“Samsung Electronics has failed to respond appropriately to the changing artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor markets. Unable to secure overwhelming competitiveness in the market, the stock price has also been sluggish. I apologize for causing concern to our shareholders.”
At Samsung Electronics' 2025 regular shareholders' meeting held on the 19th at the Suwon Convention Center in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee, who presided over the meeting, said, “Although external factors such as tariff issues are challenging, we will not spare any efforts to boost the stock price.” The more than 900 shareholders present at the meeting directed questions and criticisms at the management team of Samsung Electronics. Currently, Samsung Electronics has 4,672,130 shareholders.
During the three-hour shareholders' meeting, there were continued complaints regarding management measures concerning the semiconductor business, which performed poorly last year, and the stock price, which has been stuck in the 50,000 won range. Various shareholders, from elderly individuals to elementary school students holding their parents' hands, visited the venue.
◇ A barrage of questions on when the stock price will rise… Han Jong-hee and Jeon Young-hyun say, “We are sorry.”
On this day, questions focused on the stock price of Samsung Electronics, which is stuck in the 50,000 won range. After reaching nearly 90,000 won at one point last year, Samsung Electronics' stock price has failed to break out of the 50,000 won range and is showing sluggish performance. A shareholder, who stated that they hold about 1,400 shares of Samsung Electronics, asked, “When on earth will Samsung Electronics' stock price, which is stuck in the 50,000 won range, rise?” In response, Vice Chairman Han said, “I fully understand that the key to boosting the stock price lies in achieving performance and restoring technological competitiveness that meet market expectations,” and added, “I will do my best to secure fundamental technological competitiveness and achieve solid performance to restore the stock price.”
He also explained the plans to enhance shareholder value. Vice Chairman Han noted, “Samsung Electronics plans to pay out 9.8 trillion won in dividends for the year and decided in November of last year to buy back 10 trillion won worth of its own shares, considering market concerns that the company's value was undervalued,” and added, “To aid in the recovery of the stock price, we introduced a stock compensation system for executives last year for the first time and are reviewing ways to expand it to employees starting next year.”
Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman of the DS (Semiconductor) Division, also stated that concerns about the weakening competitiveness of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business have been a decisive factor in the poor stock price. In response to a shareholder's question regarding the reasons for the poor stock price, he said, “A significant part of Samsung Electronics' stock price decline is influenced by the performance of the semiconductor sector. I apologize once again for causing concern to our shareholders.” He added, “We will prepare to strengthen competitiveness in line with the blooming AI market and the recovery of the memory semiconductor market.”
◇ Executives engage in ‘dialogue with shareholders’… Questions focused on the semiconductor business.
In the dialogue with shareholders that followed the meeting, questions focused on the recently underperforming semiconductor business. Samsung Electronics is evaluated to have fallen behind its competitor, SK hynix, in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, which has benefited from the blooming AI market. In the foundry business, the gap with the top company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), has continued to widen, with the global market share dropping below 10%.
Vice Chairman Jeon also acknowledged the technology gap related to HBM with competitors such as SK hynix and explained that there would be no repeat of past mistakes with next-generation HBM products. He stated, “Our initial response in the HBM market, known for AI memory semiconductors, was delayed. However, we plan to commercialize the 5th generation HBM (HBM3E) 12-layer products as early as the second half of this year,” and added, “With the 6th generation HBM (HBM4) products to be commercialized next year, we will develop them in a timely manner to avoid previous mistakes.” He also noted, “From the second half of this year, we expect the DRAM and NAND flash market conditions to show signs of recovery, leading to improved performance.”
Hanjin Logistics' Foundry Division Head (President) said, “The foundry business provides a variety of processes from 65nm (nanometer, 1 billionth of a meter) mature processes to 2nm advanced processes to customers. The order strategy is also complex, and because the stable relationship with existing customers transitions to advanced processes, we will reduce the gap based on the advantage of being able to provide a total solution including memory, foundry processes, and packaging while looking 2 to 3 years ahead.”