Samsung, LG spar over picture quality of 8K TVs

South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics sparred again Tuesday, questioning the picture quality of 8K TVs, undermining each other’s technological prowess. LG once again accused Samsung of exaggerated, misleading marketing of its 2019 QLED 8K TVs and demanded more details.Since the IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany, earlier in September, LG has been slamming Samsung’s 8K TVs as failing to meet globally agreed standards that require minimum 50 percent contrast mo

Sept. 17, 2019

SK Innovation raided over allegations of trade secret theft

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Tuesday raided SK Innovation’s headquarters in central Seoul over LG Chem’s accusation that the SK unit stole trade secrets related to developing electric vehicle batteries. LG Chem had made the accusation in May after filing a complaint in April with the US International Trade Commission and the District Court of Delaware over misappropriation of trade secrets through the hiring of former LG Chem employees. Police sent officers to SK Innovatio

Sept. 17, 2019

Aveva to upgrade integrated industrial software in digital push

SINGAPORE -- UK-based industrial software developer Aveva said Tuesday it plans to introduce its newly integrated industrial software by November in its digital push to streamline large-scale projects.The news comes amid the UK company’s push for software integration following its merger with French multinational firm Schneider Electric’s industrial software business in March 2018. Since the merger, Aveva has strived to bring together its design, engineering and construction capaciti

Sept. 17, 2019

LG Display taps LG Chem president as new chief

LG Display announced Monday the company’s incumbent chief tendered his resignation and that it has tapped a LG Chem executive as the new leader.Han Sang-beom, current vice chairman and CEO of the panel maker, expressed his willingness to step down from the post during an emergency meeting of the board of directors for the company, which is currently suffering deficits.The board accepted Han’s resignation and tapped Jeong Ho-young, chief operating officer of LG Chem, as the new CEO of

Sept. 16, 2019

YouTube accounts for nearly 90% of copyright violation accusations: lawmaker

　Copyright violation accusations filed by the country’s major broadcasters number over 150,000 so far this year, with nearly 90 percent against global video-sharing platform YouTube, a lawmaker said Monday 　Citing data from the Korea Communications Commission, Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea said as of last month there were 153,081 requests made by broadcasters for the media watchdog to address copyright infringement. 　The broadcasters, which include four territorial br

Sept. 16, 2019

Korea’s collaborative streaming service to begin Wednesday

　South Korea’s three territorial broadcasters and mobile carrier SK Telecom held an event Monday to mark the launch of a massive video streaming service Wednesday, with an aim to attract 5 million paid subscribers by 2023. 　The heads of the broadcasters and SK Telecom gathered in Seoul to celebrate the launch of their new over-the-top video service Wavve, which combines SKT’s Pooq and the broadcasters’ Oksusu into one integrated platform.　The participants pledged to develop Wav

Sept. 16, 2019

LG Innotek to showcase LED, communications modules for cars in Japan

LG Innotek, the electronic parts affiliate of LG Group, said Monday that the company would showcase around 20 kinds of car components at an upcoming automotive show in Japan this week. The LG affiliate will, for the first time, take part in the Automotive World 2019 that kicks off Wednesday for a three-day run in Nagoya -- where Japan’s major auto parts makers, as well as automakers like Toyota, are headquartered. The event is held in Tokyo every January and in Nagoya in September, attende

Sept. 16, 2019

LG Chem, SK Innovation CEOs meet to discuss legal dispute

The chief executive officers of LG Chem and SK Innovation, embroiled in a legal dispute over patent infringement issues and the poaching of talent, met Monday at a hotel in Seoul to seek some breakthroughs, the companies said. LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol and SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun reportedly exchanged views for over an hour and maintained their respective stances on the ongoing confrontation. “Details of the talks cannot be revealed,” said an LG Chem official. It has also not been

Sept. 16, 2019

Samsung heir flies to Saudi to check on metro project

Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman and heir apparent of Samsung Electronics, flew to Saudi Arabia on Saturday to check on Samsung C&T’s infrastructure project in the Middle Eastern country’s capital, Riyadh, the company said Sunday. The de facto leader of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate visited the construction site for the Riyadh Metro project, in which its construction arm is a participant. The project, slated for completion by 2020, will involve the construction of six subwa

Sept. 15, 2019

S. Korea files WTO complaint over Japan’s export curb

　The South Korean government on Wednesday filed a complaint over Japan’s tighter export curbs with the World Trade Organization, accusing Tokyo of taking discriminatory measures against Korea for politically motivated reasons.　During a press briefing in Seoul, the country’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said the Japanese government’s export controls targeting Korea violate WTO rules by regulating free trade for political purposes.　Early in July, Japan imposed export curbs on thr

