New device chief calls for 'one Samsung' amid wavering over in-house chips

Roh Tae-moon, Samsung Electronics' acting head of the Device Experience division, introduces the Galaxy S25 smartphone during a showcase event in San Jose, Calif., Jan. 22. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Roh Tae-moon, Samsung Electronics’ new head of its mobile and home appliance division, stressed “one Samsung” as a company motto in his first official message to employees Friday, amid the tech giant’s wavering over the use of in-house chips for Galaxy smartphones.

Roh sent an email to the company’s Device Experience (DX) division staffers and stressed the need for “organic cooperation across business divisions” in creating greater values, according to sources.

“Let’s work beyond organizational boundaries and combine our strengths,” Roh said. “Under the motto of one Samsung, we should pursue organic cooperation across business divisions.”

Samsung Electronics is comprised of the DX division, which encompasses home appliances and smartphone sub-divisions, and the Device Solution (DS) division, which is in charge of semiconductor and memory chips.

Roh, who is the president of the smartphone division, became the acting head of the DX division on April 1, following the death of Han Jong-hee, former Samsung Electronics CEO, vice chairman and head of the DX division.

“One Samsung” is a phrase that Han floated when he was appointed the head of the DX division in December 2021, as he sought to create a synergy between Samsung Electronics’ various businesses.

Under Han’s leadership, the company has facilitated an ecosystem of its various devices connected through artificial intelligence (AI). As Samsung’s profitability faced questions in recent months, however, questions have been raised on the cooperation between the company’s business divisions.

One example is the latest Galaxy S25 smartphone, which used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon as its main application processor and Micron’s mobile DRAM in its initial supply batch instead of Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2500 chip and mobile DRAM.

Industry officials said the decisions were likely based on performance evaluations but also noted that “Samsung’s greatest strength as a total solution provider spanning from semiconductors to finished devices has been significantly undermined.”

On Tuesday, Samsung Electronics estimated 6.6 trillion won ($4.55 billion) in operating profit for the first quarter of this year. The company did not provide a breakdown by business segment, but analysts assume that the company’s foundry and chip designing divisions have posted over 2 trillion won of combined losses in the first quarter as Exynos 2500 was not used for the Galaxy S25 released in February.

Roh’s "one Samsung" comment bears significance as the company is set to roll out the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 7 foldable smartphones this summer. To prevent its smartphone division overlooking in-house chips, Samsung’s DS division has been seeking to improve the yield of Exynos 2500.

According to Samsung Electronics’ regulatory filing, the costs of purchasing mobile application processors from outside parties accounted for 16.1 percent of the DX division’s total raw material purchasing costs.