Samsung CEO apologizes for stifling phone performance

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and co-CEO Han Jong-hee on Wednesday apologized over the escalating disputes surrounding performance issues of the tech giant’s latest flagship Galaxy S22. “We were unable to properly consider our consumer’s needs,” Han said as he bowed deep in apology in front of some 1,600 shareholders attending an annual general meeting both in-person and online. It was the first time that a top Samsung executive has offered an apology to the publi

March 16, 2022

SK Siltron to spend W1tr on new 300mm wafer plant

SK Siltron, South Korea‘s sole silicon wafer maker for chips, plans to spend a combined 1.05 trillion won ($845.61 million) to build a new fab that manufactures 300-millimeter wafers in order to address a chip shortage due to wafer supply constraints, a filing showed Wednesday. With a board approval Tuesday, the key silicon wafer supplier to the country’s chip powerhouses Samsung Electronics and SK hynix aims to embark on the fab construction in the first half at a 42,716 square-me

March 16, 2022

SK On to beef up EV battery alliance with Ford

An upcoming electric vehicle battery plant in Turkey built by South Korean company SK On is the latest testament that its battery alliance with US carmaker Ford is ever becoming stronger. On Monday, SK On announced plans to set up a new plant on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, with an annual capacity of between 30 and 45 gigawatt-hour starting as early as 2025, in a deal with US carmaker Ford and Turkish conglomerate Koc. The battery arm of South Korea-based conglomerate SK, Ford and Koc hav

March 15, 2022

What to expect from Samsung’s shareholder meeting

Samsung Electronics will hold an annual meeting of shareholders on Wednesday, amid complaints growing over performance issues of its latest Galaxy phones and falling stock prices that failed to reflect the world’s top smartphone and chip maker’s robust earnings. The key agenda of the upcoming meeting is the appointment of four presidents, including Kyung Kye-hyun, co-CEO and head of chip business, and Roh Tae-moon, head of mobile business, as new internal board members. Industry w

March 14, 2022

Samsung, Posco make foray into solid-state batteries

South Korean conglomerates Samsung and Posco on Monday each announced plans to build production lines of solid-state batteries, an up-and-coming technology in making fireproof and energy-dense lithium-ion batteries that can boost electric vehicle range. Samsung SDI, a battery arm of Korea’s largest conglomerate by assets, said the company has started the construction of a 6,500-square-meter pilot assembly line for manufacturing solid-state batteries that power electric cars in Suwon, Gye

March 14, 2022

‘More companies considering reshoring after COVID-19’

A much greater number of Korean companies are considering bringing their manufacturing and services back home compared to two years ago, the Federation of Korean Industries said Monday. According to a survey of 105 of the country’s top 500 businesses in sales, conducted for a week through Feb. 24 by a pollster commissioned by the business lobbying group, 27.8 percent said they were currently mulling reshoring. In a similar poll of Korea’s 1,000 largest firms in sales conducted in M

March 14, 2022

Kakao founder quits board to explore overseas business

Korea’s tech titan Kakao said Monday that its founder Kim Beom-su will leave his chairman post at the board to explore new business opportunities overseas and break the boundary of mobile-focused platform businesses. Kim’s resignation as the chairman of the board will be approved at the upcoming shareholders meeting on March 29. Kim will resume his post as the head of the company’s Future Initiative Center, Kakao said. The Kakao founder has chaired the board since 2015. Based

March 14, 2022

LG Electronics hires UCLA professor for logistic robots

Seoul-based LG Electronics announced Monday that it is working with Korean American robot engineer Dennis Hong to develop a robotics solution for the logistics sector. The collaboration between LG Electronics’ Advanced Robotics Lab and Hong, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, is aimed at promoting “advances in robotics technology to a wider audience” so that products can be shipped from warehouses to customers mor

March 14, 2022

[Herald Interview] When quantum tech marries 5G

BARCELONA, Spain -- The early 5G rollout in South Korea brought Switzerland-based ID Quantique’s quantum-safe technology to life on smartphones, backbone networks and will potentially be on mobile camera modules and cars. With outcomes and prototypes in Asia keen on 5G penetration, primarily with its controlling shareholder SK Telecom, IDQ looks to take its aim back at Europe as its continent-wide quantum network infrastructure project is starting to crystalize. “The first deploym

March 13, 2022

Bio, game, tech industries mixed over Yoon’s campaign pledges

With Yoon Suk-yeol set to be South Korea’s next president, the country’s biopharmaceutical and gaming industries are paying vigilant attention as the president-elect pledged to increase support for the bio and health sectors while vowing to tighten regulations on game makers’ random box items. The pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries on Thursday welcomed Yoon’s campaign promise to set up a prime ministerial control tower called the Pharmaceutical Bio Innovati