Sept. 11, 2019

S. Korea’s SpaceX lunar project postponed to 2022

　The government’s plan to use a SpaceX projectile to search the orbit of the moon has been postponed to July 2022, the Science Ministry said Tuesday, amid lingering disputes over the projectile’s weight and design. 　During a press briefing in Sejong city, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced it had decided to delay the lunar projectile’s launch by 19 months. The projectile was supposed to be launched in December next year. 　According to the government, there had been dispu

Sept. 10, 2019

LG–SK dispute over job poaching extends to patent war

The months-long legal dispute between two South Korean electric vehicle battery makers over alleged poaching of employees with trade secrets is unfolding as an intellectual property battle with LG Chem preparing to file a countersuit against SK Innovation in the United States, according to industry sources Tuesday. LG Chem is currently mulling a lawsuit against its rival accusing it of infringing its patents related to EV batteries. This follows SK Innovation’s recent patent lawsuit agains

Sept. 10, 2019

Samsung SDI showcases innovative battery solutions in Frankfurt

Samsung SDI said it showcased a slew of innovative battery solutions at the International Motor Show that kicked off in Frankfurt on Tuesday. The battery affiliate of Samsung exhibited its core materials for high-nickel batteries and silicon-based anodes. It also introduced a battery cell, module and pack for electric vehicles that enables a driving range of 600 to 700 kilometers on a single charge.  Samsung held the exhibition under the theme of “Charged for Auto 2.0,” which ca

Sept. 10, 2019

SK Siltron acquires Dupont’s wafer division

　SK Group’s semiconductor component maker, SK Siltron, has acquired a wafer division from US chemical giant Dupont as the South Korean company aims to raise its profile in the global semiconductor component market. 　According to SK Siltron on Tuesday, the company’s board of directors agreed to purchase Dupont’s silicon carbide wafer business unit for $450 million. The acquisition is expected to be finalized by year-end after the necessary government approvals are obtained. 

Sept. 10, 2019

Smart speaker privacy concerns spread to Korea

With Google, Amazon and Apple in hot water for enabling their artificial intelligence speakers to collect recordings of users’ voice commands, similar incidents are now occurring in South Korea, where the country’s tech giants have been found gathering personal dialogue with their speakers. Naver and Kakao admitted last week that their AI-based interfaces have been collecting users’ audio data and converting it to written files. Such processes were also found to have been condu

Sept. 9, 2019

Kangwon Land casino tops Kakao’s list of tourist destination search terms

Where in Seoul is it hardest to get a taxi? Which tourist destinations do users type in most frequently when searching a navigation app? South Korea’s Kakao has come up with answers to readers’ burning questions about Koreans’ mobility habits.Kakao’s mobility affiliate, Kakao Mobility, announced the publication on Monday of the “2019 Kakao Mobility Report,” produced by analyzing user data from its various mobility apps. Kakao Mobility has published the annual

Sept. 9, 2019

Galaxy Fold sailing smoothly toward new foldable market

Samsung Electronics’ limited edition strategy for the Galaxy Fold is turning out to be working effectively by accurately targeting consumers’ penchant for rarity, according to industry sources Monday. After the first batch of the world’s first 7.3-inch foldable device was sold out on Thursday and Friday, there are an increasing number of Koreans who are seeking ways to get the limited phone online. On online communities where people trade second-hand products, there were posts

Sept. 9, 2019

Nexon’s new MMORPG ‘V4’ to roll out later this month

　South Korea’s biggest video games company, Nexon, is seeking to launch its new mobile role-playing game “V4” later this month. 　According to Nexon, V4 is to be released to the public on Sep. 27 with a press event for journalists and influencers. More than 100 participants will gather to watch the game’s demonstration and discuss its user interfaces, the company said Sunday.　Short for Victory Four, “V4,” is one of Nexon’s most highly anticipated massivel

Sept. 8, 2019

LG to showcase CLOi robots at Gwangju Biennale

LG Electronics said Friday it is taking part in the annual design festival in Gwangju by showcasing two of its latest robots. The company will showcase LG CLOi CareBot and GestureBot at a pop-up booth at the Gwangju Biennale festival that will kick off Saturday for a two-day run. The CLOi CareBot is built to exchange emotions with users. For example, it can change its eyes, body postures and voice tone in accordance with the users’ hand gestures.  The CLOi GestureBot teaches users sig

Sept. 6, 2019

First batch of Galaxy Fold sells out on launch day

Samsung Electronics said Friday the first batch of Galaxy Fold, the world’s first foldable smartphone, was sold out as soon as it hit the market here.While did not disclose the number of phones it sold on the first day, industry sources estimate that the first round of preorders could be around 1,000, all through the country’s three mobile carriers.The figure doesn’t include the number of devices purchased on Samsung’s online and offline shops.  Some early adopters w

Sept. 6, 2019