Seoul sets out to protect chip prowess

South Korea on Thursday announced a sweeping set of new government policies aimed at safeguarding and further expanding the country’s prowess in chips, which include the most generous tax credits ever given to chipmakers -- up to 50 percent. The chip manufacturers, led by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, responded to the support package by committing investments of over 510 trillion won ($458.1 billion) in total over the next 10 years. Samsung unveiled plans to spend 171 trillion won on

May 13, 2021

Samsung, LG to provide paid vaccine leave

   Samsung Electronics and LG Group decided Wednesday to offer paid leave to workers who receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot following health authorities' recommendation. Samsung's decision came one day after its labor union requested paid time off for COVID-19 vaccinations. Employees who take a day off to get vaccinated will be paid for that day. If an employee shows signs of side effects after the shot, the company will then grant paid leave for two more days. The union had demande

May 12, 2021

6 out of 10 people in S. Korea worried about side effects of COVID-19 vaccines

More than 6 out of 10 South Koreans feel unsafe taking the COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out in the country, compared with fewer than 3 in 10 in the UK, a global survey has found. According to the comparative study conducted by Cigna, an international health care and insurance company, some 64 percent of 1,031 people surveyed in Korea answered that they were worried about the side effects of the jabs available in the country. This was slightly higher than the global average of 62 percent.

May 12, 2021

Samsung’s Bespoke appliances make global debut

Samsung Electronics will start rolling out Bespoke home appliances in the United States, Europe and Southeast Asian countries, aiming to duplicate the success of the colorful and customizable brand overseas. The South Korean tech giant unveiled flagship packages of its Bespoke refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, clothes care systems and wireless vacuum cleaners, differently created for each market, considering specific needs of customers in each region. Bespoke comes in over 20 orig

May 12, 2021

Samsung unveils first CXL-based DRAM, sets new standard

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday unveiled the industry’s first DRAM module which supports the new Compute Express Link (CXL) interconnect standard, a new technology that can enhance the performance of data centers or cloud servers. Samsung has integrated its double data rate 5 (DDR5) technology with the CXL-based module, enabling server systems to significantly scale memory capacity and bandwidth. The CXL is a new interface that can efficiently connect different types of devices that use a

May 11, 2021

[Herald Interview] From textile to advanced biochemicals, Ventex expands, evolves

Founded in 1999 as a textile company in South Korea, Ventex took a risk and ventured into uncharted territory, and fortunately, that paid off.　 The company, which used to produce chemical materials for functional textile products, now makes antibacterial biochemical materials with a much wider range of applications, including hand sanitizer, cosmetics, textbooks, paints and sanitization and deodorization solutions. Behind the dramatic transformation was sustained investment in research and de

May 11, 2021

Small but mighty, Ventex bets future on nano-materials

Ventex started off in 1999 as a tiny textile developer. Through a relentless search for new materials using nanotechnology, the Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province-based company is now building its global presence as a biochemical company. According to founder and CEO Go Gyeong-chan, the company is on course to achieve 34.8 billion won ($31.2 million) in sales this year, which is expected to more than double to 73.5 billion won next year. Driving the growth are disinfection and sanitization produc

May 11, 2021

Celltrion in talks with Mideast officials to export COVID-19 treatment

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion said Tuesday that the company has submitted marketing approval applications for the company’s COVID-19 treatment to health authorities in several countries in the Middle East. The countries include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iraq and Morocco. Celltrion’s announcement on Tuesday followed a day after the company said it landed its first overseas supply deal to export 100,000 vials of Regkirona to Pakistan. Celltrion expects

May 11, 2021

[Herald Interview] Cosmetic surgery review app aims to capitalize on K-beauty boom

When walking into a restaurant, people usually have a sense about how expensive the food would be. But when it comes to cosmetic surgery clinics here, it is a different story. Not many -- perhaps none -- openly display the price of their services or procedures, not to mention the specs of medical equipment they use. “Say that I want to receive a skin toning laser treatment and there are two hospitals. One uses equipment that costs 200 million won (about $180,000), and the other uses o

May 10, 2021

Celltrion to export COVID-19 treatment to Pakistan

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion clinched the first overseas supply deal for its COVID-19 antibody treatment Regkirona, according to Celltrion Healthcare’s announcement on Monday. Celltrion Healthcare, which is in charge of Celltrion‘s overseas business, signed a contract with a state-run company in Pakistan to export 100,000 vials of Regkirona, enough for around 30,000 people. The firm will dispatch its experts to Pakistan to train medical workers who will administer t

