[News Focus] LG Chem is ready to defeat CATL

The rivalry between neighboring South Korea and China has existed in multiple industries and in different dimensions. The long-festering rivalry is also intense between the leading battery makers of each country -- Korea’s LG Chem and China’s CATL -- in the war of electric vehicle batteries. Despite the many wars it has lost to China, this time, it may be Korea that is winning the battery war. LG Chem on Friday posted a record quarterly revenue and operating profit of 2.8 tril

Aug. 2, 2020

Samsung's foundry biz expected to further grow in H2: analysts

Samsung Electronics is projected to see further growth in its foundry business in the second half of the year, analysts here said Saturday, with growing expectations for receiving orders from Intel Corp.    In its second-quarter earnings announcement, the world's largest memory chipmaker said its foundry business achieved record quarterly and half-yearly revenues, though it did not reveal exact figures.    The South Korean tech titan added that the increase of its custom

Aug. 1, 2020

Naver posts all-time high sales in Q2

South Korea’s top internet firm Naver announced Thursday that its sales in the second quarter reached an all-time high of 1.9 trillion won ($1.6 billion), up 16.7 percent on-year. The company’s operating profit increased by 79.7 percent to 230 billion won, while net profit increased twofold logging 90 billion won. Naver said online shopping transactions helped revenue to grow by 8.6 percent to 772.2 billion won. The number of small vendors on Naver Smart Store marked a monthly

July 30, 2020

SoftBank Robotics enters Korean market

SoftBank Robotics announced Tuesday it will launch operations in South Korea with its artificial intelligence-enabled vacuum-cleaning robot Whiz. The company aims to take the lead in the assistive robotics market here, which is currently led by LG Electronics. Whiz is the Japanese firm’s second robot which was commercialized in May last year. The model, designed for commercial settings, is equipped with image sensors that allow autonomous driving and is connected to the cloud system, w

July 29, 2020

[Monitor] Samsung likley to fall behind TSMC in H1 operating profit

While US-based Intel has maintained the top spot in the global semiconductor market in terms of sales and operating profit in the first half of 2020, South Korea’s No.1 chipmaker Samsung Electronics seems to be falling behind of its Taiwanese rival TSMC. Although Samsung outstripped TSMC in terms of sales, raising an estimated 36 trillion won ($30 billion) in the first six months of the year, the Korean chipmaker is expected to achieve a smaller operating profit of 9.3 trillion won than

July 28, 2020

SKT to take visitors back 600 years in time with Changdeokgung AR tour

SK Telecom on Monday unveiled an augmented reality-powered application designed to let visitors experience life in Seoul’s Changdeokgung 600 years ago. Changdeokgung, built in 1405 as one of the Joseon era’s main royal residences, is listed among UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.　 According to SKT, visitors to the royal palace can download the mobile application ARirang and use it as a virtual tour guide starting Tuesday. The mobile carrier said it created the AR content in c

July 27, 2020

SKT finally halts 2G mobile services

SK Telecom said Monday it has permanently ended its 25-year-old 2G mobile service. The top mobile carrier here received the go-ahead from the ICT Ministry last month and started to switch off the 2G service in smaller cities including Sejong since July 6. Seoul was the last city that it shut down the service. Subscribers of SKT’s 2G service in Korea can no longer receive and make calls or send text messages. According to the company a majority of the company’s 2G users -- around

July 27, 2020

Samsung’s consumer electronics unit pushes harder into UK

Samsung Electronics said Monday it has clinched multiple supply deals in the UK, in an apparent move to push harder into the home interior and housing market. The South Korean tech giant recently inked a deal to supply 1,000 Air Dressers -- its wardrobe care machine -- with Lux Group. The British firm is a well-known interior design and construction company specializing in high-end mansions, and also manufactures home and dining room furniture. It is one of the major customers that Samsun

July 27, 2020

More people over 50 use online platforms amid pandemic

More Koreans in their 50s in Korea have started using online platforms since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed Friday. According to the survey conducted on 500 people over the age of 50 by the corporate social responsibility unit of Lina Life Insurance, 38 percent of respondents answered that they started using online livestreaming services for the first time after COVID-19. Six out of 10 people said they are using online platforms like YouTube and Netflix. Around 32 p

July 24, 2020

Samsung SDS’ earnings slump in Q2 due to pandemic

Samsung SDS said Friday its earnings in the second quarter were dented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The South Korean firm’s sales decreased by 7.5 percent on-year to mark 2.56 trillion won ($2.1 billion), while operating profit fell by 24 percent to reach 196 billion won. Sales of the company’s information technology services division recorded 1.31 trillion won in the second quarter, down 15.9 percent on-year, while that of its logistics solutions business increased 3.3 percent

