Samsung Electronics heir starting to assert himself

After keeping low profile under the leadership of his father and Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, Samsung CEO Lee Jae-yong is finally coming to the fore.

The junior Lee returned home Monday from the U.S. after attending the memorial service for the late former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Upon arriving at Gimpo International Airport, he spoke to reporters about his meeting with new Apple CEO Tim Cook and future business relations with the American IT giant.

○ Supply contract, legal battle to continue

“A day after the memorial service, I met Tim Cook at his office where we talked for two to three hours. We talked about the difficulties Samsung had with Jobs over the past 10 years and how to overcome the current crisis and promote better relations in the future,” Lee Jae-yong said in an interview with reporters.

On the parts supply contract with Apple, which the reporters did not ask about, he said, “We will continue our existing supply contract until next year. We have to further discuss about the relationships in 2013 and 2014.”

Samsung and Apple will bolster their supplier relationship to deliver upgraded components until 2014, a Samsung source said in explaining how to interpret Lee Jae-yong’s statement. Samsung is a core supplier of Apple’s AP chips, the smartphone equivalent to a computer’s CPU, and also supplies mobile DRAM chips to the American company.

Speculation that Apple, which has been embroiling in a fierce legal battle with Samsung over patents, could drop Samsung and switch to Taiwan’s TSMC for the production of its next-generation smartphone iPhone 5 are likely to subside.

On if Samsung will expand its fight in court with Apple, Lee Jae-yong said rather passively, “The legal team will do so, only when necessary. We’ll have to see.”

On whether he discussed patent suits with Cook, he said, “There`s a need to compete intensively in a fair manner for the benefit of consumers.”

○ Big promotion ahead?

Industry sources say Lee Jae-yong is beginning to exert big influence over the Samsung Group’s management, assuming part of his father’s role based on his decisiveness and fast adaptation to the global mobile market.

The junior Lee is strengthening his position both at home and abroad in meeting the heads of domestic and foreign companies. Early this year, he visited LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo for New Year`s greetings and met POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang in April and last month. Lee Jae-yong has been also holding more meetings with executives of global IT firms.

Speculation is rising that he will be promoted to vice chairman at the year-end group executive promotion, the same level as Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin, both of whom are around the similar age with Lee Jae-yong, to speed up the group’s succession plan.

dawn@donga.com