The Journal also cites sources that believe Samsung is considering making some changes at the executive level — with mobile chief co-CEO JK Shin possibly ceding his role to fellow co-CEO in charge of TVs and appliances — but these rumors are cagier, and the plans are said to be far from final.
Any management shake-up would come as Samsung faces frenzied speculation over the company's top level of leadership. Chairman Lee Kun-hee, the man who orchestrated Samsung's meteoric rise in the '90s and beyond, has been seriously ill after suffering a heart attack in May and, while his son Jay Y. Lee is considered near-certain to take over the role at some point, the company has been silent on any succession plan.
A Samsung spokesperson said "We don't comment on rumors and speculation" when contacted by The Verge.