Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee delivers an opening remark during the company's extraordinary meeting of shareholders held at a convention center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday. (Samsung Electronics)

Samsung Electronics on Thursday held an extraordinary shareholders meeting – the first in six years – to appoint two outside directors – Yoo Myung-hee, a former trade minister, and Heo Eun-nyeong, an economics professor.

Yoo served as the nation’s top negotiator for free trade talks during the Moon Jae-in administration. She was also one of the final candidates to run for the director-general of the World Trade Organization in 2020.

Yoo, a trade specialist, is expected to offer consultations to Samsung as it faces geopolitical challenges amid the escalating US-China rivalry.

Heo, a professor of energy resources engineering at Seoul National University, is the vice president of the International Association for Energy Economics. He is expected to play a role in the tech giant’s environmental, social and governance efforts.

The rare meeting was convened on request of the current outside directors after two members departed in recent months – Han Hwa-jin stepped down as he was appointed as the first environment minister for the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and Park Byung-kook, an engineering professor at Seoul National University, passed away in May.

With the new appointments, the company’s board of directors consists of six outside directors and five in-house directors. Samsung is scheduled to hold a general meeting in March of next year, during which Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s board membership is highly likely to top the agenda.