March 10, 2022

Real estate prices soar on metaverse, too

Korea’s metaverse real estate sales platform Metaverse 2 said Tuesday its virtual land price has surged in the last six months, amid the growing trend towards alternative ways to build wealth using the blockchain technology. The company said the price of some shares that own Lotte World Tower, the country’s tallest building and one of the most famous landmarks in Seoul, increased 180,000 times to $18,300 as of Friday. The average price of 10 square meters of land in New York City&r

March 8, 2022

Gucci to hold metaverse exhibition at Naver’s Zepeto

Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci said Monday it will put on a metaverse exhibition and sell fashion items for avatars on Zepeto, Korean tech giant Naver’s metaverse platform. The fashion house has opened a virtual space on Zepeto, where users can enjoy a metaverse version of “Gucci Garden Archetypes,” an ongoing multimedia exhibition in Seoul. Gucci and Zepeto, following its first partnership last year, agreed to bring nine out of 13 offline exhibition spaces to Zepeto. Use

March 7, 2022

[MEET THE CEO] With fresh IPO capital, Krafton looks into metaverse, NFT and C2E

As one of South Korea’s online game pioneers, Kim Chang-han -- a computer engineer-turned-entrepreneur -- had early success in his life with his creation, PUBG: Battlegrounds. Since its debut in 2017, the popular battle royale game has sold over 75 million copies in 200 countries and also turned the small game company Krafton into a global studio generating 1.89 trillion won ($1.55 billion) of revenue a year. Kim, also known as the father of PUBG for his key role in developing the game, i

March 6, 2022

Naver’s metaverse platform Zepeto hits 300m users

Zepeto, the metaverse platform of Korea’s tech giant Naver, said Friday its number of domestic and international users reached 300 million since its launch, amid the burgeoning trend of interactions in virtual reality. “The number of international users alone is 285 million, accounting for 95 percent of users, while 15 million domestic users have subscribed to the app,“ a Naver official said. ”The number of monthly active customers reached 20 million.“ Companies

March 4, 2022

[MWC 2022] Science Minister signs MOU with GSMA for metaverse cooperation

BARCELONA, Spain -- The South Korean Minister of Science and ICT Lim Hye-sook said the government signed a memorandum of understanding with GSMA, host of the Mobile World Congress 2022, to support mutual interests in the metaverse and its ecosystem development. Under the agreement, the ministry will share information in regard to the progress of the metaverse ecosystem in Korea with GSMA. In return, GSMA is set to present Korea to its members and developers around the world so that Korean busin

March 3, 2022

[MWC 2022] Korean telcos ready to set new standard in 5G network

BARCELONA, Spain -- South Korea is on course to become the first country in the world where its mobile carriers scale up its 5G network capacity to more than 100 MHz-bandwidth for a single operator. At the Mobile World Congress 2022 exhibitions, three network equipment suppliers -- Huawei Technologies, Ericsson-LG and Nokia -- unveiled the most recent updates of their 5G equipment. Representatives say these could help Korean telcos improve the quality of 5G delivery by doubling the bandwidth o

March 3, 2022

SK Telecom's AI service for visually impaired wins award at MWC 2022

South Korean telecom giant SK Telecom Co. said Thursday its artificial intelligence service designed to help the visually impaired has won an award at the world's largest mobile show in Barcelona. The wireless carrier said the AI-based virtual service co-developed with local social venture group Tuat has received an award for Best Use of Mobile for Accessibility & Inclusion at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022. The Sullivan Plus X NUGU applies both voice and visual-assistance AI to allow

March 3, 2022

[MWC 2022] Huawei says its 5G tech ‘game changer’ in Korea with new safety law

BARCELONA, Spain -- The 5G network solutions by Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies could be a game changer in South Korea as its companies are now left vulnerable to a controversial workplace safety law that came into effect in January. At the Mobile World Congress 2022 held in Barcelona, Spain, Huawei’s exhibition at Hall 1 presented 5G solutions that enable automated disaster prevention, currently deployed across China. One of the solutions exhibited is a mining site run by unmann

March 3, 2022

Startup Space Star to send mountaineer’s DNA to space

Korean space tech startup Space Star said Wednesday it will send the DNA of famous mountaineer Um Hong-gil to space, honoring his world record to have climbed the 16 highest peaks on Earth. After swabbing Um’s DNA from his mouth, the company plans to seal it in a capsule and send it to space by the end of this year. “Along with other world renowned celebrities, Um will be the first Korean celebrity to have his DNA sent to space. It is meaningful in the sense that their DNA will pe

March 2, 2022

[MWC 2022] GSMA to press streaming platforms on network cost-sharing: KT CEO

BARCELONA, Spain -- The board of GSMA, the host of Mobile World Congress 2022, has greenlighted a plan urging video streaming service providers to share telecom carriers’ costs of expanding broadband infrastructure, amid lingering conflicts over charging more network usage fees to those causing heavy internet traffic. The plan was proposed by a policy group under GSMA, which called on global content providers including Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ to contribute more

March 2, 2022