Huawei Korea under tax probe

South Korea’s National Tax Service is conducting an investigation into Huawei Korea, the local branch of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies, the company said Tuesday.　Investigators from the Seoul branch of the National Tax Service are currently conducting a tax audit on Huawei Korea, the firm said, calling it a regular process that takes place every five years.“The NTS has been investigating our company as part of a regular audit that takes place every five years,” a Huawei Korea spokesperso

July 26, 2016

SK Telecom pulls plug on CJ HelloVision M&A

South Korean network provider SK Telecom said Monday that it was terminating its plan to merge its IPTV unit SK Broadband and the country’s top cable TV operator CJ HelloVision.The decision came a week after the Fair Trade Commission officially opposed the 1 trillion won merger deal ($875 million), citing concerns over a market monopoly by SKT in the competitive paid TV business.In November 2015, SKT had announced that it would acquire a 53.9 percent majority stake in CJ HelloVision from its own

July 26, 2016

Samsung to expand Austin R&D center to secure tech talents

[News Analysis] Samsung Electronics’ latest plan to expand its research and development center in Austin, Texas, demonstrates its efforts to secure talents on its future businesses such as driverless cars or artificial intelligence, analysts said Tuesday.Samsung Austin R&D Center, which develops system large-scale integration for premium mobile devices, said last week it would be relocating its offices from its current location at Ladera Bend to a new, larger and updated 112,000-square-foot spac

July 26, 2016

Nexon’s latest mobile game a big hit overseas

[THE INVESTOR] Online game developer Nexon said on July 26 that the number of downloads for the global version of its mobile role-playing game “HIT” has exceeded the 3 million mark since its debut less than a month ago. First released in Korea in November 2015, the global version was launched in 140 nations, excluding China and Japan, on July 7. The mobile app has been included in the top 10 best-selling paid mobile apps in Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam. Nexon has recently been in the

July 26, 2016

‘Drone genius’ Korean boy tops Shanghai drone racing: KT

12-year-old Korean boy has won first place in a 16-nation drone racing tournament in Shanghai, KT Corporation said Tuesday. According to KT, Kim Min-chan participated in the competition as a member of KT’s drone racing team “GiGA5” and recorded a score of 55 seconds 56.(KT Corporation)Another player from GiGA5, 17-year-old Son Young-rok, took second place with 1 minute 12 seconds 10 record. The first Asia Cup Shanghai took place on July 23 and 24 with 128 players from China, Japan, Korea and 13

July 26, 2016

SK Telecom withdraws merger plan with CJ HelloVision

[THE INVESTOR] SK Telecom announced on July 26 that it is officially withdrawing the merger plan between its IPTV unit SK Broadband and the nation’s No. 1 cable TV operator CJ HelloVision. The announcement comes after the Fair Trade Commission, the state antitrust regulator, disapproved the 1 trillion won deal on July 18, citing monopoly concerns that could further strengthen SK Telecom’s dominant market position in the highly competitive paid TV market. “SK Telecom has notified CJ HelloVision t

July 26, 2016

Korea to adopt US UHD TV standard

[THE INVESTOR] Korea has decided to opt for ATSC 3.0, a technology standard in the US for ultra-high definition broadcasting, over the European standard DVB-T2, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said July 26.Most of the TVs made by Korean TV makers including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are based on the European standard, a relatively outdated technology compared to the US counterpart.Samsung Electronics’ 105-inch UHD TV / Samsung ElectronicsAs a result, many of those wh

July 26, 2016

Huawei’s S. Korean branch under tax probe

[THE INVESTOR] Chinese cellphone maker Huawei’s South Korean office is being probed by tax authorities, local media reported on July 26. According to reports, the Seoul branch of the National Tax Service recently dispatched officials from the international business division for a tax audit. While Huawei said that it is a regular audit conducted every five years, reports citing unnamed sources say that the NTS is focusing on determining whether tax evasion occurred in dealings between Huawei’s lo

