Samsung launches new high-resolution monitors

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday launched its 2021 lineup of high-resolution monitors as the South Korean tech giant eyes to increase sales amid the rising trend of remote working and distance learning.  Samsung said 12 different monitors across three series -- the S8, S7 and S6 -- are released globally, with all models offering more than 1 billion colors, a 178-degree wide viewing angle and enhanced High Dynamic Range 10 technology. In South Korea, 10 models are available with price t

March 22, 2021

ViGenCell plans IPO in Q3

Biotech firm ViGenCell plans to list its shares on the local bourse in the third quarter of this year in an initial public offering, the company said Monday. Commissioned by the bourse operator Korea Exchange, two independent expert groups have recently conducted a review of the company’s biotech assets, growth potential and business operations and have cleared it for the flotation, ViGenCell said. Following the initial approval, the company plans to apply for the Korea Exchange&rsquo

March 22, 2021

LG Electronics still mulling fate of its smartphone biz

LG Electronics Inc. is still mulling the fate of its money-losing mobile business, industry insiders said Monday, amid rumors that the South Korean tech giant may shut down the unit instead of selling it. In January, LG announced its mobile communications division is open to "all possibilities" for its future operations after years of poor performance. LG's mobile business has been in the red since the second quarter of 2015. Its accumulated operating losses reached nearly 5 trilli

March 22, 2021

LG Uplus opens first unmanned store amid pandemic

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Monday it has launched its first store that operates without the help of retail workers, joining other mobile carriers to offer services that minimize physical contact amid the coronavirus pandemic. LG Uplus' new store in Seoul's central ward of Jongno incorporates automation technology, such as digital kiosks that allow customers to change their data plans and buy new phones or USIM cards without the help of store workers. Customers

March 22, 2021

Samsung claims its wireless earbuds effective for people with hearing impairments

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday its study showed its Galaxy Buds Pro wireless earbuds could help people with hearing impairments. The study, which was published last week in Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology (CEO), a renowned scientific journal dedicated to ear, nose and throat research, suggested that the Galaxy Buds Pro's Ambient Sound feature could assist those with mild to moderate hearing loss to better engage in conversation with others, according to Samsung. Its Ambien

March 22, 2021

SK Innovation’s two decades in lithium-ion battery biz

SK Innovation, the battery and new energy affiliate of SK Group, entered the battery market in 1996 and started off with large-storage lithium-ion batteries just two years later. Thanks to two decadeslong coating technologies accumulated at chemicals maker SKC, the company was able to complete world-class coating and assembly technologies for lithium-ion batteries at the time. SK’s focus was on lithium polymer batteries, making them lighter and in new form factors like the prismatic-ty

March 22, 2021

Naver invested 25% of revenue in R&D projects last year

Naver spent 1.33 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in research and development last year, nearly a quarter of its total annual sales, the company said Sunday. Its investment-to-sales ratio of 25.11 percent was the highest among all South Korean companies that release annual performance reports. According to the company’s annual report, its investment in R&D activities was larger than its annual operating profit last year, which was 1.2 trillion won. Compared to a year earlier, the R&D

March 21, 2021

Launch of Korean satellite postponed in Kazakhstan

The launch of South Korea's next-generation midsized observation satellite, slated for Saturday afternoon at a space center in Kazakhstan, has been postponed, government officials here said. The 540-kilogram satellite, loaded on Russia's Soyuz 2.1a, was scheduled to take off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:07 p.m. (11:07 a.m. local time). But the launch has been postponed, reportedly due to problems detected from the upper part of the carrier rocket, according to officials at

March 20, 2021

Work ban on Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong ‘unclear’: compliance committee

  An external compliance monitoring committee on Samsung Electronics and its affiliates concluded on Friday that the restriction on Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong’s employment was “unclear.” The committee, led by former Chief Justice Kim Ji-hyung, discussed during its regular meeting the ongoing controversy involving the Ministry of Justice’s latest ban on Lee from being employed by Samsung for five years due to his conviction in a bribery scandal involving forme

March 19, 2021

Samsung BioLogics to accelerate global expansion

Samsung BioLogics, the pharmaceutical arm of Samsung Group, vowed Friday to further expand its range of drug products down the road, in a move to grow beyond the conventional antibody drug conjugate business. The blue print was delivered by CEO John Rim during the company’s 10th shareholders meeting held at the headquarters in Incheon. Rim, who was named CEO in December last year, said the company plans to secure related technologies and facilities that are capable of producing cell and

