By Cho Ji-hyun
Samsung Electronics on Monday organized a two-day global strategic planning meeting attended by about 600 local and overseas executives in its Suwon and Giheung offices in Gyeonggi Province.

The world’s top smartphone maker will finalize its investment plan for next year at the meeting, which will be divided into the sectors of device solutions and finished products.

Samsung’s global strategic meeting is held twice a year ― in the first half and latter half ― and it is a time when the executives review each division’s performance and lay out the future business schemes.

The firm has prospered this year, enabling it to establish its position as the world’s biggest-selling handset maker as it reached record-high profit figures quarter after quarter.

Its operating profit topped 8 trillion won ($7.45 billion) in the third quarter of this year, up from 6.72 trillion won in the previous quarter.

The meeting also comes shortly after Samsung carried out its year-end personnel reshuffle last Wednesday, splitting the IT behemoth into three individual business divisions: consumer electronics, IT and mobile, and device solutions.

The firm had run the company under two divisions ― finished goods and device solutions ― for this year.

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee’s only son and heir apparent Jay-yong was also seated as vice chairman of the conglomerate’s flagship unit in the reshuffle, giving him his biggest-ever role in the firm.

Lee Jay-yong and Samsung Electronics’ chief executive Kwon Oh-hyun are currently the two vice presidents of the nation’s top electronics firm.

The heir apparent will not directly take part in this year’s global strategic planning meeting. However, he is likely to host a dinner attended by the meeting participants.

In the meantime, the meeting itself will be attended by Samsung’s chief financial officer Lee Sang-hoon, TV and home appliance chief Yoon Boo-keun, and mobile and IT head Shin Jong-kyun.

They will discuss the details involving the launch of next-generation organic light-emitting diode display televisions and the new Galaxy S4 at the Suwon office with about 400 executives, according to industry sources.

Vice chairman Kwon will hold a separate meeting at the Giheung office with around 200 executives to outline the plan and strategy regarding the chip manufacturing lines in Xian, China, as well as Austin in the U.S.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)