images/ Justin Sullivan)
Samsung Electronics Co. Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the only son of its ailing chairman, was nominated on Monday to join its board of directors.
The announcement of Jae-yongs' appointment comes as the South Korean company struggles with a smartphone recall that has reduced billions of dollars from its market value. Samsung recalled about 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones this month after discovering that rechargeable lithium batteries that were made by one of its suppliers were faulty and could explode.
During the announcement, the company said the Samsung board believes that "this is now the right time." Rather than waiting until the shareholder meeting scheduled for next year, "his appointment now will make him to more actively participate, and take formal responsibility, as a board member in important decisions such as the composition of the executive management team and strategic growth initiatives."
According to ABC News, the nomination signals a new era for Samsung Electronics under a third generation of its founding family.
Lee, 48, is a Harvard-educated Samsung vice chairman and is said to have been making crucial decisions for Samsung since his dad, Lee Kun-hee, 74, suffered a heart attack in 2014 and has been hospitalized, leaving him unable to oversee the company.
Lee made national headlines last year after he apologized on live TV for a Samsung-owned hospital's failure to stop the spread of Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome. It was his first public debut as Samsung's de facto leader, LA Times reported.
Samsung executives have said given the Confucian tradition of filial piety, it has been a challenge for the younger Lee to take on a bigger leadership position while his father is still alive.
Lee's nomination will be put to a shareholder vote Oct. 27. In addition, the shareholders will also vote during the October meeting on Samsung's decision to sell its printer business to HP Inc.
If this gets approved, Samsung plans to spin-off its printing business into a separate company as of Nov. 1 and sell all of its shares in the new company to HP.
Palo Alto, California-based HP has noted it agreed to purchase Samsung's printer business for about $1.05 billion. Currently, Samsung's printer business has 6,000 employees and a production station base in China.
Samsung has been working to restructure and streamline businesses that are not important for its future.
Here is a video of Lee Jae-Yongs' appointment to Samsung board as Galaxy Note 7 crisis boils over:
