The unit, called the "Future Business Planning Division, " will be led by longtime Samsung executive Jun Young-hyun, currently vice chairman of Samsung SDI Co., a display unit of Samsung Group, the company said in a statement.
The annual reshuffle saw two co-CEOs of Samsung Electronics -- Han Jong-hee and Kyung Kye-hyun -- retain their posts, in an apparent move to stabilize the company's leadership, about a year after Chairman Lee Jae-yong took the helm, reports Yonhap news agency.
The unit was "created to explore new business opportunities beyond its existing operations, " Samsung Electronics said in the statement.
Under the reshuffle, two vice presidents were also promoted.
Yong Seok-woo, who has served in various capacities at the company's display division, was promoted to a president and will be in charge of the display division.
Kim Won-kyong, a former diplomat who joined Samsung Electronics in 2012, was promoted to a president and will head the company's division on global public affairs.
Samsung's latest reshuffle was smaller in scope compared with past ones. Last year, a total of seven executives were promoted to president, including Lee Young-hee, the company's first-ever female president.
The latest reshuffle is also seen as a sign that Samsung is moving to tap more younger talents for top-level executive positions, with Yong becoming the first-ever company president born in the 1970s.
The reshuffle came as a prolonged global economic downturn and a struggling semiconductor industry have cast a cloud over Samsung Electronics' quarterly performance.
In the first and second quarters of this year, Samsung Electronics posted 640.2 billion won ($491 million) and 668.5 billion won in operating profit, respectively, marking the lowest quarterly earnings since the first quarter of 2009.