LG Uplus CEO acquires 20,000 shares

LG Uplus, the nation’s No. 3 telecom carrier, said Thursday that CEO and vice chairman Kwon Young-soo has acquired 20,000 company shares. The company’s share price closed at 10,700 won ($9.16), up 100 won from the previous day.  “With the acquisition, he is showing his willingness for more responsibility in management and confidence in the company’s future,” the company said in a statement. “We also hope to elevate the trust of shareholders about the company’s future business.”At a shareholders

March 24, 2016

LG looks to outsmart Apple, Samsung

LG Electronics’ mobile business chief Cho Ju-no said Thursday that the company’s upcoming flagship smartphone G5 will offer differentiated value to customers, exuding confidence in the imminent battle with competitors Samsung Electronics and Apple. “Even though LG Electronics is beefing up its budget smartphone lineup, it will focus on delivering fun and exotic value to customers through premium products like the G5,” Cho said.LGE CEO Cho Ju-no poses with the G5 smartphone.　(LGE)In reference to

March 24, 2016

Samsung embraces start-up spirit

Samsung Electronics on Thursday unveiled a new corporate vision, called “Start-up Samsung,” with aims to mimic the flexible and creative business models of burgeoning tech start-ups. Like other big Korean firms, the nation’s largest company has suffered chronic corporate ills such as a top-down work order, frequent after-hours work, unproductive internal meetings and unfair assessment of performance. Taking a cue from start-ups, the company aims to overhaul its personnel system to elevate produc

March 24, 2016

[Tech Column] Delivering more affordable, sustainable, reliable power for everyone through digital

Last month, I was in Houston, TX at IHS’s annual event CERAWeek. As usual, energy leaders from across the world gathered to talk about the challenges and opportunities ahead. The next 35 years will see the global population grow to over 9 billion people. We already have over 1 billion people without access to power, and another 2 billion without adequate access. We are even more dependent on power for our daily lives; for the development of economies, for the growth of industry and the developme

March 24, 2016

[Photo News] Thai ministers visit Korean start-up center

THAI MINISTERS VISIT KOREAN START-UP CENTER-- Thai ministers and officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak (third from right, first row) and ICT Minister Uttama Savanayana (second from right, first row), pose after visiting the Center for Creative Economy and Innovation in Daejeon, a start-up incubation center run by SK Group, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

March 24, 2016

[Photo News] App for auto repair becoming popular

MOBILE APP FOR AUTO REPAIR -- Cardoc, a mobile application that helps find auto repair shops, has surpassed 600,000 downloads. (Cardoc)

March 24, 2016

Netmarble picks lead underwriters for IPO

Netmarble Games, South Korea’s second-biggest game developer, has selected JP Morgan and NH Investment & Securities to lead an initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter Wednesday. Accordingly, other two investment banks that Netmarble hired for the listing -- Korea Investment & Securities and Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities – will take junior underwriting roles. Netmarble plans to float its shares at the end of 2016 or early next year with a market cap of up

March 23, 2016

Samsung emboldened by robust Galaxy S7 sales worldwide

Samsung Electronics’ latest flagship smartphone Galaxy S7 is enjoying strong sales since its launch on March 11. The company is not revealing sales figures, but industry watchers say the phone could become the best-selling Galaxy phone ever. Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Studio in Guangzhou, China, is packed with visitors. The company operates the pop-up space to experience the latest Galaxy phone in major cities such as London and Hong Kong. (Samsung Electronics)In Korea, more than 100,000 units were sol

March 23, 2016

Chinese display-makers pose growing threat to Samsung, LG

Korean display giants -- Samsung Display and LG Display -- will continue to face headwinds in the world’s liquid crystal display sector as their Chinese rivals are upping the ante, according to market analysts.Citing prolonged oversupply, dipping demand and increasing clout of Chinese display-makers, the analysts from Korea, Taiwan and Japan all gave a dismal outlook over this year’s LCD market during the Korea Display Conference 2016 in Seoul this week.   Samsung Display’s LCD factory in Suzhou

