Expectations grow for Samsung’s expansion in US

Samsung Electronics may be considering ramping up its Austin, Texas-based semiconductor factory as part of efforts to strengthen its foothold in the foundry market, according to industry sources on Wednesday. Expectations are growing as Samsung seeks a zoning change for plots of land near its Austin campus it purchased in late October. Samsung Austin Semiconductor has filed a request with the Austin City Council for a rezoning of some 205 acres of the 258-acre land, which is about 104,089 sq

Dec. 9, 2020

Samsung's IoT platform to support Google's smart home devices

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it has signed a partnership with Google on smart home solutions as the South Korean tech giant tries to expand its presence in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector. Samsung said its IoT platform, SmartThings, will support Google Nest devices, including thermostats, cameras and doorbells, starting next month. With the latest integration, SmartThings users will be able to control a Nest thermostat to adjust the temperature, see live camera feeds from outdoor

Dec. 9, 2020

LG Uplus to test mmWave 5G at university campus

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Tuesday it will start testing millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G at a university campus under a government-led program as the country prepares to roll out the fastest version of the latest generation network. The mobile carrier said it has completed installing 5G network infrastructure at Kumoh National Institute of Technology in Gumi, about 200 kilometers south of Seoul, allowing the carrier to test mmWave 5G in certain areas of the campus.

Dec. 8, 2020

Korea Electronics Show to kick off amid pandemic

The 2020 Korea Electronics Show will kick off Wednesday for a three-day run amid caution due to an ongoing wave of coronavirus cases in Seoul and nearby areas. According to the event’s organizer, around 200 companies in the fields of semiconductors, consumer electronics, smart home technologies and future mobility will take part in the biggest IT trade show in South Korea. The number of participating firms was over 450 last year, but this year many foreign businesses weren’t ab

Dec. 8, 2020

SK hynix develops 176-layer 512-gigabit NAND flash

SK hynix announced Monday that the chipmaker has finished development of its 176-layer 512-gigabit 4D NAND flash chips, the third generation product in its 4D NAND line-up. The Korean chipmaker is the second player, after US-based Micron to announce the industry’s highest-level NAND product, beating market leader Samsung Electronics. According to the company, its new 176-layer NAND flash has cells with 20 percent faster read speed and 33 percent data transfer speed at 1.6Gbps -- when co

Dec. 7, 2020

Samsung to unveil new Micro LED TV this week

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will introduce a new Micro LED TV later this week as the South Korean tech giant tries to further boost its presence in the premium TV market. Samsung said it will unveil its new Micro LED TV product at a webinar Thursday. The world's largest TV producer has yet to reveal the product's specification and price, but industry insiders predict it will be a Micro LED TV for home entertainment use. The Micro LED TV uses micrometer-sized LED modules as singula

Dec. 7, 2020

LG Group sets up AI research center

LG Group said Monday it has set up an artificial intelligence research center called LG AI Research as part of its digital transformation strategy to create better value for customers. The research institute will study data intelligence that predicts optimal judgment through big data analysis, next-generation voice, image recognition and analysis technology, and language processing technology that enables natural situation recognition. To this end, it will establish a high-performance computin

Dec. 7, 2020

LG Uplus has fastest 5G download speed in S. Korea: report

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, has the fastest 5G download speed among South Korean mobile carriers, a report showed Monday. The mobile carrier's median 5G download speed in Seoul stood at 476.5 megabits per second (Mbps), followed by the country's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. at 436.2 Mbps and telecom giant KT Corp. at 425.8 Mbps, according to a report by market researcher RootMetrics, RootMetrics added that LG Uplus had greater accessibility to 5G in the cap

Dec. 7, 2020

Naver's live-streaming shopping platform logs 45 million views in 4 months

Naver Corp., the operator of South Korea's dominant internet portal, said Monday that more than 45 million accumulated views have been made at its live-streaming shopping platform in the four months since its launch. More than 45 million accumulated views were recorded and 400,000 purchases made at Shopping Live since the platform was launched on July 30, Naver said. Live commerce, or TV home shopping-style mobile shopping, has recently emerged as a potential game changer for the country's ret

Dec. 7, 2020

KT supports partner firms to enter foreign markets

KT, South Korea’s leading telecommunications firm, will provide support to local companies to join a foreign tech fair to help them enter the global market, the company said Sunday. The telecommunications firm recently selected four partner firms that it will provide support in introducing products at KT‘s designated exhibition booth at the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition 2020. The fair, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, has been attracting some 4,000 firms

