Samsung is facing some serious challenges lately, after the latest news that acting leader Lee Jae-Yong has been sentenced to five years in a South Korean prison for his alleged involvement in numerous acts of perjury, bribery, collusion, corruption, and embezzlement with the administration for the former president, Park Geun-Hye.
It’s probably not much of a surprise that the reports are pretty bleak after the leader of Samsung has been committed to the next half-decade behind bars. It’s tough to run a business from a prison cell, and there’s a good chance that Samsung’s reputation is going to see some problems in the coming months as the brand struggles to get ahead from behind the storm clouds of the recent scandal. However, the full company seems to be existing in a state of combined panic and depression, if recent announcements from the CEO, Yoon Boo-Keun are anything to go by.
A Bleak Time for the Communications Company
According to one report, Boo-Keun announced that he feels the business is in a complicated space right now. Trying as they might to keep up with the latest digital transformation innovations, Samsung has been forced into a state of stagnation thanks to the sudden absence of their leader. Out of nowhere, it seems that the largest handset and chip manufacturer in the world is now adrift in an ocean of uncertainty, with each of the major business divisions, all the way from consumer electronics, to mobile communications, wondering how they’re meant to keep hold of new acquisitions and mergers.
As other companies in the telecommunications space continue to surge forward to the future with investments in everything from AI to IoT, Samsung has been forced to put their development on hold. According to Yoon, this lack of development is due to problems with timing, rather than anything specifically to do with Lee Jae-Yong. Saying that, however, the heir to the Samsung empire is the man with the final say on many of the crucial decisions that Samsung has to make right now, about things like corporate restructuring and innovation. Without his presence, it’s hard to see how Samsung will be able to move forward.
Light At The End of the Tunnel?
Although the situation seems “dismal” from Yoon’s perspective, he noted that Samsung is currently looking into taking legal steps that will allow the company to function naturally – even with its leader behind bars. Right now, the circumstances are brutal – but despite the latest changes, it seems that Samsung isn’t suffering as badly as they could be. The shares for Samsung remain somewhat stable, and there’s always a chance that the company could find a way to come out of this development just as strong as ever.
For now, we’ll have to wait and see how Samsung chooses to deal with these uncertain times.
