Samsung Electronics agreed to enhance shareholder value and pledged to keep increasing dividends for shareholders until 2020 at a general meeting of shareholders on Friday.

At the annual shareholders meeting attended by 502 registered retail and institutional investors, four agenda items were proposed by the board of directors and approved by the shareholders.

As widely expected, Samsung’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong did not attend the meeting, remaining out of the public eye for six weeks since he was released from jail.

The agenda included approval of the full-year financial statement, the election of members to the board of directors, wage increases for directors and amendments to the articles of incorporation for a stock split, which were announced earlier this year.

In 2017, the tech giant returned 9.2 trillion won ($8.46 billion won) to shareholders through share buybacks and cancellation. It plans to pay out a total of 5.8 trillion won in annual dividends. In addition, the company canceled half of its treasury shares last year.

Samsung will focus on delivering shareholder value by increasing dividends from 2018 to 2020, said Kwon Oh-hyun, chairman of the board of directors.

“We decided on the 50 to 1 stock split in order to improve accessibility and liquidity of the shares,” Kwon said. “We hope the plan helps boost trading of the stocks and more individuals become invest in Samsung shares” 

The company’s board of directors also proposed the appointments of three new independent directors and four executive directors, following last year’s leadership changes.

Upon shareholders’ approval, President and former Chief Financial Officer Lee Sang-hoon has been elected to the board, taking the role of board chairman and succeeding Chairman Kwon.

This will mark the first time for Samsung Electronics to separate the board chairman and the chief executive officer roles, Kwon said.

“The separation will further empower the board of directors and enhance its independence,” he said. “The board will be able to evaluate the company’s performance more objectively and have greater authority and efficiency as a decision making body.”

The heads of Samsung’s three divisions -- Presidents Kim Ki-nam (device solutions), Kim Hyun-suk (consumer electronics), and Koh Dong-jin (IT and mobile communications) -- were also nominated to join the board.

The board’s independent director recommendation committee has nominated three new candidates for election, including Kim Jeong-un, Kim Sun-uk and Park Byung-gook.

The total number of Samsung’s board members has increased to 11 from nine. 

“I believe this is the right time for a younger leadership to take the helm of the company to better respond to a rapidly changing global IT industry,” Kwon said. “I sincerely hope that our shareholders will continue to show unwavering interest and support our new management team.”

It was the last meeting presided over by Kwon as he stepped down from the vice chairman and board chairman posts last year.

Before the agenda was proposed, the CEOs of each division unveiled their plans for this year.

Device solutions CEO Kim Ki-nam pledged to focus on maintaining the technological gap between Samsung and emerging Chinese players.

Consumer electronics CEO Kim Hyun-suk highlighted the division’s plan to focus on providing large-size QLED TVs and keep its top position in the global premium market.

IT and mobile communications CEO Koh Dong-jin said the smartphone unit’s goal would be to achieve meaningful innovations to further strengthen its leadership in the market.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)