LINE’s IPO 25 times oversubscribed

[THE INVESTOR] LINE Corp.’s simultaneous initial public offerings in Japan and the US this week were nearly 25 times oversubscribed with deposits totaling 2.77 trillion yen (US$2.66 billion), according to lead managers of the dual stock listings on July 14. LINE, operator of its namesake immensely popular mobile messaging app, will make its stock debut on the New York Stock Exchange on July 14 and Tokyo Stock Exchange the next day. Naver board chairman Lee Hae-jinReflecting keen interest among i

July 14, 2016

Samsung SDS invests in Darktrace, Blocko

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung SDS, the IT solutions unit of Samsung Group, said on July 14 it has recently decided to invest into UK-based security solutions developer Darktrace and Korean blockchain venture Blocko. “With the latest investments, we aim to carry out diverse ICT projects,” the company said in a statement. “We will strengthen our security solutions and services through Darktrace’s next-generation security solutions, while with Blocko we will apply blockchain technology to diverse areas su

July 14, 2016

Samsung increases presence in global chip foundry sector

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics outran other global integrated device manufacturers in the semiconductor foundry sector in the Jan.-March period in terms of sales, according to market research firm IHS on July 13.The Korean chip company’s foundry business is forecast to have earned $613 million in sales in the first quarter, the largest among the global device manufacturers. The figure is three times more than that of runner-up Micron, which made $198 million.Samsung Electronics’ mobile appli

July 14, 2016

Netmarble Games to release ‘Soul King’ worldwide

[THE INVESTOR] Netmarble Games, a South Korean game producer, said on July 13 that it will release “Soul King,” a comedic mobile role playing game, in 154 countries including Japan and North America.The game provides about 370 characters, and players take missions to defeat evil at each level to protect the Kingdom of Dune. The game was released in South Korea on June 15. Established in 2000, the firm was ranked eighth in global mobile game revenue last year, according to the company’s website. 

July 13, 2016

Korea to jack up R&D spending on semiconductors

The government said Wednesday that it will allocate an additional 1.1 billion won ($958,000) to the development of next-generation semiconductors in an effort to boost the industry.This year's R&D budget will be put at 35.6 billion won, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The state research and development funds will help the country maintain its worldwide competitiveness and raise self-sufficiency in the production of semiconductors, the ministry said.The state R&D expenditu

July 13, 2016

Samsung smartband tops U.S. consumer study

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. topped a U.S. quality test for the fitness smartband segment, industry watchers said Wednesday.According to the research conducted by industry tracker J.D.Power and Associates, Samsung Electronics won the highest consumer satisfaction ratings for a smartband for fitness.With the satisfaction rating-- based on performance, reliability, features, price, ease of operation, style and warranty -- calculated on a 1,000-point scale, J.D. Power said the S

July 13, 2016

Woowa Brothers vows to risk operating loss for growth

[THE INVESTOR] Woowa Brothers, the operator of food delivery app Baedal Minjok, said July 13 that the company returned to profit in the first half of this year after suffering an operating loss for two years.The Korean start-up posted 900 million won (US$750,000) operating profit during the half year with its sales coming in at 34.9 billion won. The company attributed the operating profit in the first half to reduced marketing costs and surging orders. In May, the total number of monthly deliver

July 13, 2016

Prosecution summons Nexon founder over alleged involvement in insider trading

Prosecutors on Wednesday summoned Kim Jung-ju, founder of the nation’s largest game company Nexon, on suspicions that he gave insider information to a senior prosecutor who raked in hefty stock gains.The prosecutors said they are investigating whether Kim gave information about the stock market debut of Nexon Japan in advance to Jin Kyung-joon, a prosecutor who is one of Kim’s college friends. Nexon founder Kim Jung-juIn 2005, Jin bought 10,000 Nexon shares at 425 million won ($370,000) and sold

July 13, 2016

LG Display to bet on mobile OLED

PAJU -- The chief of LG Display, the world’s largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, said he will invest in panels powered by organic light-emitting diodes, particularly for mobiles, admitting that the company is a latecomer in the segment.“Small and medium-sized OLED panels are the mega-trend and it is the right path to follow,” said Han Sang-beom, the CEO of LG Display at the company’s manufacturing cluster in Paju near the inter-Korean border on Tuesday afternoon. A 18 inch rollable display

July 13, 2016

LG Display chief dismisses immediate withdrawal from LCD biz

[THE INVESTOR] LG Display vice chairman and president Han Sang-beom on July 12 dismissed the possibility that the company would withdraw any time soon from the liquid-crystal display business where Chinese rivals are fast securing a footing with cheaper panels. “It is unavoidable for us to stick to LCD for now. We wouldn’t seek to withdraw from the market like our rival (Samsung Display),” Han told reporters at the company’s manufacturing plant in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. LG Display vice chairma

July 13, 2016

[Newsmaker] Will ‘Pokemon Go’ launch in Korea?

