[CES 2023] [From the Scene] Bodyfriend combines health care with massage chair

LAS VEGAS -- Dozens of people lined up in front of Bodyfriend’s exhibition at CES 2023 on Friday morning, waiting to try out the latest products of the South Korean massage chair maker. “I feel like it’s another world. It’s amazing. I did a lower body workout a couple of days ago and it really helped ease my muscle,” Halah Ramzi, an electric engineer from San Diego, told The Korea Herald after her 10-minute experience with Quantum Rovo which features Bodyfriend&rsqu

Jan. 8, 2023

[CES 2023] Samsung CEO braces for rough year

LAS VEGAS – Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and co-CEO Han Jong-hee said the South Korean tech giant was bracing for a rough year ahead, renewing his commitment to seeking new growth drivers in futuristic technologies such as robots and the metaverse. “Overlapping crises, including the prolonged economic recession, geopolitical tension, supply chain risks and climate change, have drastically increased uncertainty in the market,” Han said at a press conference Friday held on

Jan. 8, 2023

LG Electronics’ Q4 operating profit estimated to nose-dive 91%

LG Electronics said Friday it expected its 2022 fourth-quarter operating earnings tumbled more than 91 percent from a year prior, amid its home appliance unit’s sluggish performance coupled with global recession woes. LG estimated operating profit for the October-December period came in at 65.5 billion won ($51.6 million), down 91.2 percent from the same period a year before, according to the company’s earnings guidance. It would be the first time in four years for South Korea’

Jan. 6, 2023

Naver closes acquisition of US e-commerce firm Poshmark

Korean internet portal giant Naver announced Friday that the company has completed its acquisition of Poshmark, a US social commerce marketplace for fashion, a move to penetrate into the global consumer-to-consumer market. Naver's special purpose company Proton Parent acquired all shares and its assets of Poshmark for $1.31 billion. Its enterprise value stands at about $1.2 billion. With the transaction, Poshmark withdrew its plan to go public on the US Nasdaq, Naver said. Naver first decid

Jan. 6, 2023

[CES 2023] SK hynix chief says merger of Western Digital, Kioxia will 'not be easy'

LAS VEGAS -- SK hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho said Thursday the merger of two memory competitors -- US’ Western Digital Corp. and Japan’s Kioxia Holdings Corp. -- "will not be easy," shrugging off the possibility of the two chipmakers' tie-up that could transform the business landscape. Earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported that Western Digital and Kioxia are considering merging into one publicly traded company, citing unnamed sources. The structure of the potent

Jan. 6, 2023

Samsung Electronics' Q4 operating profit set to plunge nearly 70%

Samsung Electronics predicted Friday that its 2022 fourth-quarter operating profit would plummet 69 percent from a year earlier, as its main semiconductors business faced major headwinds from weakening demand for chips and home appliances amid recession woes. In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech giant estimated its October-December operating profit to be 4.3 trillion won ($3.4 billion), down from 13.87 trillion won a year prior. The figure was lower than the consensus 6.93 trillion wo

Jan. 6, 2023

Celltrion's Avastin biosimilar wins regulatory nod from Canadian authorities

Celltrion announced Thursday that the company has cleared the regulatory hurdle to sell Vegzelma, a biosimilar referencing Roche's Bevacizumab sold under the brand name Avastin, in the Canadian market. Vegzelma, or also known as CT-P16, is used to treat a number of types of cancers including metastatic colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. According to Celltrion, Canada’s drug regulator Health Canada has authorized the sale of the drug for all indications that Roche's

Jan. 5, 2023

[CES 2023] LG CEO touts customer value as key to success

LAS VEGAS -- LG Electronics Chief Executive Officer Cho Joo-wan underscored the company’s commitment to its “customer-centric vision” at the world's largest home appliance convention Wednesday, highlighting that the key to the tech giant’s successes lies in the customers. During the LG World Premiere press conference held on the sidelines of CES in Las Vegas, the CEO shared the company’s continuous efforts to pursue innovation to improve people's lives o

Jan. 5, 2023

[CES 2023] Samsung pins high hopes on heightened connectivity among devices

LAS VEGAS -- Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee shared a detailed vision to create "calmer" connected world to heighten connectivity among devices, and reiterated the company's pursuit of net-zero emissions at the world's largest home appliance convention, Wednesday. In a press conference held on the sidelines of the CES in Las Vegas, Han, who is also the chief executive officer and the head of the Device eXperience overseeing home appliances and mobile devices

Jan. 5, 2023

[CES 2023] LG's OLED tech marks 10th anniversary

LAS VEGAS -- In celebration of the 10th year of launching LG’s first organic light emitting diode (OLED) TVs, LG Electronics and LG Display jointly celebrated the big day in Las Vegas, Wednesday. With some 150 people of the companies’ executives and staff members, industry officials and experts joining the event, the LG subsidiaries looked back on the past decade of their OLED history and shared their visions for the future directions of display technology developments. After overcom

