Han Jong-hee, co-CEO of Samsung Electronics, suffered a fatal heart attack, the company announced on Tuesday. He leaves behind a legacy of turning Samsung’s television unit into a global titan, a feat achieved during his 34-year tenure that began in 1988. As co-CEO since 2022, he led the charge in consumer electronics and mobile devices.
His death arrives as Samsung wrestles with a rocky outlook. The firm is losing ground to SK Hynix and TSMC in the AI chip race, and last week, Han joined other executives in cautioning shareholders about a tough 2025, pointing to cracks in the company’s “core technological edge.”
Samsung lauded Han for catapulting its TV business to “the top of the world stage.” With his passing, Jun Young-hyun, freshly appointed as co-CEO, steps into the spotlight as sole leader, breaking the company’s two-CEO tradition. Han’s wife and three children survive him.
The Samsung empire endures under the stewardship of Lee Jae-yong, its third-generation figurehead.
