Samsung Electronics co-CEO Han Jong-Hee passes away at 63

Han Jong-Hee, the co-CEO of Samsung Electronics, passed away on Tuesday due to cardiac arrest, the tech giant said in a statement. He was 63.

He was the company's vice chairman and chief executive officer and was also heading the digital appliances business, according to the company website. Han was also leading the company's device eXperience (DX) division.

Born on March 15, 1962, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Inha University.

Han, who was the executive director of the company, breathed his last at a hospital on Tuesday.

In an exchange filing, Samsung said that, following Han's passing away, Jun Young-hyun will be the sole CEO effective immediately. He was appointed co-CEO last week at the company's annual shareholders meeting.

Han Jong-Hee's career

Han Jong-Hee joined Samsung in 1988 and played a key role in the development of a wide range of market-leading products. He took Samsung’s television business to the pinnacle of the global market in 2006, according to the company biography published last week.

"Han was central in the unveiling of Samsung’s world-class LED TVs, and his numerous other innovations enabled the company to continually demonstrate its technology leadership. He was also instrumental in the development of Samsung’s own video processing technologies. He served as the president of the Korea Association of Smart Home," it added.