China’s TCL chairman visits Samsung headquarters

[THE INVESTOR] Chinese tech giant TCL’s chairman Li Dongsheng visited Samsung Group’s headquarters in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, on July 6, possibly to seek partnership on liquid-crystal display business. Li was also accompanied with top executives of China Start Optoelectronics Technology, TCL’s display-making unit and China’s second-largest display maker. TCL chairman Li DongshengSamsung Electronics’ top executives, including CEO and display business chief Kwon Oh-hyun and the company’s TV b

July 6, 2016

Samsung Display to separate LCD, OLED business divisions: report

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Display, an affiliate of Samsung Electronics, is expected to separate its liquid-crystal display and organic light-emitting diode business divisions in a planned reshuffle next week, the Electronic Times reported on July 5. This is the first reshuffle since Samsung Electronics vice chairman and CEO Kwon Oh-hyun took the helm of the display business division in April, hinting at the company’s strategic shift toward more lucrative OLED. Samsung’s flexible OLED displayThe com

July 6, 2016

Netmarble bids to acquire Israel-based game firm Playtika

South Korea’s leading mobile game company Netmarble Games has entered the race to acquire Israel-based social casino game developer Playtika in a deal valued at up to $4 billion, multiple sources in the local investment banking industry said Tuesday.　If successful, the deal would mark the largest acquisition by a Korean game company to date and significantly boost Netmarble’s market value ahead of its initial public offering scheduled for next year.According to local news reports, Netmarble has

July 6, 2016

LG Display installs production equipment at plastic OLED plant

[THE INVESTOR] LG Display said on July 6 it has installed new production equipment for the sixth-generation plastic organic light-emitting diode or POLED panels at its plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The equipment installation comes after the display-making unit of LG Group invested a combined 1.5 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) into the facilities over the past year. Plastic OLED production equipment is transferred to LG Display’s plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, on July 6. / L

July 6, 2016

Netmarble Games seeks to buy Playtika

[THE INVESTOR] Netmarble Games, South Korea’s leading online game developer and publisher, has joined the race to buy Israel-based social casino game firm Playtika in a deal could worth over 4 trillion won (US$3.4 billion). It will be the largest acquisition deal made by a South Korean game company since No. 1 player Nexon and NCSoft jointly attempted to takeover Electronic Arts for 4 trillion won in 2012. According to a source on July 6, Netmarble Games submitted a letter of intent for the tran

July 6, 2016

Latecomer LG Pay to feature IC chip, one-time password

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics’ mobile payments service LG Pay -- expected to debut in September -- will feature more diverse functions such as an integrated circuit chip and one-time password, industry sources said on July 6. Unlike its app-based rivals such as Samsung Pay, the LG service is expected to come as a tangible smart card.LG had planned to launch the service within the first half of this year but the plan was delayed to extend partnership with local banks and card companies. Unlike ot

July 6, 2016

Samsung Display accelerates transition from LCD to OLED

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Display, the display business arm of Samsung Electronics, is ramping up its efforts to outpace its rivals in the organic light-emitting diode display sector. As a part of this strategy, the firm is planning a quick transition from liquid-crystal display to OLED at its L7 plant in South Chungcheong Province. The plant currently runs two LCD assembly lines. “Samsung Display will cease the operation of both lines at the L7 plant by the end of this year and replace LCD equipme

July 6, 2016

NASA's Juno spacecraft orbits Jupiter, ’king of solar system‘

NASA celebrated a key triumph on Tuesday as its $1.1 billion Juno spacecraft successfully slipped into orbit around Jupiter on a mission to probe the origin of the solar system.NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California erupted in cheers as the solar observatory entered its aimed-for orbit around the biggest planet in our cosmic neighborhood at 11:53 p.m. “We are there. We are in orbit. We conquered Jupiter,” said Scott Bolton, NASA’s principal investigator from the Southwest Resea

July 6, 2016

Korea to ease regulations to kick-start Internet-only banks

Korea will ease regulations and revise rules to help the country's first internet-only banks make a soft landing and grow down the road, its financial regulator said Wednesday.Among the necessary steps to propel the growth of Kbank and Kakaobank, the Financial Services Commission picked an immediate revision to the existing banking laws to allow information-technology companies, as the largest shareholders, to participate in the web-only banks' management decisions as the most urgent measure to

July 6, 2016

Samsung to maintain Europe HQ in UK

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has decided to maintain its Europe headquarters in the UK after considering relocation to other European Union countries such as the Netherlands and Germany in the wake of Brexit.Citing an unnamed Samsung executive, Maeil Business News reported on July 6 that the Korean tech giant has no plan to relocate its Europe headquarters. A Samsung Galaxy S7 experience zone set up at a shopping mall in London.“Maintaining the current location is the company’s official st

