This week, Han Jong-hee, the co-CEO of Samsung Electronics, sadly passed away due to cardiac arrest while receiving treatment in a hospital. He was 63 years old and had been leading the company in the role since 2022, also overseeing its consumer electronics and mobile devices divisions.

His sudden death leaves Jun Young-hyun, who was appointed as co-CEO just last week, as the sole leader of Samsung as the company works to revitalize its business amidst ongoing trade uncertainties.

The company has traditionally always had a co-CEO structure that separates responsibility of its consumer and chips divisions. However, Samsung has not yet indicated who will succeed him in the co-CEO structure that has been a hallmark of its leadership approach.

Han himself had a long history with Samsung, having joined the company nearly 40 years ago and played a pivotal role in establishing its television business as a global leader. His passing comes amid a broader context of trade uncertainties and challenges in maintaining market leadership

Following his death, Samsung shares were reportedly down 0.5 per cent in line with the broader South Korean market.

As the company works to reassure staff and investors, communications professionals PRovoke Media spoke to emphasis the need to be respectful and sensitive when dealing with unprecedented leadership deaths such as this as well as the importance of having a plan already in place. 

"Just like a crisis communications manual which most, if not all, companies have as a drawer plan, one part of the manual has to deal with the potential scenario of the passing of a key officer," said Jose Raymond, managing director of SW Strategies. 

 

He added that in such a manual there would often already be plans in place on how such an announcement is made, not just to clients and external partners, but also across the board to all employees, across markets where needed, and most importantly swiftly and with sensitivity.

Betsy Tan, communications consultant, agreed with Raymond, saying that there should be a crisis communication plan that serves as a "single source of truth". This needs to be prepared beforehand, with holding statements. 

 

She also explained that the first thing communications teams need to do should something like this happen is to notify key stakeholders sequentially, starting with the board of directors, executive team, and employees, followed by external stakeholders such as investors and the media.

"Employees must hear the news directly from the company before it becomes public," she said. "The message must acknowledge the emotional impact of the situation while providing clear information about the circumstances of the leader’s passing and the succession plans."

She added that it is also important that companies appoint a single spokesperson or a crisis communication team to handle media inquiries and public statements. "This minimizes the risk of mixed messages and ensures accountability," she said. Tan added that spokespersons must be media trained and familiarised with the approved messages.

Ultimately though, it is important to remember that the organization is bigger than any one person, including the CEO, according to David Lian, APAC regional president of Zeno Group. 

"Organizations of Samsung’s scale have business continuity plans for this exact reason, and it keeps the company on its strategic direction with minimum disruption," he said. "I think smart and sensitive communications would be to acknowledge the contributions of the leader who passed and communicate clearly how the work will be continued," he added.