March 23, 2016

Kona I to export USIM chips to Iran

Smart card chip solution developer Kona I said Thursday that it has signed a supply deal with Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran, the largest telecommunications firm in Iran.The Seoul-headquartered firm said that it will supply some 10 million USIM chips to the Iranian company, which currently takes up around 70 percent of the Iranian telecom market.Kona I’s integrated circuit card. (Yonhap)Kona I was able to ink the deal after beating Gemalto, the world’s leading USIM chip maker, in a yea

March 23, 2016

SKT releases robot for software education

Network operator SK Telecom released Albert School, a toy robot for computer coding education, on Wednesday.The robot is the latest version of the company’s toy robot Albert and is specifically designed to help software education at schools.  Students attend a computer-coding class run by mobile network firm SK Telecom. (SKT)The previous Albert models can be only controlled by mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, but students can write computer codes with PCs to control the new Alb

March 23, 2016

[Photo News] SKT offers free mobile data for tourists

SKT OFFERS FREE MOBILE DATA FOR TOURISTS -- SK Telecom said Wednesday it would start a marketing campaign in which it provides up to 5-gigabyte mobile data for foreign tourists every week. The program, which will be run together with Samsung Electronics and Korean Tourism Organization, picks 250 tourists every week. For more information visit the website of the program: emk.visitkorea.or.kr (SKT)

March 23, 2016

[Photo News] LG releases ultrawide sinage display

LG RELEASES ULTRAWIDE SINAGE DISPLAY -- A model poses with LG Electronics’ 86-inch digital signage display with a 58:9 aspect ratio in Seoul on Wednesday. (LGE)

March 23, 2016

[Photo News] Korean Silicon Valley

KOREAN SILICON VALLEY – President Park Geun-hye (left) tries out a virtual reality device along with KT chairman Hwang Chang-kyu at the opening ceremony of the nation’s new start-up accelerating complex, called “Start-up Campus,” in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. Dubbed “Korean version of Silicon Valley,” the campus aims to nurture more than 1,000 start-ups in the next 10 years. (Yonhap)

March 22, 2016

Samsung pushes quantum dot TVs to restore profits

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest TV maker, said Tuesday it plans to launch a total of 14 SUHD TV models this year, renewing its commitment to liquid-crystal display in the premium TV market. Amid fierce competition with Chinese rivals, Samsung has poured resources to produce more lucrative high-end TVs, including the latest ones that use quantum dot technology.  Samsung Electronics president and TV chief Kim Hyun-seok poses with the company’s latest quantum dot TVs at a launch event in S

March 22, 2016

Samsung to learn from start-ups

Samsung Electronics will unveil a new vision called “Start-up Samsung” this week in a move to learn from start-ups and improve its rigid top-down corporate culture. The company is expected to reduce emphasis on job titles and give more authority to team leaders.Detailed plans are expected to be announced Thursday, but industry watchers are already paying keen attention to the winds of change blowing at the nation’s largest company. Samsung Group office in Seoul. (Yonhap)Korean companies, especia

March 21, 2016

IngDan eyes new ecosystem for IoT innovation

SHENZHEN, China -- “Helping turn innovative ideas into products” is a goal shared by numerous tech start-up incubators and accelerators around the world.　In Shenzhen, China’s electronics manufacturing powerhouse, one company is looking to tackle this task by capitalizing on the city’s rich resources and its own strengths to establish a new ecosystem for smart device developers.　IngDan’s core mission is simple -- linking global start-ups making gadgets that utilize the Internet of Things, everyda

March 21, 2016

[Photo News] LG No.1 projector maker

LG NO. 1 PROJECTOR MAKER -- LG Electronics said Monday it has maintained the No. 1 position in the global LED projector market for five consecutive years, with a 13.9 percent market share last year. LG Mini Beam, a small portable projector, has sold more than 600,000 units since its debut in 2008. (LG Electronics)

March 21, 2016

[Photo News] Samsung Galaxy S7 arrives in Kenya

March 21, 2016