Samsung's latest move shows its mobile business may be having a worse year than we thought

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j.k shin samsung ceo in charge of mobile

REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Samsung's Shin Jong Kyun

Samsung announced on Monday that it's replacing its president of mobile communications, in the latest sign of change at the electronic giant's ailing smartphone business.

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According to Bloomberg, Samsung will replace former president of mobile communications Shin Jong Kyun with Koh Dongjin, who was part of the Galaxy S6 and Note 5 business. The move was announced as part of Samsung's annual year-end management reorganization.

Shin, who was largely responsible for the Galaxy's early success, will remain president and co-CEO of the broader Samsung Electronics division, it said.

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Monday's announcement comes at a tough time for Samsung. Galaxy is no longer considered the Apple rival it once was, with rising competition from Chinese smartphone makers, such as Xiaomi and Huawei. Galaxy is no longer the top selling device in the Chinese market, and Samsung is expected to see an 8.2% drop in profits this year, the lowest point since 2011, according to Bloomberg.

The fact that Samsung's decided to make this move during the holiday season could also mean the company may be struggling to reach its sales goals in what is typically the most lucrative quarter for most tech companies.

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The management shake up is also part of a string of recent executive departures at Samsung. Earlier this year, Samsung Mobile's CMO Todd Pendleton left the company, while late last year, three of its top marketing executives all resigned.

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