Market gloomy over chipmakers’ plummeting earnings forecasts

A series of estimate reports by local brokerage houses on South Korea’s two major chipmakers reignited market fears Tuesday, as they became more skeptical over their first-quarter earnings, citing falling memory chip prices due to market saturation. According to local market researcher FnGuide, the market consensus on Samsung Electronics’ operating profit came to 8.33 trillion won ($7.36 billion), a 47 percent decrease from the first three months last year. The quarterly estimate of SK hynix, th

March 19, 2019

Analysts call on Korean panel makers to make faster shift to OLED

In response to Chinese panel makers’ latest moves to start producing large liquid crystal display panels, market analysts called on Korean display companies to speed up execution of their plans to switch existing LCD panel production lines to organic light-emitting diode panel lines at a conference held in Seoul on Tuesday. “In the long run, it is clear that LCD prices are going downhill -- with some quarterly ups and downs -- but Samsung Display and LG Display are still being cautious about shu

March 19, 2019

Samsung passing test to hasten Korea’s 5G launch

　With Samsung Electronics’ 5G-powered smartphone having acquired approval for commercial use from the state-run radio verification agency, expectation is high that South Korea is inching closer to soon offering commercial service for the next-generation wireless network. 　According to the National Radio Research Agency on Monday, Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G smartphone passed the agency’s signal verification test. The result was posted on the agency’s website with Galaxy S10’s model number, SM-G977N.

March 19, 2019

Ready, set, binge: LG looks to change course with M&As

LG Electronics CEO Jo Seong-jin recently conceded that as a newcomer in the mergers and acquisitions market in 2015, the firm had a tough time acquiring a stake in family-owned Austrian headlight maker ZKW Group. After years of negotiations, the tech giant and its holding firm LG Corp. were finally able to purchase shares worth 1.1 billion euros ($1.25 billion) in April 2018. It marked the largest acquisition in its 70-year history. Before that, it was focusing on research and development. (Hera

March 18, 2019

Spotify poised to enter S. Korea

Sweden-based audio streaming platform Spotify is poised to enter the South Korean digital music market worth 1 trillion won ($880 billion), according to the Electronic Times on March 18. The local media report cited anonymous sources in the industry noting that the Swedish firm has initiated negotiations with copyright collectives to discuss the distribution rates of contents. Some Apple Korea employees have also already signed on to join Spotify Korea.  “The demand for K-pop mu

March 18, 2019

Samsung’s 2nd Pyeongtaek memory fab likely to start operation early next year

Samsung's first memory fab in Pyeongtaek (Samsung Electronics)Samsung Electronics appears to be gearing up for the operation of its second memory plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, in March next year, in a move seen to maintain its leadership despite unfavorable market circumstances, according to industry sources and news reports Sunday. The tech giant has reportedly held meetings with entities involved with the Pyeongtaek project including the municipal office of the city to discuss the su

March 17, 2019

Samsung says updates will improve fingerprint scanning on Galaxy S10

In response to complaints raised by some users of Galaxy S10 and S10+ models regarding its first in-display fingerprint scanner, Samsung Electronics said Thursday it will keep upgrading software to improve performance.Among early users of the latest Galaxy S10 and S10+ devices, some questioned the accuracy of the ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanning function, a technology provided by Qualcomm, after about a week of use.Samsung has chosen the in-display fingerprint scanner over its iris aut

March 14, 2019

Galaxy S10 shipments to be 20 million in H1

Samsung Electronics is expected to ship out a total of 20 million Galaxy S10 series phones within the first half of this year, industry sources said Wednesday. If they are correct, the series will achieve a slightly better showing than its predecessor.The 10th-anniversary Galaxy S10 phones, which went on sale throughout the world Friday, are expected to achieve sales targets of 10 million for the first quarter and another 10 million for the April-June period, according to Samsung’s parts supplie

March 13, 2019

LG to kickoff preorders of G8 ThinQ featuring practical design aspects

A model promotes a LG G8 ThinQ model. (LG Electronics)Shunning the hype on unconventionally bendable fondable phones to be launched by rivals, LG Electronics is seeking to make a mark through practical innovations for its eight edition of G8 ThinQ series.The South Korean tech giant has announced that it will start preorders for its latest G series phone starting Friday at a retail price tag of 897,000 won ($791) here. It is slightly cheaper than rival Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S10e model at 89

March 11, 2019

Instagram to help K-pop expand globally: CEO

The global photo- and video-sharing platform Instagram aims to help South Korean culture, noticeably K-pop and esports, expand globally, the company's new chief said Monday."K-pop is much more than just music," CEO Adam Mosseri told reporters in Seoul, emphasizing the significance of the local market as an innovation powerhouse that leads trends around the world.The company said K-Pop has been one of the most popular and most buzzed-about musical genres on Instagram in the past four years. Indon

March 11, 2019

[Feature] Age of AI anxiety: Will human translators survive automation?

