Samsung Electronics followed through on a commitment to restructure its chip business, putting the new head of its Device Solution (DS) division in charge of its memory business and the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology.

Jun Young-hyun, who was appointed president of the DS business in May, was also named co-CEO.

The DS business comprises the memory, system LSI and foundry units. It the past, each unit had its own president.

Previous memory unit head Lee Jung-bae was named an adviser.

Samsung stated the leadership changes prepare it for its next growth phase and strengthens competitiveness.

The move signals a shift in strategy to turn around the key memory business, which accounted for 76 per cent of DS revenue in Q3.

In early October, Jun issued a surprising apology for delays in shipping new memory chips for AI applications and poor results for the chip unit and vowed to reorganise the division with a focus on culture and processes.

The chipmaker faces rising competition from local rival SK Hynix, which has a lead in high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used for AI workloads, raising questions about its fundamental technological competitiveness and prompting the reshuffle.

Nvidia is reportedly working to certify Samsung’s latest AI memory chips.

Other appointments include Han Jin-man, previously the president of Device Solutions America who was named head of the foundry business, while Nam Seok-woo was appointed CTO of the unit, a newly created position.