It is the latest management upheaval at the firm after the heir of the entire Samsung Group was imprisoned for corruption in August.

Mr Kwon is one of three co-chief executives of Samsung Electronics.

His resignation comes on the same day the firm forecast record quarterly profits, citing higher memory chip prices.

Mr Kwon, who also serves on the board of Samsung Electronics, said he had been thinking about his departure “for quite some time” and could “no longer put it off.”

“As we are confronted with unprecedented crisis inside out, I believe that time has now come for the company [to] start anew, with a new spirit and young leadership to better respond to challenges arising from the rapidly changing IT industry,” he said in a statement.

He will remain on the board of Samsung Electronics until March 2018.

Ryan Lim, founding partner of the Singapore technology consultancy firm QED said “Samsung is in a leadership crisis situation”.

Mr Lim said “the current management structure seems to be a complicated web that does not clarify, but rather confuses”.

“This needs to be resolved soon as it can be worrying not to know who is truly steering the Samsung behemoth into the future,” he said.

In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for Samsung told the BBC that a successor would be appointed “soon” but could not give a timeframe.

Corruption charges

Samsung Electronics is regarded as the jewel in the crown of the Samsung Group conglomerate, which is made up of 60 interlinked companies, and is one of South Korea’s massive family-run businesses known as chaebols.

In August, the group’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong was convicted of bribery and corruption and sentenced to five years in jail.

Mr Lee is accused of giving donations worth 41bn won ($36m; £29m) to non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a friend of South Korea’s former President Park Geun-hye, in return for political favours.

He was back in court on Thursday, appealing his jail term.

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Source: BBC

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The car manufacturer said a driver’s knee could bump the key fob and turn it out of the “run” position, causing a loss of power.

GM said the fault had led to three crashes, causing four “minor” injuries.

In March, GM recalled 2.6 million small cars because of a faulty ignition switch linked to 13 deaths.

In May, the company was fined $35m (£21m) for failing to address different defects which have been linked to 13 deaths.

GM has recalled more than 13 million cars in the US this year – more than the carmaker sold in 2013.

In addition to the Camaro recall, GM also announced it was recalling 28,789 Saab 9-3 convertibles from the 2004-2011 because of concerns over front seat belt failures and 21,567 Chevrolet Sonic cars from 2012, because of concerns over a transmission fault.

The carmaker is also recalling 14,765 of its 2014 Buicks, because of fears over an electrical wiring fault.

Previous recalls have involved possible faulty seat belts, transmissions and air bags, as well as potential fire issues.

“The Camaro ignition system meets all GM engineering specifications and is unrelated to the ignition system used in Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars included in the ignition switch recall,” GM said in a statement.

Source: BBC

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That takes the total number of cars GM has recalled this year to over 13 million in the US – more than the carmaker sold in 2013.

The latest move covers possible faulty seat belts, transmissions, and air bags, as well as potential fire issues.

No fatalities have been associated with this recall.

Most of the vehicles affected by the latest recalls were built between 2004 and 2010, although a small number of new cars and pickup trucks have also been included.

Mounting pressure

The company has been under intense pressure recently from regulators to improve its safety standards.

Last week the company was fined $35m (£21m) for failing to address different defects which have been linked to 13 deaths.

That was the maximum allowed by US law and it was the single highest civil penalty ever levied as a result of a recall investigation.

The recalls have already cost the company $1.3bn in the first three months of the year and it now estimates it will cost the firm around $400m in the April to May period.

It expects an internal investigation about the issue to conclude within the next two weeks.

Shares were down more than 3%.

Source: BBC

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