LG Chem chief vows to get due compensation from SK

Shin Hak-cheol, chief executive and vice chairman of LG Chem, on Thursday vowed to get proper compensation from SK Innovation for stealing its battery technologies. “We can’t easily let go of this case for the general good of global companies that are developing technologies on the belief of fair competition and clients who make purchases on the belief they were lawfully made,” Shin said at the company’s general shareholders meeting held at the headquarters building in

March 25, 2021

GC Wellbeing drug material for cancer cachexia shows efficacy

GC Wellbeing announced Thursday that GCWB204, its new drug material for treating cancer cachexia, has shown efficacy in preventing muscle reduction. GC Wellbeing, jointly with the convergence medical team led by professor Woo Dong-cheol of Asan Medical Center, published the results of the research in global academic journal Metabolomics, according to the company. The joint research team focused on analyzing the effects of GCWB204 on main biomarkers from animal samples that underwent muscle

March 25, 2021

SK Telecom eyes governance improvement to boost shareholder value

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest wireless carrier, said Thursday it will revamp its governance structure this year in a way that boosts shareholder value. CEO Park Jung-ho told shareholders that the company will announce changes to its governance structure "soon," admitting its share price has remained largely lackluster despite its strong earnings last year. "Our market cap does not properly reflect the value of our subsidiaries and businesses," Park said in an annual

March 25, 2021

Samsung rolls out Micro LED TV in Southeast Asia

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it began to sell the company's first Micro LED TV in Southeast Asian countries as the world's largest TV maker plans to boost premium TV sales amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. Samsung said its 2021 TV lineup, including the Neo QLED TV, which uses Quantum Mini LEDs that are just 1/40th the size of conventional LEDs, was launched in Singapore on Wednesday and will be available in other Southeast Asian countries next month. Before Singapore, Sa

March 25, 2021

LG Electronics expanding investment in auto parts biz for future

LG Electronics Inc. has invested more than 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in its automotive business in the recent five years, its report showed Thursday, as the South Korean tech giant eyes beefing up its future growth engine. The investment from LG's vehicle component solutions (VS) division was 587.8 billion won in 2017, 1.7 trillion won in 2018, 629.3 billion won in 2019 and 472.1 billion won in 2020, according to the company's business report. It plans to spend 613.8 billion won in 2021.

March 25, 2021

Chipmakers show mixed reactions to Intel foundry plan

South Korea’s semiconductor industry on Wednesday showed mixed reactions to Intel’s bid for the foundry business, agreeing with the US chip giant’s decision on the need for manufacturing not only its own chips but also chips for others at a critical time of global chip shortage. During its Engineering the Future event on Tuesday, US time, Intel’s new CEO Pat Gelsinger said the company will set a new branch named Intel Foundry Services and invest $20 billion to build t

March 24, 2021

S. Korea to spend W1.1tr for Level 4 self-driving technology

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to spend 1.1 trillion won ($974 million) by 2027 to speed up the development of Level 4 self-driving vehicles and boost related technologies. At Level 4, one stage before full autonomy, the vehicle can drive itself under limited conditions and does not require human intervention. Under the plan, South Korea will support 84 projects to develop vehicle convergence, information and communication and road traffic technologies, as well as self-driving services an

March 24, 2021

KT aims to produce 100 blockbuster dramas by 2023

KT, South Korea’s second-biggest mobile carrier by subscribers, will invest big in content to seek growth beyond the platform business, its chief executive said Tuesday. In a press conference held virtually, CEO Ku Hyun-mo said the telecom firm had taken its first major step in January already, setting up KT Studio Genie, which will serve as the control tower of all media and content related businesses within KT. “Media platform is an important business for KT, which can bring ta

March 23, 2021

Samsung clinches 5G supply deal with Japan’s No.1 NTT Docomo

Samsung Electronics has been chosen as a 5G network solution provider for Japan’s No.1 mobile operator NTT Docomo, the Korean tech giant said Tuesday. Samsung will support Docomo with its 5G technology, including O-RAN-compliant solutions, to bring enriched 5G services to Japanese users and enable digital transformation for businesses, it said. Docomo is Japan’s leading mobile carrier that has nearly 82 million users across the country. It launched 5G services in March last yea

March 23, 2021

Xiaomi seeks to expand presence in S. Korea with new midrange smartphones

Xiaomi Corp. on Tuesday said it will launch new midrange smartphones in South Korea as the Chinese tech giant tries to beef up its presence amid rumors that the country's homegrown brand LG Electronics Inc. may exit from the mobile business. Xiaomi said the Redmi Note 10 will be released in South Korea on March 30 at 218,000 won ($190), while the Redmi Note 10 Pro will hit shelves on April 9 at 319,000 won. The Redmi Note 10 Pro comes with a quad rear camera setup that includes a 108-megapixe

