LG Electronics replaces heads of handset, TV units
LG Electronics replaces heads of handset, TV units
Seoul: The new chief executive of LG Electronics replaced the presidents of its mobile handset and TV business divisions in a sweeping reshuffle to shore up the struggling South Korean company.
CEO Koo Bon-joon, a member of the founding family of LG Group, took office on Friday after LG Electronics, the world’s No. 3 handset vendor and the No.2 TV maker, ousted its former chief executive last month in a bid to turn around the firm’s loss-making mobile phone business.
Koo named Park Jong-seok, ex-mobile research chief, to lead the company’s mobile business division, which reported a record loss last quarter and has warned of a similar loss this quarter.
Park will take over from Skott Ahn, who is moving to the role of LG Electronics’ chief technology officer.
The management changes come as the electronics giant struggles to make headway in the fast-growing smartphone market, where it faces fierce competition from Apple’s iPhone and Samsung Electronics Galaxy S.
Kwon Hee-won, ex-head of LG’s LCD TV business, will replace Simon Kang as head of LG’s TV unit, LG Electronics also announced on Friday.
Kang will be in charge of LG’s global marketing.
Koo also tasked Paik Woo-hyun, former chief technology officer, to lead the company’s new body to be established to develop its new growth engines in the reshuffle that affected the top brass.
LG Electronics’ share price was up 0.8% at 0230 GMT, outperforming a 0.6% gain in South Korea’s main index.
Still, LG shares are down about 20 percent so far this year, while the headline index has rallied about 12%.
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