[Breaking] Fire at Kakao data center causes servers to go down

A fire Saturday at a Kakao data center in Pangyo, south of Seoul, has led to a server outage affecting the KakaoTalk messenger app, along with other apps such as Kakao T, Kakao Map, Kakao Metro, Kakao Webtoon, Kakao Bank, Kakao-owned portal Daum and music streaming service Melon. The internet connection for the apps has been unavailable since 3:30 p.m. "There has been a fire at SK C&C data center since 3:30 p.m. Work has begun to put down the fire, but we are uncertain when the fir

Oct. 15, 2022

S. Korean virtual human to advertise at Thai landmarks

Onmind, a subsidiary of South Korean game-maker Neptune, said Friday its artificial intelligence virtual human model Sua has signed a three-year modeling deal to work with Thai advertising firm DDD. DDD advertises for large Korean conglomerates, Thai Airways and global luxury brands such as Chanel and Dior. It currently has advertisement billboards at major landmarks in Bangkok including Suvarnabhumi Airport, and malls Siam Paragon and MBK Center. Under the contract, Sua will appear on billboard

Oct. 14, 2022

Samsung digital wallet service to arrive at 13 more countries

Samsung Wallet, a digital wallet and digital certificate platform known as Samsung Pay in South Korea, will become available in 13 more countries by the end of this year, tech giant Samsung Electronics announced Friday. The service will be expanded to Bahrain, Denmark, Finland, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Norway, Oman, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates. With Samsung Wallet, Galaxy users can organize digital keys, payment cards, boarding passes, as well as ide

Oct. 14, 2022

[Graphic News] Deaths in S. Korea hit record high last year amid rapid aging, pandemic

　The number of deaths in South Korea hit an all-time high last year due largely to rapid aging and the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　A total of 317,680 people died in the country last year, up 12,732 people, or 4.2 percent, from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. 　The 2021 tally marked the largest since 1983, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. 　The spike in deaths was mainly attributable to rapid aging, and COVID-19 was the

Oct. 14, 2022

LG Energy Solution to complete commitment for 1st Ultium Cells factory

South Korean lithium-ion battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution is set to complete a $916 million capital commitment for a factory in Ohio under Ultium Cells, LG’s joint venture with General Motors, as the factory prepares for mass production in the near future, a filing showed Thursday. LG Energy Solution's US subsidiary will have its committed capital to Ultium Cells fully earmarked by Friday, as LG's payments first began in January 2020, according to the filing with the Finan

Oct. 13, 2022

SKT, UAE’s e& Group join hands to launch meterverse service in Middle East

South Korean wireless telecommunications operator SK Telecom, which operates its own metaverse platform called ifland, said Wednesday it signed a deal with United Arab Emirates’ top telecommunications carrier e& Group to provide its metaverse service to Middle Eastern countries. Under the memorandum of understanding, South Korea’s leading telecommunications carrier will be developing an optimal metaverse service tailored to Middle Eastern users’ tastes, based on the data e&

Oct. 12, 2022

SK On to acquire 10% stake in Lake Resources

South Korean lithium-ion battery maker SK On has signed a conditional framework agreement to buy a 10 percent stake in Australian lithium developer Lake Resources in its new rights offering, a filing showed Wednesday. SK On will buy the stake in June 2023 on the condition that the high-purity lithium extraction from brine water in Lake Resources' flagship projects, including Kachi Project in Argentina, yields a "positive result," according to the filing with the Financial Supervisory S

Oct. 12, 2022

Korean chipmakers given 1-year grace period on US chip export curb on China

South Korean chipmakers will be given a one-year grace period that would allow for their China-based chip plants to continue to import critical chipmaking tools from the United States, without the licensing requirements announced the previous week by the Joe Biden administration. Memory chip maker SK hynix revealed that the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security has assured SK hynix that the company, its suppliers and business partners are still authorized to engage in

Oct. 12, 2022

LG Energy Solution, Honda to build $4.4b battery plant in Ohio

South Korean lithium-ion battery maker LG Energy Solution and Japanese automaker Honda have selected Fayette County, Ohio as the location to commit to a combined $4.4 billion to build an electric vehicle battery plant beginning 2023, the companies said Wednesday. The construction was initially estimated to cost $3.5 billion. Once the construction is complete by the end of 2024, the new plant will start to mass produce pouch-type lithium-ion batteries beginning 2025 with the annual production cap

Oct. 12, 2022

SK Siltron, UK-based IQE to develop semiconductor wafers for 5G, auto chips

South Korean semiconductor wafer maker SK Siltron and Britain-based chip material firm IQE has inked a strategic collaboration agreement to develop next-generation compound semiconductor products targeting the Asian market, SK Siltron said Tuesday. Under the agreement signed Thursday, the two companies will work to develop epitaxial wafers based on gallium nitride using IQE's technology, with wafer substrates made of silicon and silicon carbide supplied by SK Siltron. Gallium nitride can he