In 2017, less than a year after a historic match between the Korean Go master Lee Se-dol and Google’s AlphaGo, human translators and machine translators were pitted against each other in a separate contest in South Korea. While the showdown ended in a victory for humans against translation engines developed by Google, Naver and Systran, many of the ensuing headlines highlighted the possibility that artificial intelligence might disrupt the translation industry.Translation often appears on lists

March 11, 2019

[Graphic News] Foreign patients report satisfaction with S. Korean medical services

　Foreigners visiting South Korea for medical treatment are largely satisfied with the services they receive, a poll showed.　Foreign patients gave an average rating of 90.5 out of 100 for the level of care they received in 2018, with numbers generally climbing over the years, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.　Patients from Russia gave the Korean health care industry the highest rating at 94.4, followed by those from the United States at 91.8 and those from China at 90.1, the latest

March 10, 2019

Tech startup 42Maru eyes foreign market with deep learning solution

Korean tech startup 42Maru is moving to expand its presence in Britain, as part of efforts to spread what it calls the Question Answering system built on deep learning technology beyond the local market. The company, established in late 2015, said its QA system is being used not only for digital chatbots but also for the Smart Watch from broadband carrier LG U+ and smart speakers from telecom giant KT. 42Maru has 28 employees, including top search engine experts. It successfully completed the de

March 8, 2019

Samsung Galaxy S10 officially hits global markets

The 10th anniversary Galaxy phones are officially available in 70 markets around the world, Samsung Electronics said Friday. The newest additions to the Galaxy family -- Galaxy S10, S10+ and S10e -- hit the shelves of offline and online stores in 70 countries starting Friday, including the United States, Canada, India, China and all of Europe. By the end of the month, Samsung will roll out the newest Galaxy phones in a total of 130 markets.  Galaxy S10 launching ceremony in Dubai (Samsung Electr

March 8, 2019

TV unplugged: Samsung may be eyeing wireless sets

Samsung Electronics has filed for a patent related to a cordless television with the World Intellectual Property office, raising expectations that the tech titan could have embarked on developing wireless TVs. According to the patent revealed by WIPO on Thursday, Samsung submitted a patent for a wireless power transceiver and display in March last year. An image showed a transceiver that looked like a sound bar was attached to the rear of a TV, while showing a separate power transmitter.  (Samsu

March 7, 2019

[Graphic News] Measles rates soar worldwide

　Of the global surge in measles last year, just 10 countries accounted for three-quarters of all cases, the UN children’s agency said, including one of the world’s richest nations, France.　Ninety-eight countries reported more cases of measles in 2018 compared with 2017, and the world body warned that conflict, complacency and the growing anti-vaccine movement threatened to undo decades of work to tame the disease.　Measles is more contagious than tuberculosis or Ebola, yet it is eminently prevent

March 6, 2019

US state rises as main investment destination for global businesses

On March 19, South Korea’s SK Innovation is breaking ground for an electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia in the United States, in what is touted as the largest-ever foreign business investment for the state.The Korean energy and chemical business is slated to construct the $1.67 billion manufacturing facility with an annual production capacity of 9.8 gigawatt-hour EV batteries in the city of Commerce within the southeastern state. Gov. Brian Kemp delivers his inaugural speech in January. (St

March 6, 2019

South Korea dubbed most advanced in 5G leadership

South Korea is the “clear leader” in the 5G National Leadership Index, ahead of the US, Australia, Switzerland and Finland, according to London-based global management consulting firm Arthur D. Little.ADL recently assessed 40 countries on leadership in the fifth-generation network, based on the availability of infrastructure and commercialization tendency.  KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu delivers a keynote speech during the opening ceremony of 2019 MWC in Barcelona last week. KTAt the beginning of March

March 6, 2019

LG Electronics cuts OLED TV prices amid aggressive expansion

During a launching ceremony Wednesday, LG Electronics announced price cuts for its flagship organic light-emitting diode TV lineup and vowed to boost annual sales of OLED models, which are up against liquid-crystal display TVs. Including the LG OLED TV AI ThinQ, the company unveiled nine OLED TV models featuring the second generation of deep-learning processor Alpha 9, which will be released in the market this week. The Alpha 9 Gen 2 processor in LG’s W, E and C series of OLED TVs elevates pictu

March 6, 2019

Construction of LSIS’ 3rd large solar plant completed in Japan

LSIS, a South Korean energy solution provider, has completed the construction of a solar plant in Japan capable of producing 18 megawatts of electricity a year, the company said Wednesday.The 46 billion won project was built on 300,000 square meters of land in Ishikawa Prefecture of Honshu. LSIS won the project in 2017. Its office in Japan will also run operation and maintenance of the plant for next 20 years.The plant in Ishikawa is the third large-scale solar plant built by LSIS in Japan. (LSI

March 6, 2019