Samsung invited to White House meeting on chip shortage

Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s top tech giant, is among 19 global semiconductor manufacturers invited to a White House meeting to be held virtually on Monday. The CEO summit, according to US officials, will discuss a chip supply shortage, especially for those used in vehicles. “On Monday afternoon, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and NEC Director Brian Deese, joined by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, will host a virtual CEO Summit on Semiconductor and Supply Chai

April 11, 2021

[Herald Interview] Given choice, AstraZeneca vaccine ‘might not be preferable’ for young people

If vaccines other than AstraZeneca’s are available for young people, South Korean health authorities may want to consider an alternative, said Dr. Jean-Louis Excler, a vaccinologist at the International Vaccine Institute, as more countries limit the use of the vaccine to older people over blood clot concerns. Excler, who is also part of the vaccine safety working group within COVAX, a global body that promotes equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, said in an interview with The Korea He

April 9, 2021

KT to develop music streaming service in Vietnam

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Friday it has clinched business ties with a Vietnamese cable network to cooperate in developing a music streaming platform in the Southeast Asian country. Under the memorandum of understanding, KT and Vietnam Television Cable, a subsidiary of state broadcaster Vietnam Television, plan to design a music streaming platform and cooperate in K-pop music distribution and the management of intellectual property. KT said it plans to provide key technology

April 9, 2021

Samsung unveils upgraded smart tracking tag with UWB tech

Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday unveiled its upgraded smart tracking tag leveraging advanced wireless communication technologies that can locate people's lost items with better accuracy. The Galaxy SmartTag+ uses both Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ultra-wideband (UWB) solutions, according to Samsung. The latest product will be available beginning next Friday though its launch schedule will vary by market. Its predecessor, Galaxy SmartTag, which was launched in January, only used BLE techn

April 9, 2021

S. Korean O2O services grow fast in COVID-19 pandemic

  South Korea’s online-to-offline, or O2O, services marked rapid growth amid the booming stay-at-home economy last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed Thursday. According to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the total trading volume created through local O2O services for the whole of last year reached 126 trillion won ($112.83 billion), up 29.6 percent from 97 trillion won a year earlier. The increase largely stemmed from expanded transactions in the

April 8, 2021

[Herald Interview] Despite high hurdles, Korea bent on developing drugs

When it comes to new drug development, South Korea has built strength in cancer treatment fields, but it lacks attention to infectious disease treatments, said the country’s point man on new drug development support. “The local infectious diseases pipelines account for around 9 percent of the total, compared to around 18 percent of the global drug market. The area has been less developed largely as the country has been considered as being relatively safer from infectious diseases

April 8, 2021

SKT to support vaccination monitoring with AI

SK Telecom, South Korea’s top telecom company, is utilizing its artificial intelligence technology to support the country’s health authority in monitoring recipients after COVID-19 vaccination, it said Thursday. Dubbed NUGU Vaccine Carecall, SKT’s NUGU AI platform will provide guidance to those subject to vaccination through calls, and monitor any abnormal signs after shots are administered. The telecom company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korea Disease C

April 8, 2021

LG to support smartphone OS updates for up to 3 yrs even after closure

LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday it will offer extended software upgrades for its smartphones as the company is set to depart from the mobile business. LG's mobile operating system (OS) update guarantee will be extended by one year. LG's premium smartphone users can now get OS updates for three years, while people using LG's budget handsets can receive upgrades for up to two years. Users of LG Velvet and LG Wing smartphones that were launched last year, for instance, can get support for OS

April 8, 2021

Samsung launches upgraded Galaxy A series in US

Samsung Electronics Co. introduced its new Galaxy A series smartphone portfolio in the United States on Thursday, hoping it can take over market share of its South Korean rival LG Electronics Inc. that recently announced its departure from the mobile business. Starting with the Galaxy A42 5G on Thursday, Samsung will release the Galaxy A52 5G, A32 5G and A12 on Friday in the US. The Galaxy A02s will be available from April 29. "These are the perfect smartphones for anyone who wants the

April 8, 2021

Buoyed by patent suit victory against LG, SK says will fight till the end to save name

SK Innovation, apparently buoyed by its recent battery patent victory at the US trade court against LG Energy Solution, reiterated Wednesday that it will “respond sternly” to any attempt by its rival to “hamper its business with legal issues.” Last week, the US International Trade Commission made a preliminary ruling that cleared SKI of alleged infringement of LGES’ patents related to lithium ion battery separators. The ruling provided a much-needed boost to SKI

