Samsung Electronics has named Kwon Oh-hyun as its new CEO. Mr. Kwon, who previously led the company's chip and LCD units, replaces Choi Gee-sung, Samsung Electronics CEO since 2009. Mr. Choi will stay on as a vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and a member of its board.

The massive South Korean conglomerate says that Yoon Boo-keun, head of TV and appliances, and Shin Jong-kyun, head of telecom and information technology, will not report to Kwon. This managerial separation is meant to stem criticism that Samsung's finished goods divisions benefit unfairly from competitive information provided by the chaebol's components groups. For example, Samsung is a major supplier of flash memory and processors to Apple.

Lee Jae-yong, the only son of Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee, South Korea's richest, and some say most powerful man, will maintain his chief operating officer position. Lee Jae-yong is seen as the likely successor to the family-owned business, assuming his father's legal troubles at home don't derail the plans.