LG joins Samsung to develop foldable smartphone: report

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics, which has struggled to elevate its smartphone sales for years, is said to have recently jumped into developing foldable display possibly to adopt it for its future mobile devices. The Electronic Times reported on July 21 that LG Display, the Korean tech giant’s sister display-making unit, has started its own foldable display development following last year’s setting up of a related task force team. LG Display’s foldable display technologyCiting unnamed sources, the

July 21, 2016

LG Electronics, Display release sustainability reports

[THE INVESTOR] LG Group’s two key affiliates LG Electronics and LG Display released their sustainability reports on July 21.In the latest annual reports, the companies provide the details of their current business operations, on-going and future efforts to reduce greenhouse gasses, and corporate social responsibility activities.LG Electronics said in its press release that the number of executives and employees participating in CSR activities increased from 27,888 in 2005 to 93,659 in 2015 and r

July 21, 2016

Korea to develop world’s first 3-D map for drones

[THE INVESTOR] The Korean government said on July 21 it will develop the world’s first 3-D map exclusively dedicated to flying drones. According to the Ministry of Land and Transportation, the programmed route will be helpful for it to control safety of drones and prevent accidents as they are expected to be widely adopted by diverse areas such as logistics, disaster relief and agriculture in the coming years. A 3-D mapping concept for dronesThe ministry said it will be coming up with a new 3-D

July 21, 2016

LG Chem Q2 net profit jumps 9.3% on petrochemicals sales

[THE INVESTOR] LG Chem, the battery and chemicals unit of LG Group, said on July 21 its net profit soared 9.3 percent in the second quarter largely due to improved petrochemicals margins on falling oil prices. Net income came in at 386 billion won (US$338 million) on a consolidated basis in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 353 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating income advanced 9.3 percent on-year to reach 616 billion won, while sales gai

July 21, 2016

Telecom firms expected to post strong Q2 earnings

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s three largest network operators are expected to post relatively strong earnings for the April-June period thanks to their reduced marketing costs, according to market research firm FnGuide on July 21.The combined revenues of the three companies -- KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus -- are expected to come in at 12.6 trillion won (US$11 billion) on average.The sales figure increased 2.3 percent from the same period of 2016 and 1.4 percent from the previous quarter.KT, which

July 21, 2016

LG completes Europe HQ relocation to Germany

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean tech giant LG Electronics has recently completed the relocation of its European headquarters from London to Germany’s Eschborn, an official from the tech firm said. “LG has already completed the relocation process of the European head office to Germany,” Cho Joong-kwon, an LG Electronics spokesperson, said, denying recent news reports that the company is moving its Europe headquarters out of London in the wake of "Brexit."“Related discussions were underway before the

July 21, 2016

Iris recognition on smartphones yet to satisfy consumers

Iris recognition is the new "in" feature for smartphones that has yet to take off with consumers, and Samsung Electronics’ new flagship set to be unveiled next month may set the standard for the technology, industry watchers said Thursday.Samsung has disclosed in its invitations to the uncloaking of the Galaxy Note 7 in the New York on Aug. 2 that the new big-screen gadget will have an iris scanning feature for recognition, a step above fingerprint identification. Iris scanning is hailed as more

July 21, 2016

Korea's automobile output shrinks on overseas production

Korea's automobile output is on a decline but largely due to a rise in overseas production, industry data showed Thursday.In 2015, the country's overall automobile output came to 4,555,957 units, down 2.2 percent from 4,657,094 in 2011, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.Korea and Germany were the only countries among the world's top five automaking countries whose annual output dropped.China, the world's largest automaker, had its production spike 33 perce

July 21, 2016

Users in their 20s prefer iPhone, 60s like Galaxy

Koreans in their 20s prefer Apple Inc.'s iPhone to other smartphones, while the Galaxy S by Samsung Electronics Co. is preferred by those in their 50s and 60s, a survey showed Wednesday. According to the survey of 1,004 people, conducted by Gallup Korea last week, 41 percent of the respondents who are aged 20 to 29 use iPhones. The survey found that 3 percent of the respondents who are aged 50 to 59 use iPhones and 1 percent of the respondents aged 60 to 69 use iPhones. In contrast, 57 percent o

July 20, 2016

Kakao boosts investment in games

Mobile messenger operator Kakao has been boosting investment in local game firms apparently to secure continued cash flow while its new online-to-offline business takes time to generate meaningful profits. Kakao announced Tuesday it plans to invest in game developer Shiftu, run by a former art director of “Blade & Soul.” In May, the company also invested 3 billion won ($2.6 million) in mobile role-playing game developer Kokomo and 1 billion won in social-networking game maker V8.  (Kakao)Now, it