July 6, 2016

Hello Jupiter! NASA spacecraft arrives at giant planet

PASADENA -- Braving intense radiation, a NASA spacecraft reached Jupiter on Monday after a five-year voyage to begin exploring the king of the planets.    Ground controllers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lockheed Martin erupted in applause when the solar-powered Juno spacecraft beamed home news that it was circling Jupiter's poles.    The arrival at Jupiter was dramatic. As Juno approached its target, it fired its rocket engine to slow itself down and gently slipped into orbit. Becau

July 5, 2016

KT unveils self-developed ICT solutions for maritime safety

Korea’s second-largest network operator KT unveiled a range of new ICT-based solutions and technologies Tuesday geared at improving maritime security.　The telecom firm’s standout technologies include a Long-Term Evolution network able to cover remote locations, as far as 200 kilometers away from land, a life jacket that can be tracked via Internet of Things technology and the creation of a new network designed for IoT devices. Oh Sung-mok, vice president of KT’s network division, introduces a ne

July 5, 2016

SKT seeks countermeasures after failed merger

[THE INVESTOR] SK Telecom on July 5 expressed regrets at the antitrust watchdog’s disapproval of its planned merger with the nation’s No. 1 cable TV operator CJ HelloVision. The company had planned to merge its Internet TV affiliate SK Broadband with the CJ unit, becoming the nation’s second-largest paid TV operator and the No. 1 in the long term. The deal price was estimated at 1 trillion won (US$823 million). “The watchdog’s decision comes as a shock,” the company said in a statement. “We expr

July 5, 2016

NHN Comico starts Chinese service via Baidu

[THE INVESTOR] NHN Entertainment ’s Japanese operation NHN Comico said July 5 it has signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s largest search engine Baidu. Under the agreement, Comico has already started distributing a total of 52 webtoons through Baidu’s popular Tieba, an online community-based group discussion service. Seven Korean webtoons, including “To a lower place,” “World where everyone has become beautiful,” and “Brave civilian,” have also been included in the Chinese service. C

July 5, 2016

Nexon acquires stakes in server developer

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s top game developer Nexon said on July 4 that it has bought stakes in I Fun Factory, a game server engine developer, without disclosing the exact number of shares acquired.As a strategic investor, Nexon will strengthen its partnership with the company in various sectors by applying I Fun Factory’s game server engine technology into its game development and other services. 　“I Fun Factory has a competitive edge in the server engine sector ... we will closely cooperate

July 5, 2016

Samsung willing to learn from Google

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics on July 5 aired a 20-minute video, titled “Samsung Software Competitiveness Naked,” lamenting about its lack of software prowess directly comparing it with that of the US Internet giant Google. The video, aired early in the morning across Samsung Group’s key affiliates, pinpointed design architecture for software as the key to success stories of software powerhouses such as Google and Facebook. “Facebook’s key competitiveness is software architecture. We also s

July 5, 2016

ESTsoft receives W10b funding to push AI business

[THE INVESTOR] Korean software developer ESTsoft, best known for its anti-virus solution ALYac, said July 4 it has secured a new funding worth 10 billion won (US$8.7 million) from local venture capitalist Atinum Investment.The new investment was made through a 5-year convertible bond that was acquired by Atinum Investment. The company said the new funding will be used mainly for artificial intelligence-related development and other security businesses. ESTsoft has poured resources into AI-based

July 5, 2016

Watchdog opposes merger of SK Broadband, CJ HelloVision: report

[THE INVESTOR] The Fair Trade Commission has reportedly objected to the planned merger and acquisition deal between IPTV operator SK Broadband and cable TV firm CJ HelloVision. The antitrust agency said in its July 4 evaluation report of the merger plans to SK Telecom -- the parent company of SK Broadband -- that the transaction should not be allowed as it could hamper fair competition in the market.The combination of SK Broadband, a wholly owned subsidiary of No.1 mobile carrier SK Telecom, and

July 5, 2016

Naver upgrades tourist services ahead of PyeongChang Olympics

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s No.1 portal Naver has unraveled plans to beef up its online services aimed at foreign tourists ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the company spokesperson said on July 5. Naver estimes 5 million tourists -- including 50,000 foreign visitors -- to participate in the Winter Olympics in 2018. The portal’s e-services -- mobile map, search engine, and booking – will be renovated. A global login and payment system is also being considered.The firm revealed its

July 5, 2016

Samsung employees organize political group in US

[THE INVESTOR] A group of employees at Samsung Electronics’ US office formed a political action committee in 2015 to engage in activities such as fund-raising and providing support for politicians. Called Samsung Electronics America Inc. Political Action Committee, or Samsung America PAC, the group was formed late last year, and since then has raised around $17,000. Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions America headquarters. SamsungSteve Merlis, a senior director of Samsung’s government relation

July 5, 2016