Report: Samsung Shakes Up Top Management

Citing an anonymous company official, Yonhap News, South Korea's official news agency, said that the management shuffle could take place Friday.

Samsung did not return calls for comment.

Samsung Electronics, one of the company's 59 affiliates, is the largest maker of computer memory chips in the world, and a leader in the display arena.

According to the report, the company will divide the businesses into two groups: parts and products. Samsung CEO Lee Yoon-Woo is expected to retain his position and will also oversee a parts division, which will reportedly include the company's semiconductor and LCD units, Reuters reported.

The rumored shakeup would be the company's first executive regrouping since former chairman Lee Kun-Hee left the company last April amid a corruption scandal. Kun-Hee subsequently was found guilty of tax evasion.

Closer to home, Chris Franey, vice president of marketing and commercial sales at Samsung's Information Technology Division, left the company last month. Franey, a 20-year-plus channel veteran, became president of the Computer Products Group of ACCO Brands, which markets various computer accessories under the Kensington brand.