Jan. 5, 2023

[CES 2023] LG Innotek to show off self-driving tech at CES

LAS VEGAS -- LG Innotek said Thursday it will showcase a series of its latest innovative technologies and products related to autonomous driving and the metaverse at the Consumer Electronics Show 2023 set to be held from Thursday to Monday in Las Vegas. It will mark the first time the electronics component manufacturer opens a booth to the public at the annual event, the world’s largest tech convention. Previously, the company had only invited clients to introduce new products. In line w

Jan. 5, 2023

Stocks of Korea's COVID-19 test kit makers jump as China infections spike

Stock prices of some South Korean biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have increased based on expectations that China’s sudden spike in COVID-19 cases could positively impact their sales. On early afternoon Wednesday, the stock price of in-vitro diagnostics company SD Biosensor’s stock price went up 5.9 percent to 29,600 won ($23.24). Seegene, another major in-vitro diagnostics company, saw its stock price climb 6.5 percent to 27,800 won. Their stock price hikes came after the

Jan. 4, 2023

CES 2023 to offer glimpse into future lifestyles

South Korean companies will unveil cutting-edge products, offering a glimpse into the ways innovative technology could change people's lives at CES 2023, the world’s largest tech convention, to be held from Thursday to Monday in Las Vegas. Shrugging off prolonged pandemic disruptions, this year’s event will be at the largest scale in three years. Some 3,100 exhibitors from 173 countries and around 100,000 visitors are expected to show up, according to CES organizer the Consume

Jan. 4, 2023

[Photo News] Heightened connectivity

Employees pose at the exhibition booth for Samsung Electronics at the CES trade show that kicks off Thursday in Las Vegas. The South Korean tech giant plans to unveil futuristic technologies, especially its upgraded smart home platform SmartThings that boasts heightened connectivity among devices, even among different brands.

Jan. 4, 2023

[Photo News] Net-zero solutions

An SK Group official introduces future traffic solutions equipped with emissions-reducing technologies to visitors at the conglomerate’s exhibition booth at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, during media events held Tuesday. Eight SK companies, along with their 10 global partners, are showcasing their eco-friendly technologies and products, from advanced batteries to urban air mobility solutions and sustainable foods, during the four-day event.

Jan. 4, 2023

LG, Magna boost ties on autonomous driving solutions

LG Electronics said Wednesday it is boosting existing ties with Magna, one of the largest auto parts maker, to develop new solutions for autonomous vehicles. The two companies will seek synergy between LG’s advanced in-car infotainment technology and Magna’s driver assistance systems and other self-driving car solutions. They plan to develop a prototype for the upcoming solutions and carry out a feasibility test together. The two companies will participate in this week's CES tra

Jan. 4, 2023

Lotte Biologics completes acqusition of BMS drug plant

Lotte Group has completed a $160 million acquisition of US drug firm Bristol Myers Squibb, the group’s drug manufacturing unit Lotte Biologics said Tuesday. With the latest deal, the country's fifth-largest retail-chemical conglomerate has made its official debut in the contract manufacturing market, after the group established Lotte Biologics in June last year as its biopharmaceutical subsidiary. Lotte Biologics said the company completed all acquisition processes on Dec. 31 to absor

Jan. 3, 2023

[Photo News] From the other side

The first photo of Earth and the moon taken by South Korea’s lunar mission Danuri was unveiled Tuesday. Korea became the seventh country in the world to explore the moon on Dec. 28, as its first homegrown uncrewed space vehicle successfully entered lunar orbit.

Jan. 3, 2023

[Photo News] Promoting Busan's Expo bid at CES 2023

A giant banner promoting South Korea’s bid for the 2030 World Expo is hung on the exhibition floor for the 2023 CES in Las Vegas on Monday. South Korea’s refinery-to-battery company SK Innovation, along with other SK companies, said it will promote the southern port city of Busan’s bid to host the World Expo during the world’s largest tech trade show that kicks off Thursday.

Jan. 3, 2023

AMAT to acquire stakes in SKC’s glass substrate unit

US chip materials maker Applied Materials (AMAT) will acquire 51 billion won ($39 million) worth of Absolics shares, the chip glass substrate production arm of Korean chemicals company SKC. According to SKC’s regulatory filing on Monday, Absolics will issue new shares to raise 165.9 billion won to expand its production facilities. Of the 130,000 new shares, SKC and AMAT will acquire 90,000 and 40,000 shares, respectively. SKC alone will invest 114.8 billion won to acquire the shares. &ldqu

Jan. 3, 2023