July 24, 2020

Dyson brings affordable vacuum cleaners first to Korea

UK-based technology company Dyson has introduced two new cordless vacuum cleaners in South Korea, intent to test the marketability of the newest products with lower price tags here first. The two models are the Dyson Omni-glide and Dyson Digital Slim. The Dyson Omni-guide features an omnidirectional Fluffy cleaner head that allows users to suction dust particles in narrower spaces in corners or underneath furniture, offering greater flexibility than its predecessors. The Dyson Digital Sli

July 23, 2020

Korea to develop AI-powered immigration control system

The Science and ICT Ministry will invest 45 billion won ($37.6 million) in developing an AI-powered immigration control system by 2022, it announced on Friday. The ministry said it will test the smart control system at Incheon International Airport starting next year. There are currently 11 consortiums joining the state-led project, according to the ministry. Included in the consortiums are computer vision solution maker Alchera, and AI and big data solution developers Minds Lab and Onycom.

July 23, 2020

KT to develop self-driving EV with Edison Motors

South Korea’s telecom giant KT said Thursday it has joined hands with Edison Motors to develop self-driving vehicles. The firm plans to work on the control system and other software required in self-driving vehicles to improve its 5G-powered mobility solution for new traffic control tower for automated vehicles. Edison Motors, which specializes in manufacturing electric cars, will make machinery for the automated cars, according to the company. The companies have signed a memorandum

July 23, 2020

SK hynix announces 205% jump in Q2 earnings upon unusual COVID-19 demand

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip manufacturer, on Thursday reported a 205.3 percent on-year increase in its second-quarter operating profit, due to unusually high demand for server DRAMs amid the protracted COVID-19 impact. The consolidated revenue of the chipmaker stood at 8.61 trillion won ($7.2 billion) during the April-June period, up 33.4 percent on-year, while operating profit amounted to 1.95 trillion won and net profit was 1.26 trillion won. Its operating margin

July 23, 2020

Dyson's new vacuum cleaner with omnidirectional head makes global debut in S. Korea

British home appliance maker Dyson Ltd. on Thursday launched its new vacuum cleaner with an omnidirectional head for the first time in the world in South Korea as it aims to boost sales here. The Omni-glide features an omnidirectional head that allows consumers to remove dust easily in tight spaces, such as underneath furniture. Dyson said it decided to launch the product in South Korea as it considers the market important and wanted to attract more local customers who usually have a lot of

July 23, 2020

Naver's cloud unit launches new cloud service

The cloud affiliate of South Korea's leading internet portal operator, Naver Corp., said Thursday that it has launched a new type of hybrid cloud for more stable and easier service. Neurocloud is a type of cloud model called Cloud as a Service (CaaS) in which underlying computer resources are delivered to users as a service from a cloud provider, Naver Business Platform (NBP) said. The CaaS model helps corporate clients to simplify container management within their software-defined infrastru

July 23, 2020

Samsung tipped to rank 3rd in 5G smartphone production this year: report

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's leading tech firm, is expected to rank third in terms of 5G smartphone production this year, a report showed Wednesday. Samsung's 5G smartphone production for the year is estimated at 29 million units, placing the company in third place globally, according to market researcher TrendForce. "Samsung has been experiencing setbacks in the Chinese market in recent years," it said. "Although these setbacks have not seriously affected its global

July 22, 2020

Kakao Commerce to take over Kakao‘s character business

South Korean tech firm Kakao will relocate Kakao IX Corp.’s character merchandising business to its e-commerce unit Kakao Commerce, according to industry sources on Wednesday. Kakao IX, the current operator of character business, will finalize the restructuring during an upcoming board meeting early next month, the sources added. The latest corporate reshuffle is likely to give a boost to Kakao’s growing e-commerce business unit. Kakao Commerce last year marked 296.1 billion won

July 22, 2020

MakinaRocks attracts W12b investments from LG, Hyundai Motor

Artificial intelligence solution startup MakinaRocks said Wednesday the company has completed the Series A round, winning a total of 12 billion won ($10 million) worth of funding from large South Korean businesses including LG and Hyundai Motor. MakinaRocks develops and provides solutions that can detect and prevent errors and defects during manufacturing processes based on deep learning and enhanced learning algorithms for companies that operate complex and large-scale manufacturing facilit

July 22, 2020

LG Velvet offering 5G hits US market

LG Electronics’ design-focused Velvet smartphone has become available in the United States, providing US consumers a new 5G device choice, according to the company on Wednesday. The 6.8-inch organic light-emitting diode screen phone with a triple rear camera module in its signature water drop design will retail for $599 via US mobile carrier AT&T first and through T-Mobile and Verizon later this summer. The retail price is viewed as lower than expected compared to 5G phones avail

July 22, 2020