July 20, 2016

SK Telecom seeks leadership in mobile navigation business

South Korea’s leading network operator SK Telecom vowed to become an uncontested leader in the local mobile navigation business by making its flagship car navigation app T-map free for everyone starting from Tuesday.By freeing up T-map -- which non-SKT subscribers previously had to pay 4,000 won ($3.50) per month to use -- SKT is looking enhance the app’s competitiveness by securing more users. A model holds up a smartphone with SKT's flagship mobile navigation T-map in operation. From Tuesday,

July 20, 2016

Growing signage market boon for Samsung, LG

[THE INVESTOR] The growing global digital signage market is becoming a new battlefield for Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, each vying to gain the upper hand.The shipment volume of digital signage displays in the global market is forecast to grow from 4.4 million in 2015 to 7.7 million units by the year of 2020, according to a recent report by market research firm IHS.The signage market will grow 8.3 percent per year on average, the market researcher forecast. Samsung E

July 20, 2016

China to review safety of Samsung, LG batteries

[THE INVESTOR] The Chinese government has recently decided to review the safety of nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide batteries, or NMC, that are produced by leading battery-makers like Samsung SDI and LG Chem. Industry watchers say it is highly likely that the decision is politically motivated to offer benefits to China’s less experienced battery-makers that are still focusing on lithium-ion-phosphate batteries, or LFP.The NCM manufacturing improves battery life and performance but requires more adv

July 20, 2016

LG to see W4tr in automotive parts sales by 2018

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics, which is making a big push on automotive parts business, is forecast to increase the sales to about 4 trillion won (US$3.5 billion) in the next two years, according to analyst estimates on July 20. The company’s auto parts business division is expected to post more than 600 billion won in sales in the second quarter. Last year’s sales reached 1.8 trillion won. A see-through image of GM’s upcoming full-electric Bolt. LG Electronics will supply 11 key parts, includin

July 20, 2016

[INTERVIEW] LINE eyes B2B, smart portals as post-IPO strategies

[THE INVESTOR] The much-publicized initial public offering of Line Corp. -- the world‘s seventh-most used messaging app -- has finally happened.Owned by South Korean Internet giant Naver and based in Japan, Line went public on the New York Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 14 and July 15, raising $1.3 billion in the biggest IPO of the year in the local tech sector.But the IPO marks only one of the steps Line has been taking to maximize profit and strengthen its identity as a global

July 20, 2016

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to feature 64GB memory only

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is expected to release the upcoming Galaxy Note 7 with a 64-gigabyte internal storage capacity only, ditching its existing marketing strategy of offering two storage options. According to industry sources, Samsung has decided to do so considering the latest trend of bigger smartphone storage as mobile users are increasingly enjoying multimedia functions, including high-resolution photos and videos. Its predecessor Galaxy Note 5 came with 32GB and 64GB memory op

July 20, 2016

Samsung to offer 12,500 Galaxy S7 Edge phones to all Olympic athletes

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics said on July 19 it will offer 12,500 Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones to all athletes participating in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. The phone model to be offered is the company’s latest Olympics-themed Galaxy S7 Edge. It will be offered together with the Gear Icon X, the new wireless Bluetooth earbuds. The total amount is estimated at about 15 billion won (US$13 million). Samsung’s Olympics-themed Galaxy S7 EdgeDuring the 2014 Sochi Winter

July 20, 2016

LG Display doubles 65-inch OLED panel production in Q2

[THE INVESTOR] LG Display, the display-making unit of LG Group, has almost doubled production of its 65-inch organic light-emitting diode panels in the second quarter as more TV manufacturers are adopting the larger OLED display. According to UBI Research, a local research firm specialized in OLED, the company shipped a combined140,000 OLED panels in the April-June period. Of them, the 65-inch panel made up 28,000 units, doubling from some 14,000 units in the first quarter. The increased shipmen

July 20, 2016

Committee for UHD broadcasting launched in Korea

[THE INVESTOR] The Korea Communications Commission, the state media regulator, said that a preparation committee for starting ultra-high definition broadcasting in Korea was launched on July 19.The committee consists of 14 members from the government agencies, TV makers, research institutes, and academia, including the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics.Lee Ki-joo, a standing committee member of the KCC, and Second ICT Vice Minister Choi Jae-yoo

July 19, 2016