Dec. 6, 2020

Korea to tighten grip on global internet giants amid service complaints

A law revision set to take effect next week will tighten rules for data-hungry internet giants, such as Netflix Inc., amid growing calls for stable services. Earlier this week, the Cabinet passed an amendment to the ordinance of the Telecommunication Business Act, stipulating that online content service providers are responsible for providing stable services to users. The new rules set to take effect Dec. 10 apply to large online service companies, which account for 1 percent or more of the co

Dec. 5, 2020

Samsung conducts biggest personnel reshuffle in 3 years

Samsung Electronics on Friday announced a large-scale personnel reshuffle, the biggest in three years, owing to a strong performance this year despite the COVID-19 impact. The tech giant promoted a total of 214 executives, the largest number since 2017. “In spite of difficulty amid the global spread of COVID-19, the company timely responded to demand and raised efficiency in operations, which led to improved earnings from last year,” the company said in a statement. In the thir

Dec. 4, 2020

SKT CEO made vice chairman of SK hynix

Park Jung-ho, current chief executive officer of South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom, has risen to the chief position of chipmaker SK hynix, the group announced Thursday. According to SK Group’s organizational restructuring and executive reshuffling plan for 2021, Park was promoted to vice chairman of SK hynix as he retains the SKT CEO post. “Synergy between ICT expert Park and semiconductors expert SK hynix CEO Lee Seok-hee is highly anticipated,” the grou

Dec. 3, 2020

Samsung's Tizen OS largest TV streaming platform worldwide: report

Tizen, a Linux-based operating system developed by Samsung Electronics Co. and Intel Corp., is the world's largest TV streaming platform, a report showed Thursday, thanks to Samsung's robust smart TV sales in the third quarter of the year. Tizen accounted for 12.5 percent of connected TV devices in use, beating other platforms like LG's WebOS, Sony PlayStation, Roku TV OS, Amazon's Fire TV OS and Google's Android TV to top the global TV streaming platform market, according to industry tracker

Dec. 3, 2020

Samsung names new presidents for semiconductor biz

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday announced new presidents for its lucrative semiconductor business along with new chiefs for some of its affiliates, centering on solidifying key businesses but maintaining overall stability. The three chief executive officers of each business -- Kim Ki-nam of semiconductors, Koh Dong-jin of smartphones and Kim Hyun-suk of consumer electronics -- will retain their positions amid high uncertainties expected to unfold next year, to seek sustainable growth. And as

Dec. 2, 2020

Mobile carriers consolidate tech biz for new growth drivers

Mobile carriers consolidate tech biz for new growth driversSouth Korean mobile carriers are merging their tech subsidiaries and consolidating new businesses to boost synergy as they search for new growth drivers beyond their telecommunication operations. Telecom giant KT Corp. announced it will merge its digital content distribution and television commerce subsidiary KT Hitel Co. and its mobile coupon and advertisement unit KT mhows Co. by July next year. KT said the consolidation of KT Hitel'

Dec. 1, 2020

Samsung says 256-layer V-NAND memory possible with double-stack technology

Samsung Electronics Co. is planning to use a double-stack technology to develop its next-generation V-NAND flash memory, industry officials said Tuesday, as the world's largest memory chip producer tries to further cement its leading position in the sector. At its investors' forum held Monday, Samsung revealed that it will apply "extreme two-stack" technology for its future NAND flash chip and that it is possible to develop a 256-layer device. "Our sixth-generation V-NAND feat

Dec. 1, 2020

LG Innotek recognized for helping communities

LG Innotek, the electronics parts making affiliate of LG Group, has been recognized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities, the firm said Tuesday. The Welfare Ministry selects businesses with outstanding corporate social responsibility programs every year in partnership with the Korea National Council on Social Welfare. LG Innotek’s plants in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, and in Gwangju Metropolitan City were credited by the minis

Dec. 1, 2020

Samsung top smartphone vendor in Gulf region in Q3: report

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its leading position in the smartphone market of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday. Samsung accounted for 45 percent of the GCC smartphone market in the July-September period in terms of units, up from 40 percent a quarter earlier, according to industry researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). "With its large portfolio of models in the entry-level and mid-range price bands, Samsung not

Dec. 1, 2020

[Photo News] LG Electronics brings robot to convenience stores

 LG Electronics announced Monday that the company had started a trial using the robot at GS Retail’s convenience stores inside LG Science Park in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. The delivery robot, CLOi, will collect ordered items and deliver them to customers after autonomously riding on elevators inside the building. CLOi is capable of carrying items weighing up to 15 kilograms. The robot delivery service is expected to be introduced at hotels, hospitals, offices and airports in the future, acc

Nov. 30, 2020