March 23, 2021

LG Display seeks to turn to black this year: CEO

LG Display Co. is struggling to make profits this year with its focus on expanding its OLED business, its chief said Tuesday. The panel maker posted an operating loss of 29.1 billion won ($25 million) in 2020, sharply narrowing from a loss of 714.5 billion won a year earlier, while sales increased 3.2 percent on-year to 24.23 trillion won, apparently benefiting from increased demand for displays amid the pandemic-induced trends of remote working and distance learning. "This year, we will

March 23, 2021

Premium TV sales to grow in 2021 despite market decline: report

Global TV sales are expected to decline slightly this year, but shipments of premium TVs will grow, a report showed Tuesday, boding well for South Korean makers that lead the high-end sector. Global TV shipments are projected to reach 223.09 million units in 2021, according to market researcher Omdia, which is down 1 percent from last year's 225.35 million units. The latest figure is also down from Omdia's previous estimate of 224.22 million units late last year. Omdia predicted that robust

March 23, 2021

LG Electronics to step up 6G tech development

LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday it has joined forces with two other partners to develop next-generation 6G network technology. LG signed a partnership with Keysight Technologies Inc., a US-based electronics test and measurement firm, and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), South Korea's leading research university. Under the agreement, the three sides will cooperate in developing technologies related to terahertz, a key frequency band for 6G communications. The

March 23, 2021

Samsung Display likely to receive compensation from Apple over order shortfall

Samsung Display Co., a major display panel maker in South Korea, is likely to receive compensation from Apple Inc. over a shortfall in OLED panel orders, industry insiders said Tuesday. Samsung Display's worldwide small OLED shipments in January dropped 9 percent month-to-month to 45 million units, according to market researcher Omdia, which added that the decline is apparently prompted by sluggish sales of Apple's iPhone 12 mini.  Foreign media have reported that Apple has adjusted tar

March 23, 2021

Samsung Display expects more low-power OLED panel supply to global smartphone makers

Samsung Display Co., the world's largest smartphone panel supplier, said Tuesday it expects to ship more low-power OLED displays to global smartphone manufacturers amid rising demand from Chinese players. Samsung Display said Oppo, which has risen to become China's largest smartphone manufacturer, uses its OLED panel with adaptive frequency technology for the company's flagship smartphone lineup, the Find X3. The use of such a panel cuts the total power consumption of Oppo's premium smartpho

March 23, 2021

Samsung to provide 5G network solutions to Japan's NTT Docomo

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has signed a deal with Japan's largest mobile operator NTT Docomo Inc. to provide 5G network solutions as the South Korean tech giant tries to further expands its presence in the 5G infrastructure market. Samsung said it will support Docomo with its advanced 5G technology, including open radio access network (O-RAN) compliant solutions, to help the Japanese telecom firm deliver better 5G services to its customers. Docomo provides wireless network servi

March 23, 2021

Lotte to acquire stake in bio venture: report

South Korea’s retail-to-construction conglomerate Lotte is considering acquiring a significant stake in Enzychem Lifesciences to become its second-largest shareholder, a local newspaper reported Monday. The group’s de facto holding firm Lotte Holdings and Lotte Chemical would jointly buy the shares, the report said, which would be the conglomerate’s first attempt at a biotech business. The group is also eyeing a joint venture with Enzychem to further its interest in the f

March 22, 2021

‘NAND flash could go higher than 600 layers’: SK hynix CEO

NAND flash chips could have more than 600 layers as memory technologies evolve, SK hynix CEO Lee Seok-hee said at a global forum on Monday. During a keynote speech at the International Reliability Physics Symposium hosted by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Lee said, “In both DRAM and NAND areas, the company is working to improve not only materials of memory semiconductors but also design structures and reliability to raise the technological value.” “If

March 22, 2021

Civic group to file class action suit over ‘poor’ 5G services

A group of 5G mobile network subscribers in South Korea are pushing for a class action lawsuit against the country’s three telecom companies over the quality of the services. Calling themselves “Victims of 5G,” the group aims to attract 1 million individuals to join the action to seek compensation of an amount not immediately known. The suit is to be filed through joint litigation platform called “Angry People,” it said. “Nationwide establishment of 5G n

March 22, 2021

Korean midsized satellite launched into space

A South Korean midsized observation satellite was successfully launched into space Monday, the Korean government announced. The Ministry of Science and ICT in Seoul said the 540-kilogram satellite, loaded on Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a rocket, lifted off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, around 50 days after the satellite arrived at the launch site. 　 The ICT Ministry added that the ground station made its first contact with the satellite 102 minutes after the launch and a

March 22, 2021