Oct. 11, 2022

Lotte signs W2.7tr deal to acquire Iljin Materials

South Korean business conglomerate Lotte Group has signed a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Iljin Materials, a copper foil supplier to electric vehicle battery makers for 2.7 trillion won ($1.9 billion), in Lotte's move to enhance the EV component portfolio, filings showed Tuesday. Lotte Battery Materials USA, a subsidiary of Lotte's petrochemical arm Lotte Chemical, will buy a 53.3 percent stake, or 24.6 million ordinary shares, in the world's fourth-largest copper foil ma

Oct. 11, 2022

Samsung vows W7.5tr investment in Biologics over next 10 years

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday visited Samsung Biologics, a contract manufacturing and development organization under the Samsung empire, in Songdo, west of Seoul, vowing to invest 7.5 trillion won ($5.2 billion) through 2032 to solidify the biotechnology unit's leading position in the worldwide CDMO industry.  The investment is about building four more biomanufacturing plants at the second Biocampus, the company said, adding that it has begun the partial operati

Oct. 11, 2022

Blind: App that has everyone in the workplace talking

Blind, a workplace community app, has been a source of some of the biggest company news stories and viral social media posts globally. They range from the Korean Air “nut rage” incident and the 2017 sexual harassment allegations at Uber to the controversy at US food delivery platform DoorDash over an initiative that requires all employees to make one food delivery every month, to name a few. One of the latest corporate news stories to come out of the anonymous user-based platform for

Oct. 11, 2022

Samsung's Ukraine office damaged by Russia's missile attack on Kyiv

A building housing Samsung Electronics Co.'s Ukraine operation was damaged following Russia's missile attack on Kyiv on Monday, officials said. Earlier in the day, Russia shelled several cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv, leaving at least five dead in the capital city alone, according to news reports. An official from Samsung Electronics confirmed that some of the building's windows were shattered following the attack, although a missile did not directly hit the location but landed some 150 m

Oct. 10, 2022

[From the Scene] At LG plant, unmanned robots boost output, ensure workplace safety

CHANGWON, South Gyeongsang Province -- The factory automation spearheaded by robots has allowed LG Electronics’ home appliance manufacturing plant, located some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to boost productivity and ensure workplace safety. “Over the course of five years of operation, we saw a nearly 25 percent increase in output, along with a similar employment rate for the last five years,” said Kang Myeong-suk, a task leader at LG’s kitchen appliances division,

Oct. 10, 2022

Posco, LG sign comprehensive agreement for EV battery material supply

Steel-to-chemical material firm Posco Holdings and lithium-ion battery cell manufacturer LG Energy Solution signed a more comprehensive agreement for electric vehicle battery material supply, the companies announced Monday. Based on the nonbinding agreement signed on Friday, Posco Holding is to ink a long-term deal to supply cathode materials and anode materials to LG Energy Solution before the end of 2022, according to South Korea's largest battery cell maker by batteries supplied to cars.

Oct. 10, 2022

US chip export curbs won't likely hurt Samsung, SK hynix: lawmaker

Amid a chaotic mood building among Korean chipmakers operating fabrication plants in China over Washington's chip export curbs on Beijing, a South Korean lawmaker said Sunday the companies are unlikely to be hurt, as the US would take some time to see to how the repercussions of its actions play out through the global supply chain. "(US authorities) are unlikely to be harsh in export controls on semiconductor equipment going to Korea-owned facilities, because the extent of (repercussions fr

Oct. 9, 2022

LG Electronics supplies autonomous robots to malls in Japan

LG Electronics said Sunday it has supplied autonomous robots to two locations of shopping mall chain Aeon in Japan. The multipurpose customer service robots, branded as the LG CLOi GuideBot, have recently begun operating in Aeon malls in Toki, a suburb of Nagoya, and Narita, 60 kilometers east of Tokyo, according to the South Korean tech giant, without specifying dates. The robots feature two 27-inch flat-panel displays with touch-screen functions at the front and the rear side. They can also co

Oct. 9, 2022

Science experts call for creation of national science hub

South Korea’s science experts have called for nationwide efforts to set up a national science hub in order to gather the country’s scientific talents and research efforts. According to the Science Dreamland, an incorporated association, over 100 figures from the science and technology sector, local governments and companies gathered to share thoughts on how to successfully push for building a national science hub at the National Assembly Members Office on Friday. The association refe

Oct. 7, 2022

Samsung's Q3 operating earnings to drop sharply on weak chip demand

Samsung Electronics is expected to log a sharp drop in its quarterly operating profits as the company on Friday announced that its tentative third-quarter operating profits are estimated at 10.8 trillion won ($7.7 billion), a 31.73 percent decline on year. According to the South Korean chipmaker, its operating profits from the third quarter will also have declined by 23.4 percent on quarter. The downfall will mark the first quarterly dip in the company’s operating profits since the fourth

Oct. 7, 2022