April 7, 2021

SK Innovation says will buy more EV battery materials in hopes of veto

SK Innovation said Wednesday it is in talks to purchase more cathodes, one of the four key components of lithium-ion batteries, as an apparent demonstration of confidence in future orders. The prospective supply deal with South Korean cathode materials manufacturer L&F came just days before the April 11 deadline for President Joe Biden’s veto of a US trade court’s decision to sanction SKI from doing business in the US for 10 years. By law, the US president can override the US

April 7, 2021

[Herald Interview] Korea’s top hematologist warns against brushing off AstraZeneca blood clot link

South Korea’s top hematologist says Korea must exercise due caution with AstraZeneca vaccinations until there is a better understanding of the unusual blood clot events being reported here and elsewhere among recipients. “By caution I don’t mean vaccinations should stop, not when we don’t have other vaccines in stock. But we need to proactively monitor people receiving the vaccine and treat any suspected symptoms as though they are a blood clot case,” said Dr. Ki

April 7, 2021

Samsung, LG achieve Q1 earnings surprises on pent-up demand

In an earnings surprise, Samsung Electronics is believed to have recorded an operating profit of 9.3 trillion won ($8.3 billion) in the first three months of 2021, according to early estimates released Wednesday. According to the company’s Q1 earnings guidance, its revenue is projected to reach 65 trillion won. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue and operating profit would represent increases of 17.48 percent and 44.19 percent, respectively. The operating profit growth fa

April 7, 2021

[Exclusive] LG’s overseas phone factories may face closure

Preparing to bid adieu to its 26-year-old mobile device business, LG Electronics is mulling over what to do with its overseas phone plants, with outright closure being considered as one possible option, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Closure could mean hundreds of employees losing their jobs within a few months. LG’s head office in Seoul, when announcing the handset business exit on Monday, said it planned to “convert” the overseas facilities and use them for o

April 6, 2021

[News Focus] Mobile carriers speed up business transitions

South Korean telecommunications companies, which in 2019 made Korea the world’s first country to launch a commercial 5G network, are ditching their “telco” identity. No longer content to stay within the traditional boundaries of the telecommunications business, they are seeking business opportunities in areas where growth might come from in future. For KT Corp., the industry’s No. 2, the new direction entails producing its own original cultural content, such as drama

April 6, 2021

S. Korea's wearable device market grows over 50% in 2020: data

South Korea's wearable device market grew more than 50 percent last year, industry data showed Tuesday, due to rising demand for IT products amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend.  Domestic shipments of wearable products, including smartwatches, wireless earphones and electronic wristbands, totaled 12.76 million units in 2020, up 50.7 percent from a year ago, according to the data from market researcher IDC Korea. Wireless earphones accounted for 74 percent of the market with 9.39

April 6, 2021

LG Innotek establishes AI-powered patent analysis system to boost R&D

LG Innotek Co., a major electronics parts maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it has established an artificial intelligence (AI) powered patent search and analysis system to beef up its research and development (R&D) efforts. With its deep learning technology, the affiliate of LG Electronics Co. said the system leverages sentence recognition algorithms which it developed with LG AI Research, an AI technology research hub for LG Group. Its solution can execute real-time analysis of context a

April 6, 2021

LG Electronics partners KT to develop cross-platform AI services

LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday it plans to develop cross-platform artificial intelligence (AI)-powered services with KT Corp., South Korea's major telecom operator, to expand use of its human-like algorithm. LG and KT plan to commercialize services that support AI platforms from both companies after developing a joint interface. The two companies recently verified compatibility between LG's ThinQ and KT's GiGA Genie AI platforms. The South Korean tech giant tested its smart mirror to find

April 6, 2021

S. Korean Drug Ministry minimizes steps for biologic agent imports

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea announced Monday that it has minimized the steps required for the import of new biologic agents, such as COVID-19 vaccines. According to the revised rules, the government will no longer require foreign drug developers wishing to export their products to Korea to present certificates from their respective country. This would speed up the approval process here for foreign-developed biologic agents that are urgently needed to counter public h

April 5, 2021

LG bows out of handset business, bets on mobile solutions

  After 26 years of ups and downs, LG Electronics is putting an end to its money-losing handset segment and shifting its focus to future mobile solutions for bigger industries, the company announced Monday. LG’s board of directors decided to officially terminate the handset business by July 31 after trying, and failing, to sell it off in the past two months. “LG has failed to respond well to the intensifying competition with the top two players in the mid-range smartphone ma

April 5, 2021