July 26, 2016

Interpark falls prey to email scam

[THE INVESTOR] The servers of leading Korean e-commerce firm Interpark were hacked, compromising its customers’ personal information including email addresses, and phone numbers, according to news reports July 26.A group of hackers, who accessed the firm’s servers with overseas IPs, stole around 10.3 million pieces of personal data in May. A notice posted on the Interpark internet homepageThe hackers reportedly sent emails with malicious codes to Interpark employees and got access to the sensiti

July 26, 2016

LG to spend more for R&D on appliance parts

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics said it would spend 30-50 percent more on-year for research and development into key components of washing machines and air conditioners to maintain its competitiveness in the home appliance market. “The motor and compressor plays a vital role in our home appliance business, so we will invest accordingly,” said Park Jung-hyun, vice president of LG’s compressor and motor business unit at a press meeting in South Gyeongsang Province last week.  LG Electronics employee

July 25, 2016

OLED shipments for smartphones to double by 2017: research firm

[THE INVESOTR] Shipments of organic light-emitting diode displays for smartphones are expected to almost double from last year’s 250 million units to 450 million units in 2017, market research firm IHS predicted. Currently, about 97 percent of the market is dominated by Samsung Display, the display-making unit of Samsung Electronics.  Samsung Galaxy S7IHS said this year’s shipments could surge 42.7 percent to 366.9 million panels compared to a year ago. Samsung has extended the OLED adoption for

July 25, 2016

LG Chem to expand elastomer output

The nation’s leading chemical and battery firm LG Chem is set to triple its elastomer output to meet the growing demand in the global market, the company said on Monday. LG Chem said it would invest 400 billion won ($351 million) to build additional factories, which will be capable of producing 200,000 metric tons of elastomers on an annual basis. Elastomer is high-valued synthetic resins, which is used for materials for cars, shoes, functional films and electric wire. When the plants are comple

July 25, 2016

Angry gamer crashes car into Nexon head office

[THE INVESTOR] A man in his 30s drove his car into the Korean head office of online game company Nexon in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on July 24.A part of the glass wall on the first floor was smashed into pieces, but no injuries were reported. The man, whose nationality is reportedly Chinese, drove while intoxicated. He said in a police interrogation that he was infuriated at Nexon’s online games to which he was so addicted that he could not live an ordinary life.“The person who vandalized the o

July 25, 2016

LG to spend more for R&D on appliance parts

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics said it would spend 30-50 percent more on-year for research and development into key components of washing machines and air conditioners to maintain its competitiveness in the home appliance market. “The motor and compressor plays a vital role in our home appliance business, so we will invest accordingly,” said Park Jung-hyun, vice president of LG’s compressor and motor business unit at a press meeting in South Gyeongsang Province last week. LG Electronics employees

July 25, 2016

OLED shipments for smartphones to double by 2017: IHS

[THE INVESOTR] Shipments of organic light-emitting diode displays for smartphones are expected to almost double from last year’s 250 million units to 450 million units in 2017, market research firm IHS predicted. Currently, about 97 percent of the market is dominated by Samsung Display, the display-making unit of Samsung Electronics. IHS said this year’s shipments could surge 42.7 percent to 366.9 million panels compared to a year ago. Samsung Galaxy S7. The Korean tech giant is increasingly ado

July 25, 2016

Samsung, LG keep close eye on Vietnam’s minimum wage hike

[THE INVESTOR] Vietnam’s minimum wage hike is expected to take a heavy toll on big Korean firms such as Samsung and LG that have been beefing up production there due to low labor costs. Currently, the minimum wage for Vietnamese workers ranges between US$108-157 across regions. In the latest wage talks, labor groups asked for an 11 percent increase from next year, while employers resisted, proposing a moderate 4.62 percent raise. LG Electronics Vietnam Haiphong campus“There are over 4,000 Korean

July 25, 2016

Korean retailers ride on ‘Pokemon Go’ craze

South Korean retailers are capitalizing on the explosive popularity of Nintendo’s augmented-reality mobile game “Pokemon Go” with new products and services targeting local Pokemon game enthusiasts and fans.　From a sudden rise in consumer spending at select Pokemon-appearing cities in Korea to the launch of Pokemon-inspired hotels, tour packages and goods, the smash-hit game appears to be leaving a notable imprint on the local retail sector.Pikachu is surrounded by children during a Pokemon festi

July 24, 2016