Samsung Electronics holds shareholders’ meeting today; will the mood shift along with the stock’s rebound after a year?

With the shareholders’ meeting of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., often called the “national stock” with 4.2 million shareholders, the regular shareholders’ meeting season for Korean companies is set to begin in earnest.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. will hold its 57th regular shareholders’ meeting from 9 a.m. on the 18th at Suwon Convention Center in Gyeonggi Province. On the agenda are the appointment of Yong Kwan Kim, head of management strategy for the Device Solutions (DS) Division in charge of the semiconductor business, as a director, and the appointment of Heo Eunnyeong, a professor at Seoul National University (SNU), as an audit committee member, along with approval of the financial statements and the ceiling on directors’ remuneration.
Shareholder return measures, including a special dividend of about 1.3 trillion won and the cancellation of 16 trillion won worth of treasury shares in the first half, will also be discussed. In addition, a proposal to amend the articles of incorporation ahead of revisions to the Commercial Act of the Republic of Korea aimed at strengthening minority shareholder rights will be taken up. However, a proposal to appoint Chairman Lee Jae-yong as an inside director has once again not been included.
As in previous years, time will be set aside for dialogue with shareholders, but the atmosphere is expected to be quite different from last year. At last year’s meeting, shareholders raised concerns about weakened technological competitiveness, citing delays in supplying High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), and voiced dissatisfaction with the share price, which remained stuck in the 50,000-won range.
This year, however, the mood has shifted sharply as the stock has been hovering around the 200,000-won mark and a prolonged semiconductor supercycle is anticipated on the back of a global Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom.
The company also began mass production and supply last month of HBM4, its next-generation product, for the first time in the world, signaling a recovery of its technological leadership.
In his New Year’s address, Jeon Young-hyun, head of the DS Division and vice chairman, stated, “HBM4 has proven its differentiated performance competitiveness, earning reviews from customers that ‘Samsung is back.’”
Accordingly, this shareholders’ meeting is expected to draw concentrated questions on strategies for responding to the HBM4 market, which is now taking off in earnest, as well as on the future outlook for the semiconductor business.
Vice Chairman Jeon Young-hyun and Roh Tae-moon, head of the Device eXperience Division (DX Division) overseeing mobile and home appliances, are expected to answer shareholders’ questions on the status and strategies of each business division.
Key executives such as Han Jinman, president and head of Samsung Electronics Foundry Business in the DS Division, Park Yong-In, president and head of System LSI Business, Yong Seok-woo, president and head of the Visual Display Business Division in the DX Division, and Kim Cheol-ki, executive vice president and head of the Digital Appliances Division, are also expected to attend. There may also be discussion of potential profitability deterioration in finished-product (set) businesses due to soaring memory semiconductor prices and concerns over a prolonged war in the Middle East.
In addition, shareholders are likely to ask about the company’s position on the labor union’s move to stage a strike while demanding the abolition of the cap on performance-based bonuses.
At the meeting venue, Samsung will showcase its next-generation HBM products, Galaxy AI, AI Home, and other flagship products and services, and will offer various hands-on experiences and convenience programs.
soup@fnnews.com Im Subin Reporter