Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, center, walks past reporters as he arrives at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, Friday. Lee returned home after accompanying President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to the Philippines and Singapore. Yonhap

Speculation is growing that Samsung Electronics may implement a management overhaul across its business operations, with particular emphasis on its Device Solutions (DS) division, which oversees the chip business.

This comes in response to its disappointing earnings forecast for the third quarter, which has raised concerns about the tech giant's position as a leading chipmaker.

According to Samsung officials, the company is planning a regular personnel reshuffle next month, a month earlier than its usual December schedule. Notably, significant changes to the senior executive ranks are anticipated during this transition.

The changes are expected to involve a reduction in the number of executives within the DS division, as well as the replacement of several president-level technology officials overseeing the memory and foundry businesses.

To achieve this, the company is conducting a thorough review of its business divisions to streamline underperforming areas, enhance its competitiveness in memory chips, and improve communication between research and manufacturing teams.

"As (the DS division's) vice chairman Jun Young-hyun said, the main goal of the management overhaul is expected to focus on restoring the company's fundamental technological competitiveness," an industry official said. "Also, the company's workplace culture of refraining from communicating with other teams could be a matter of scrutiny as well."

On Oct. 8, Jun, who leads the DS division, issued a public apology shortly after the company forecast a consolidated operating profit of 9.1 trillion won ($6.76 billion) for the third quarter, far below the market consensus of 10.77 trillion won.

The company did not provide a breakdown of the earnings for the DS division, but brokerages assume that the division may have achieved an operating profit of less than 5 trillion won.

In the apology, Jun noted that "the full responsibility lies with us, those who are leading the business" and stressed the top priority to address the company's "crisis" is "restoring the fundamental technological competitiveness."

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, who also heads the Device Solutions division, responds to reporters during an award ceremony for the 34th Samsung Ho-Am Prize at Shilla Hotel in Seoul, May 31. Yonhap

Jun's reference to technological competitiveness is related to Samsung's capabilities in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for artificial intelligence (AI) processors.

While its domestic rival, SK Hynix, is solidifying its position as the global leader in HBM thanks to its supply agreement with Nvidia, Samsung has yet to deliver the fifth-generation HBM3e chips to the AI giant, raising concerns about its technological capabilities.

"Samsung Electronics' third-quarter performance fell short of even the lowered market expectations," Eugene Investment & Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo said.

"Despite all their efforts, they have yet to deliver the results the market wants from their HBM business … As a result, the plans and rosy outlook Samsung presented just three months ago have become unfulfilled promises, widening its market capitalization gap with TSMC."

As Jun acknowledged management's responsibility for the underperformance, sources indicate that it is highly likely he will spearhead the overhaul process.

Jun was appointed as the head of Samsung's chip business in May, as part of the company's efforts to revamp its organizational structure, a need that became evident while navigating the slowdown in the global semiconductor market last year.

Upon assuming the role, he restructured the DS division's semiconductor research lab, reintegrating the DRAM and NAND flash R&D functions back into their respective departments to foster better collaboration with manufacturing. Additionally, he established a dedicated team for HBM chips, consolidating researchers and developers who were previously dispersed across the DRAM department.

Market attention is now on how Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong will respond to the existing concerns and set a new course for the tech giant to ensure sustainable growth.

Upon returning from his visit to the Philippines and Singapore on Friday, Lee declined to answer reporters' questions about his plans for overhauling the company's businesses. Typically, he engages in friendly exchanges with reporters even when sidestepping business inquiries, but this time he remained silent. The senior executives accompanying him also chose not to comment.

As attention intensifies around his leadership, Lee is poised to mark his second anniversary as the head of Samsung Electronics on Oct. 27. Additionally, the company will celebrate its 55th founding anniversary on Nov. 1.