Following the record high profit reports for the 3rd quarter of 2017, Samsung’s Co-Chief Executive Officer Kwon Oh-hyun has announced his resignation. The leadership struggles seen this year for Samsung are troubling. In August, the heir to Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, was convicted of Bribery and Corruption and sentenced to 5 years in jail. He was running Samsung, one of Koreas largest family owned companies when he was convicted. Following the scandal, Samsung appointed 3 co-chief executives to run the business, which included Mr. Kwon. However, with Kwon’s resignation, it seems that the leadership at Samsung is in trouble. Mr. Kwon stated that he was resigning due to the “unprecedented crisis” the company was facing (Lee Jae-yong’s conviction). He said that it was time for new, younger leadership to take the helm.

The troubles of leadership at Samsung haven’t seemed to reach its bottom line yet. The company reported a record high $12.81 Bn for its 3rd quarter report. Profits rose significantly in the 3rd quarter due to surging prices for microchips, which the company produces. Forecasted profits for the 3 months ending in September are said to have tripled compared to the profits seen during the same period last year. However, news of leadership changes will surely start to affect the company. This may hurt sales of Samsung products in the final quarter of 2017, and may continue into 2018. Leadership quality can make or break a company, there have been many companies with quality products that have failed due to a lack in leadership. If Samsung wants to survive these recent issues with their leadership, it must implement a strong leadership so that their profits don’t struggle as well.