In a new move to stay afloat in South Korea, Apple has hired Samsung corporate’s former Vice President as the new General Manager for Apple Korea, reports Bloomberg. As a person who knows the ins and outs of the Korean tech market and competition, Apple’s latest hire, Brandon Yoon, is expected to help the company stay afloat in Samsung’s home country.
According to Yoon’s LinkedIn profile, Yoon was responsible for overseeing digital strategy, e-commerce, marketing, social media, and new business at Samsung, a company he left this March. At his new place of employment, Yoon is expected to take on a broad administrative role, including setting and re-evaluating long-term company goals, overseeing business strategies, and managing senior staff, as per the job description mentioned by Monster and Harvard Business Review.
Apple has been trying hard to make its mark in the Korean market, accounting for only 18% of Korea’s smartphone market last year, trailing far behind Samsung’s 56%. The Korean police raided the company’s offices in November last year, just ahead of the launch of iPhone X, to ask “questions about its business practices” and facing a flood of lawsuits on account of allegations leveled against it of trying to intentionally slow down older phones with iOS 11, the latest hire seems to be Apple’s peace offering to the South Korean smartphone market; along with opening the first Apple store in Korea this January.