March 19, 2021

S. Korea set to launch next-generation observation satellite over weekend

South Korea will launch its next-generation midsized observation satellite this week, the latest in the country's efforts to boost its space industry and develop its own space technologies. The 540-kilogram satellite loaded on Russia's Soyuz 2.1a will take off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday morning (local time) and contact the Svalbard Satellite Station in Norway after reaching its target orbit, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Equipped with an imaging sens

March 19, 2021

[News Focus] LG Group’s spinoff decision to take center stage at shareholders meeting

At the annual shareholders meeting set for next Friday, LG Group’s plans to spin off business units and create a new holding company for them are expected to take center stage. As the meeting approaches, market experts and advisory institutions are releasing their assessments of the restructuring plan, which the group says it has had in the works since the leadership change in 2018. LG Corp., the current holding company of LG Group, announced in November that the group would spin off

March 18, 2021

Nafabeltan out, but push for homegrown COVID-19 drug continues

The competition to develop the country’s second COVID-19 treatment continues among South Korea’s major pharmaceutical companies after Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical recently dropped out. South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Wednesday that it has decided not to approve Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical’s candidate, Nafabeltan, based on a review by its advisory board of its efficacy and safety. Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical’s acute pancreatitis dru

March 18, 2021

Daewoong clinches W380b out-licensing deal with Chinese pharmaceutical firm

Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Thursday that the company has out-licensed its gastroesophageal reflux disease agent Fexuprazan to Shanghai Haini Pharmaceutical for 380 billion won. The deal included an upfront payment of 6.8 billion won and 13.6 billion won in milestone payments, the company added. Under the agreement, Shanghai Haini has acquired rights to conduct clinical studies for the agent used to treat a digestive disorder. Shanghai Haini would also be in charge of the entire approval pr

March 18, 2021

S. Koreans' spending on Netflix hits over W70b in Feb.: data

South Koreans are estimated to have spent more than 70 billion won ($62.4 million) for Netflix's video streaming services last month, more than tripling from the previous year, data showed Thursday. Local credit and debit card payments on the video streaming platform reached 72.5 billion won in February, the highest-ever monthly figure, compared with 22.5 billion won the same month the previous year, according to the data from industry tacker WiseApp. Based on the data, WiseApp said there were

March 18, 2021

Samsung unveils most competitive midrange Galaxy A phones

Samsung Electronics is apparently shifting its focus to midrange phones from premium ones, announcing three new affordable but high-spec models on Wednesday. During its first online Galaxy Awesome Unpacked event for midrange smartphones, the South Korean smartphone vendor unveiled the Galaxy A52, A52 5G and A72 that boast optical image stabilization cameras, high-refresh rate displays and 5G for the first time among Galaxy A phones. Such a move is aimed at cementing Samsung’s top pos

March 17, 2021

FDA to inspect Hanmi’s drug manufacturing site in May

The US Food and Drug Administration will carry out a pre-approval inspection in May at Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s drug manufacturing facilities and packaging sites in Gyeonggi Province’s Pyeongtaek that produces the novel drug Rolontis, the Korean company said Wednesday. The US FDA was slated to approve Hanmi’s manufacturing of the given drug on Oct. 24 last year, but the schedule was temporarily shelved due to restrictions on overseas business trips amid the escalating COVID-19

March 17, 2021

Celltrion’s breast cancer biosimilar takes up 44% market share in Japan

South Korean biotechnology company Celltrion said Wednesday that the company‘s breast cancer drug Herzuma reached a market share of 44 percent in Japan last year. Herzuma is a biosimilar of Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab), used in treating patients with certain breast and gastric cancers. In the third quarter of 2019, the market share of Herzuma in Japan was just 2 percent, but the figure jumped to 12 percent in the following quarter. Herzuma&rsqu

March 17, 2021

S. Korean govt. initiates W600b program to nurture regenerative medicine

The South Korean government announced that it would spend 595 billion won ($525.6 million) by 2030 to support the country’s regenerative medicine sector. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the program will start in July this year, focused on supporting the overall research and development of regenerative medicines, exploration of related business opportunities and out-licensing of technologies. The goal is to help local firms develop at least four new regenerative medicines

March 17, 2021

Samsung chief’s fate in focus at shareholders meeting

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Around 900 shareholders of Samsung Electronics gathered at a convention center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday to attend their 52nd annual meeting. The number of attendees more than doubled from last year, when fears of the COVID-19 pandemic hit especially hard. Samsung has hosted the shareholders meeting at the 2,000-seat Suwon Convention Center since last year. Previous meetings held at its headquarters building in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, were ove

March 17, 2021