The plans are part of Samsung's annual year-end reshuffling that puts key decisions on hold for several weeks as executives within the company jockey for position. But the stakes are higher in the current shake-up as Samsung attempts to regroup and formulate a succession plan after Chairman Lee Kun-hee's hospitalization in May, following a heart attack. Mr. Lee's only son, Jay Y. Lee, currently a Samsung vice chairman, is widely expected to assume the chairman's role, though the timing of his appointment is unclear.