May 10, 2021

Advisory panel gives nod to Moderna vaccine

A panel of medical experts here gave a nod to US pharmaceutical company Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Monday. The advisory panel’s review is the first of the three-stage evaluation process before South Korea gives final approval. The next stage of the evaluation is scheduled on Thursday. If finally approved, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine would become the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to receive an approval from the South Korean govern

May 10, 2021

SK hynix promises more efforts to cut carbon emissions

SK hynix, the world’s second-biggest memory provider, vowed Monday to make more efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The pledge was made alongside the chipmaker’s announcement of its social value figures for 2020. Since 2019, major affiliates of SK Group have been quantifying the values they created in three areas of “indirect contribution to the economy,” “social performance,” and “social contribution.” SK hynix put its indirect con

May 10, 2021

Naver, SNU to form 100-strong AI research arm

Naver, South Korea’s largest portal site, said Monday that the company will create a joint research arm with Seoul National University to delve into the field of artificial intelligence. The two sides held an online signing ceremony, agreeing on the need for research on Korean-based AI and the establishment of the SNU-Naver Hyperscale AI center. Around 100 AI researchers from Naver and the university will take part in the project for the next three years. The cooperation aims to de

May 10, 2021

Moon’s subtle tone shift revives hopes for Samsung chief’s early release

In a subtle but noteworthy change of tone, President Moon Jae-in on Monday spoke of the mounting challenges facing South Korean chipmakers when asked about the fate of the jailed Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong. “It is a clear fact that we need to further enhance the competitiveness of our semiconductor industry, with global competition on chips intensifying,” Moon told reporters in a nationally televised press conference. He then added that he also has to consider the

May 10, 2021

[#WeFACE] ‘Look through investors’ lens to understand ESG’: SK hynix official

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with executives of South Korea’s leading corporations on their response to environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, issues, which have become central factors globally in measuring the sustainability of an investment or business decision. -- Ed. To truly embrace the ESG trends in business management, it is important to look at things from an investor’s point of view, says Lee Bang-sil, vice president of South Ko

May 9, 2021

Seoul fine-tuning K-chip support measures

With government measures to help cement South Korea’s leadership in the global semiconductor market to be announced this week, industry watchers are paying keen attention to how much Samsung Electronics and SK hynix could benefit from the measures that would largely pivot on tax breaks. As early as Thursday, Seoul is expected to unveil what it calls the “K-Semiconductor Belt Strategy,” which could include drastic increases in tax benefits for chipmakers’ R&D projec

May 9, 2021

Samsung Electronics to transfer some 500 technologies to local SMEs

Samsung Electronics will share its 505 patented technologies with local small and medium enterprises, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday. The list comprises 213 mobile technologies, 68 semiconductor technologies, 68 display technologies, 45 telecommunications technologies and 31 medical equipment technologies, and others. The SMEs that wish to benefit from the governments technology transfer program are required to submit their application via the ministry or the Korea Ins

May 7, 2021

Naver to expand its R&D network in North America

Naver plans to expand its research and development network in the North American region, particularly focusing on Silicon Valley, as part of its globalization efforts, according to officials. The research team is seeking talent from across the globe who will be allowed to work in either Korea or the US, the South Korean internet giant said at 2021 Naver Search Colloquium which took place online on Friday. Kim Jin-young, the newly appointed Head of Data Science and Director of US R&D at Nav

May 7, 2021

Roche Diagnostics receives approval for COVID-19 test

Roche Diagnostics Korea announced Thursday that the company has received approval for the cobas test, an assay used to specifically detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus in laboratories settings. According to Roche, the cobas test is capable of qualitative detection and differentiation between SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A and Influenza B present in nasal swab samples collected from individuals suspected of a respiratory infection. Roche’s laboratory-based assay cobas SARS

May 6, 2021

Samsung’s foundry biz enhances chip packaging tech

Amid the heightening competition in the global chip foundry market, Samsung Electronics unveiled a new packaging technology Thursday that would help differentiate its foundry service.  Samsung said it has completed the development of the next-generation 2.5D packaging technology named Interposer-Cube4, or I-Cube4, which is immediately available for customers. Samsung’s I-Cube is a heterogeneous integration technology that horizontally places one or more logic dies, such as a CPU or

May 6, 2021