Seoul, Jan 20 (EFE).- Samsung Electronics on Monday appointed Roh Tae-moon as the new head of its mobile phone division, replacing Koh Dong-jin who had been in charge since December 2015, according to a company statement.

Fifty-one-year-old Roh, who until now had headed the R&D section of the mobile phone division, has spearheaded the development of three major high-end phone series for the South Korean company: Galaxy S, Note and the recent Galaxy Fold, which is the first foldable smartphone launched on the global market.

With this appointment, the tech giant appears to want to infuse new energy into its mobile phone division at a time of intense competition with Chinese manufacturers.

Koh, 58, will retain his position as president and CEO of the IT & Mobile Communications business division -one of the three major divisions that make up the company.

Along with Koh, Kim Ki-nam and Kim Hyun-suk will remain at the helm of Device Solutions - which produces chips - and Consumer Electronics, respectively.

Usually, readjustments in the management of the powerful South Korean company are carried out in December, however, it was delayed this time owing to the retrial of its de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, for corruption.

Last year, the country's Supreme Court ordered a Lee's retrial for his alleged role in the so called "Korean Rasputin" corruption scandal, which shook the Asian country's political and business foundations in 2017, considering that he should have faced additional charges of bribery.

Lee went on to spend a year in jail and was then released after an appeals court reduced the original five-year prison sentence he had been given.

Samsung Electronics is set to present its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2019 on Jan. 30. EFE

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