According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple has now hired Brandon Yoon to lead operations in South Korea. Yoon has previously been both Microsoft and Samsung executives and has overseen digital strategy at Samsung as a corporate vice president for the company. He worked for Samsung for just under three years and at Microsoft for four, and now had taken the leap to join Apple.
“Brandon Yoon, a veteran Microsoft Corp. executive and most recently a vice president at Samsung Electronics Co., joined this month as general manager of Apple Korea, according to his LinkedIn profile. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.”
The market has proven difficult in South Korea, and just days before this new appointment, Apple’s offices in Seoul were raided by authorities.
“More recently, the Korea Herald reported that Apple could face penalties in Korea over pushing iPhone marketing costs on to telecom partners in the country.”
This new appointment will likely address these issues. Yoon announced the appointment by updating his LinkedIn account to reveal he has been named general manager of Apple Korea and was hired by Apple in April. Apple previously fired its Korea head in 2012 over slow sales.
“According to data from Strategy Analytics, Apple had 18 percent of the Korean smartphone market last year, behind Samsung’s 56 percent. Earlier this year, Apple opened its first retail store in the country.”
