Samsung announces on of the biggest leadership changes since de facto leader Jay Y Lee took over, Reuters reports-- Dongjin Koh replaces JK Shin as president of the Samsung mobile communication business.

JK Shin has served as mobile communication head since 2009. He remains head of the Samsung overall mobile division, if with a "focus on long-term strategy and developming new growth business" rather than day-to-day operations, a move some analysts describe as retirement in all but name. JK Shin was the man behind the rise of the Galaxy smartphone line... and its eventual (relative) decline.

"While it's true that Shin delivered remarkable performance in the past, it's indisputable that the Galaxy S6's results fell short of expectations so a new leader was needed," Hansung University economics Professor Kim Sang-jo tells Reuters. "Today's appointments appear to acknowledge the need to develop a management system that can more proactively respond to challenges from Xiaomi and other Chinese companies."

The new Samsung mobile head, Donjin Koh, previously headed the Samsung mobile research and development unit. He played an important role in the development of the Galaxy S6 and Note 5, as well as software and services such as the KNOX security platform, the nascent Tizen mobile OS and Samsung Pay.

Samsung has another exec reshuffle-- TV and appliances division chief Yoon Boo-kuen is also out of day-to-day operations, instead moved to "long-term strategy."

Go Samsung Names New Smartphone Head as Heir Apparent Makes Mark (Reuters)