Ex-US envoy to join Samsung as PR chief of North America

Mark Lippert, former US ambassador to South Korea who is currently working as public policy chief at YouTube Asia-Pacific, is joining Samsung Electronics as the head of corprate and government affairs in North America, industry sources said Friday.

The former diplomat will begin working for the tech giant starting next month as the executive vice president of Samsung Electronics America and oversee its external relations in the region. Lippert is reportedly in the final stages of signing the contract.

The post has been held by David Steel, one of the key strategists in the US team, for almost a decade.

The recruitment will allow Samsung to bolster its responsiveness to changing US policies, especially those regarding chips, which have emerged as a key strategic item amid global supply chain risks.

The 48-year-old took office as the youngest US ambassador to South Korea in 2014. During his three-year term under former US President Barack Obama, the former US envoy made frequent appearances in the public, showing his love and interest for the Korean culture.

Then, he served as a vice president for Boeing International and senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In June 2020, he was appointed as director, government affairs and public policy of YouTube Asia-Pacific in May 2020.

Lippert speaks Korean and was also known as a fan of the Doosan Bears baseball team. He was even named an honorary ambassador for the Korean baseball league in 2015.

The diplomat and his wife Robyn gave birth to the couple’s son and daughter in Seoul and gave them Korean middle names.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)