Roh Tae-Moon (57), head of the Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics, was appointed CEO and head of the DX (finished goods) institutional sector in executive appointments on the 21st. It comes 28 years after he joined Samsung Electronics' Wireless Business in 1997 and 18 years after becoming an executive, elevating him to one of only two CEO posts at Samsung Electronics. He will continue as MX chief while leading both MX and DX, which together account for more than half of Samsung Electronics' total revenue. Chair Lee Jae-yong is accelerating his future vision by placing technology talent at the forefront.
◇ 'Galaxy magic' of Roh Tae-Moon behind smooth sailing in smartphones
Roh is indispensable when talking about Samsung Electronics' smartphone business. He has drawn attention as the successor to former Vice Chair Shin Jong-kyun and adviser Koh Dong-jin, who led Samsung Electronics' Wireless Business. He led development of key smartphones including the Galaxy S series, the Note series, and foldables. If former Vice Chair Shin was called "Mr. Galaxy" for creating Galaxy and taking it to No. 1 worldwide, Roh was evaluated as the "Galaxy master" for leading hands-on development.
Roh solidified his standing as a technology-savvy manager when he was appointed MX chief in 2020. When he first took the MX helm, Samsung Electronics' smartphone business was struggling. Due to the offensive by Chinese companies, revenue at the IM institutional sector, the predecessor of the MX Business, fell below 100 trillion won. After Roh took over as business chief, MX revenue reached 109.3 trillion won in 2021 and 120.8 trillion won in 2022. This year, cumulative revenue through the third quarter came to 100.3 trillion won. The "Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7," released in July, were hits, increasing the share of flagship product revenue. The Galaxy S25 series, released in February, has also been selling steadily. The view is that enhanced camera and artificial intelligence (AI) performance opened consumers' wallets.
In particular, Roh is seen as being ahead of competitors in developing new form factors, such as foldable phones, Galaxy Ring, and tri-fold phones.
◇ Set to be responsible for half of Samsung Electronics' revenue… expanding influence as CEO
Roh has served as acting head of the DX institutional sector since April. Since he was already leading Samsung Electronics' set businesses overall, many saw his appointment as DX chief as a foregone conclusion. However, the fact that he is also doubling as MX chief shows that the AI ecosystem he proved in Samsung Electronics' smartphone business needs to spread across the entire product portfolio. In addition, Roh's seniority over Choi Won-joon, head of MX Development Office and Global Operations Team (president), and Yong Seok-woo, head of the Visual Display (VD) Business (president), is also behind his selection to lead the two businesses.
As Roh has long monopolized the title of youngest promotee within Samsung Electronics, there was even speculation he could be promoted to vice chair at year-end. While that promotion did not happen, he expanded his influence by becoming CEO. Inside and outside Samsung Electronics, many believe Roh's promotion to vice chair is not far off as his position grows. In fact, based on last year's figures, the MX and DX institutional sectors he will oversee account for 53% of Samsung Electronics' total revenue and 38% of operating profit.
Born in 1968, Roh studied electronic engineering at Yonsei University and earned his master's and doctorate in electrical and electronic engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology POSTECH, making him a bona fide engineer by training. He joined Samsung Electronics in 1997 and worked in the Wireless Business, becoming synonymous with youngest promotions. Ten years after joining, in 2007, he became the youngest senior vice president (age 39 in full years), entering the executive ranks. Three years later, in 2010, he was promoted to executive vice president at age 42. Recognized for developing the Galaxy S, he received the "Proud Samsung Award" in 2010, which confers a special one-grade promotion. He then became the youngest senior executive vice president at age 44 in 2012 and, at the end of 2018, was promoted to the youngest president (age 50) 21 years after joining. In 2020, at age 52, he was appointed head of the Wireless Business (now MX chief). Five years after becoming MX chief, Roh has come to oversee even the DX institutional sector and has also risen to CEO.
◇ Task: expand the AI ecosystem across the entire product portfolio
Attention is on whether Roh's Galaxy magic will spread from MX to DX. So far, while serving as acting head of the DX institutional sector, Roh has not shown clear results. DX revenue, spanning the Visual Display (VD) and Digital Appliances (DA) businesses, recorded 60.6 trillion won in 2022, then stagnated in the 55 trillion to 56 trillion won range in 2023–2024. Cumulative revenue through the third quarter this year is tallied at 42.5 trillion won. There is a task to improve profitability in the DX institutional sector amid rising logistics costs, an economic slowdown, tariffs from the United States, and the rise of Chinese companies. Along with this, having helped shift the smartphone paradigm from app-and-touch to AI agents, he faces the task of extending the AI ecosystem to the DX institutional sector.
At a press conference during IFA 2025 in Berlin, Germany, in September, he said the company "will become the best at leveraging AI," unveiling a strategy to apply AI across all areas beyond mobile devices to TVs and appliances. Roh said, "We understand well the dynamism of the entire electronics industry, not just mobile, and we are focusing on rapidly applying those aspects to Samsung Electronics' products and services and turning them into opportunities," adding, "For TVs and appliances, if we drive forward under the broad vision of an AI home, the spread will happen even faster."
Hwang Yong-sik, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sejong University, said, "Unlike in the past, the era of crafting separate strategies for appliances and for smartphones is over," adding, "Samsung Electronics' future will hinge on integrally applying AI functions to its existing product portfolio."