Nintendo’s augmented-reality smartphone game “Pokemon Go” has been taking the world by storm, but many anxious Pokemon fans in South Korea have been left wondering: When will the game officially launch here?“Pokemon Go,” released in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand last week, is a GPS-based mobile game that involves users running through real-life city streets, parks and other locations to capture virtual monsters, such as the all-famous character Pikachu, via their smartphones.It uses a tech

July 13, 2016

[Newsmaker]

Two men (left) play Pokemon Go on their smartphones outside of Nintendo’s flagship store in New York City on Monday. AFP-Yonhap

July 13, 2016

Korea renews investments in display, semiconductor industries

[THE INVESTOR] The Korean government is renewing its commitment to the display and semiconductor sectors where Chinese players are fast catching up with their Korean rivals.Korea has reduced related government budgets as Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and LG Display became top players in the fields. Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor plant in Xian, ChinaDuring the years, Chinese companies have grown rapidly largely boosted by their government’s full support. The governmen

July 13, 2016

Samsung chief hints at upgraded 'note' functions for Galaxy Note 7

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics president and mobile chief Koh Dong-jin on July 13 showed confidence about the company’s upcoming launch of the Galaxy Note 7 on Aug. 2.“We have improved ‘note’ functions this time, upgrading software for user convenience,” Koh told reporters in Seoul. Samsung Electronics mobile chief Koh Dong-jin speaks at the Galaxy S7 unpack event held in Barcelona in February.He is scheduled to take the stage to unveil the new Note phablet at an unpack event in New York. Si

July 13, 2016

SK Holdings C&C to develop robot solutions

[THE INVESTOR] SK Holdings C&C, a data services firm, said July 13 that it would work with a local robot company to develop new robot solutions utilizing up-to-date artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies.Signing a partnership deal on the day at its headquarters in Bundang, the C&C and Robocare vowed to collaborate to develop the robot solutions.The C&C will deploy its AI, big data and cloud computing technologies for the joint project while the local robot maker will make use o

July 13, 2016

LG Innotek to build new plant in Vietnam under pressure from Apple: report

[THE INVESTOR] Electronic components producer LG Innotek has recently decided to build a camera module plant in Vietnam, reportedly pushed by Apple to reduce supply prices. According to news reports, the Korean firm plans to build a new camera module plant in Haiphong City, Vietnam, with the full capacity operation scheduled to start from 2018. LG Innotek’s camera modules. LG Innotek“Apple has requested LG Innotek to newly establish a camera module plant in Vietnam where labor cost is much cheap

July 13, 2016

Samsung to withdraw W7.6tr Saemangeum investment plan: report

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Group is expected to announce the official withdrawal of its 7.6 trillion won (US$6.60 million) investment proposal in the Saemangeum development project this month, the Seoul Shinmun reported on July 13. Saemangeum is an area comprising reclaimed tidal land situated on the southwest coast of Korea. Currently, it is being developed as a free trade and economic zone. A rendering of the Saemangeum free trade zoneThe news daily said Samsung’s withdrawal could deal a huge blow

July 13, 2016

Samsung to unveil Galaxy Note 7 next month

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday that it will showcase its new high-end smartphone model, the Galaxy Note 7, in the United States next month.The showcase event will take place on Aug. 2 in New York and will be streamed live on the tech firm's website, according to Samsung. (Yonhap)Similar events will be held simultaneously in London and Rio de Janeiro, the company said.The released invite suggests that the new Note will offer an iris scanner, which uses the unique p

July 13, 2016

KT teams up with Samsung, Warner Bros to promote HDR tech

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean network operator KT has joined hands with tech giant Samsung Electronics and media content producer Warner Bros. Home Entertainment to commercialize high-dynamic-range imaging -- a next-generation video technology that produces more dynamic images.During a media event on July 12 in Seoul, KT unveiled a lineup of services and products utilizing HDR. Yoo Hee-kwan, KT’s head of media business, introduces the firm’s HDR services at the press meeting in Seoul on July 12. K

July 13, 2016

Xiaomi CEO to meet Samsung executives on components

[THE INVESTOR] Xiaomi founder and chief executive Lei Jun is expected to visit Seoul this week to have a meeting with Samsung Electronics executives possibly on components partnership, industry sources said on July 13. This is the first time that the chief of the hot-selling Chinese smartphone-maker is visiting Korea, home turf of its archrival Samsung.Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei JunAccording to sources, the CEO will meet Jeon Young-hyun, president of Samsung’s memory chip business division who o

July 13, 2016