Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) Chairman Jay Y. Lee and the company's top executives gathered in Japan, according to industry sources. Because Lee's closest advisers and the heads of both of its main business divisions met overseas, the talks are believed to have covered company-wide strategy, including cooperation with Japanese chip firms.
Five senior executives — Vice Chairman Jung Hyun-ho, Business Support Task Force head Park Hark-kyu, Device Solutions Division head Jun Young-hyun, Device eXperience Division head Roh Tae-moon and DS Division President Kim Yong-kwan — traveled to Tokyo on the 13th, industry sources said on the 15th. They met Lee, who was staying in Japan, to discuss pressing business issues, the sources said.
Jung has served as a long-time aide to Lee, Park oversees group-level management issues, and Jun and Roh lead the company's two main divisions. Given the unusual nature of such a gathering abroad, the executives are thought to have briefed Lee on key issues, including the Japanese business, and discussed future strategy.
Japan is a leader in semiconductor materials, components and equipment, making it one of Samsung Electronics' main partner countries. The company opened the Advanced Package Lab (APL), a research center for advanced chip packaging, in Japan last month and plans to set up a Samsung Global Research office in Tokyo later this year.
Lee also held a luncheon meeting with a delegation from Japan's House of Councillors at an undisclosed location in Seoul on Sept. 14. The two sides discussed cooperation in artificial intelligence and semiconductors as well as ways to secure talent, according to sources.