Samsung Electronics appoints new mobile marketing chief as part of reshuffle

Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday named a new head of mobile marketing as well as a China chief as part of a long-delayed executive reshuffle following the arrest of its vice chairman for alleged bribery.

Samsung said Executive Vice President Choi Kyung-sik had been promoted to head of the mobile division's strategic marketing office. His predecessor, Lee Sang-chul, had been reassigned to oversee the firm's Southeast Asian operations.

Koh Dong-jin remained the head of the company's smartphone business, a Samsung spokeswoman.

The South Korean firm also named Kwon Kye-hyun as head of the China business, where Samsung's smartphone sales have struggled to regain momentum amid competition from rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], OPPO and Vivo.

The world's top maker of smartphones and memory chips is widely expected to deliver record profits this year, but the arrest of Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] leader Jay Y. Lee has raised doubts about its future direction and strategy.

Lee, 48, has been in detention since February as part of a graft scandal that led to the ouster and arrest of former president Park Geun-hye. He denies any wrongdoing.

Samsung said "further delay" to the personnel changes pending since late last year would hurt its ability to compete. In the smartphone business its main challenger for market leadership is Apple Inc.

It did not announce any major structural changes to its business divisions on Thursday.

(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates)