Korean biotech firms challenge gene medicine market

Korean biotech companies are working their way into the global gene-based medicine market that is estimated to exceed $790 million next year, an institutional report and researchers said Tuesday.Kolon Life Science, Sillajen and Viromed are conducting four of the 25 phase-3 clinical trials for gene medicine under way around the globe, with Kolon pursuing what may be the world's first such medicine for osteoarthritis.According to a report from the Biotech Policy Research Center, the global gene me

July 5, 2016

Samsung reduces more than 10,000 employees in China

Samsung Electronics, which has continued streamlining its workforce on its home turf, reduced more than 10,000 employees in the all-important Chinese market last year, according to its recent sustainability report. 　According to the report published on July 3, a total of 325,677 people worked at the Korean tech giant last year globally, compared to 319,208 workers in 2014. 　Only Southeast Asia and Japan saw their employee numbers increase over the past year. Especially in Southeast Asia where th

July 4, 2016

[Newsmaker] SKT launches world’s first nationwide IoT network in Korea

South Korea’s leading network operator SK Telecom launched a specialized network for the Internet of Things technology across the country on Monday, marking the world’s first commercial IoT network ever to be deployed nationwide, the company said.　SKT’s newly-launched LoRaWAN network, which stands for “long-range wide-area network,” is optimized to transmit small amounts of data at very low speeds of below 5Kbps, making it a fitting network for transferring data from a given object using limited

July 4, 2016

FTC concludes review on SK-CJ HelloVision merger

South Korea’s antitrust regulator has concluded its review of the controversial merger between SK Telecom and CJ HelloVision, ending seven months of assessments on the possibility of the deal impeding fair market competition, according to industry sources Monday.The Fair Trade Commission has reportedly sent its report to SK Telecom, they said without elaborating. The state-run regulatory body will also send the review to the Korea Communications Commission and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Fu

July 4, 2016

Samsung, LG lose market shares in US EV battery market

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s top battery makers Samsung SDI and LG Chem have lost market shares in the US electric vehicle market due to robust sales of EVs powered by their Japanese rivals. According to industry data, the Korean duo made up a combined 23 percent of market shares in the US in May, down from 35 percent in April. In the meantime, Japanese companies saw their market shares soar from 65 percent to 87 percent. Most of the top-selling EVs of the month were powered by Japanese-made batteries

July 4, 2016

Europe accounts for less share in Samsung’s revenue

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics’ European sales proportion of its entire revenue has been on a downward trend in recent years, according to the tech giant’s sustainability report on July 3. Samsung earned 38.6 trillion won (US$33.6 billion) in 2015, which takes up 19 percent of the firm’s overall revenue, at 200.7 trillion won, in the European region, including countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States.Participants in the Samsung Europe Forum, a showcase event held in Mona

July 4, 2016

LG to shut down auto engineering business

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics will reportedly cease its auto engineering business this year.　The tech giant has been running the business for the past 10 years, designing and manufacturing car frames for carmakers.　Car companies in emerging nations including Indonesia and India are major customers of the Korean firm. The move is said to be aimed at quelling rumors that the company would jump into the automobile business in earnest. 　Having set up a vehicle component division in 2013 after mergin

July 4, 2016

Samsung helps building smart factories for SMEs

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has helped build smart factories for 105 small and medium enterprises during the first half of the year, the company said July 4.Starting with support to 120 SMEs in North Gyeongsang Province last year, the electronics company has accelerated its steps to build smart factories in other regions including Gyeonggi Province, Jeolla provinces and Chungcheong Province, with the total number currently reaching 225.  Saehan TungstenThe tech giant said it aims to sprea

July 4, 2016

LG boots business in global hospitality TV market

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics unveiled OLED TVs systematically adjusted for the hospitality industry at a global expo, the company’s spokesperson said on July 4. The organic light-emitting diode manufacturer recently displayed its hotel TV models, 55- and 65-inch class televisions at the 2016 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference held in New Orleans. The razor sharp design combined with its high definition picture quality, supported fully by LG’s OLED technology is set to provi

July 4, 2016

LG to shut down auto engineering business

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics will reportedly cease its auto engineering business this year.The tech giant has been running the business for the past 10 years, designing and manufacturing car frames for carmakers.Car companies in emerging nations including Indonesia and India are major customers of the Korean firm. LG Electronics’ lightweight vehicle frame / LG Electronics　The move is said to be aimed at quelling rumors that the company would jump into the automobile business in earnest. Having

July 4, 2016

Samsung’s sales in China decrease for 3 years in a row

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics’ sales in China continued its downward spiral for the third consecutive year in 2015, according to a report released by the tech giant on July 3.The annual revenue in the Chinese market continued to decrease from 40.1 trillion won (US$34.9 billion) in 2013, 33 trillion won in 2014 and 31 trillion won in 2015, according to its sustainability report 2016, an annual report that provides information on the firm’s performance on economic, environmental, and social f

July 4, 2016

LG Electronics to announce earnings guidance on July 8

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics is expected to announce its second-quarter earnings guidance on July 8. Local analysts estimate the company’s operating profit to stand at about 594.7 billion won (US$517 million). The Korean tech giant started releasing its quarterly earnings guidance since the first quarter this year. LG Electronics’ Seoul headquartersAnalyst say that despite the lukewarm sales of its flagship smartphone G5, the company’s robust TV and appliance sales could make up for the operati

July 4, 2016

Samsung reduces more than 10,000 employees in China

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics, which has continued streamlining its workforce on its home turf, reduced more than 10,000 employees in the all-important Chinese market last year, according to its recent sustainability report. According to the report published on July 3, a total of 325,677 people worked at the Korean tech giant last year globally, compared to 319,208 workers in 2014. Only Southeast Asia and Japan saw their employee numbers increase over the past year. Especially in Southeast

July 4, 2016

Samsung to release Q2 operating profit on July 7

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant Samsung Electronics will release its earnings for the April-June quarter on July 7.All eyes are now on whether its operating profit crosses the 8-trillion-won (US$6.9 billion) threshold for the first time in two years. The firm earned 8.5 trillion won in the first quarter of 2014.Samsung posted more than 8 trillion won of operating income for the seventh consecutive quarter since the third quarter of 2012. Its operating profit reached its peak in the third quarter of 20

July 4, 2016

[Graphic News] Korea tops average Internet speed worldwide: report

Korea had the highest average Internet connection speed in the world in the first quarter of this year, according to a report by Akamai Technologies, a content delivery network provider headquartered in the U.S. The report released Friday showed that in the first quarter of the year, Korea had four times faster average Internet speed at 29 megabits per second, an 8.6 percent increase over the previous quarter. It was followed by Norway, Sweden, Hong Kong and Switzerland. The world average was 6.

July 3, 2016

Kakao opens flagship store for mobile characters in Gangnam

 [THE INVESTOR] Mobile messenger operator Kakao has opened its flagship store for character products based on its mobile stickers, called Kakao Friends, in the posh Gangnam district, Seoul, aiming to expand its clout in the mobile world into the retail realm.Despite the heavy rain in Seoul on Saturday, more than a thousand people formed a snaking line in front of the store on the opening day of the Kakao Friends Flagship Store.Kakao`s flagship store in Gangnam. KakaoAs Kakao ran a series of prom

July 3, 2016

[Photo News] LG Chem. recruits talents in Tokyo

LG Chem CEO and vice chairman Park Jin-soo meets with participants Friday at its recruiting event held in Tokyo‘s New Otani Hotel, where Park shares the company’s vision with around 40 students invited from Japan’s top 10 universities. (LG Chem)

July 3, 2016

Korean court rules Park Tae-hwan eligible to compete in Rio

 A local court ruled on Friday that swimmer Park Tae-hwan is eligible to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, a significant victory for the beleaguered athlete in his legal battle with the national Olympic body. The Seoul Eastern District Court accepted an injunction requested last month by the swimmer to confirm that the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) has no reason to ban him from racing for South Korea at the Olympics.Park "has no reason for being disqualified based on Article 5 of the

July 1, 2016

Incheon airport to hire robots for cleaning, concierge

Incheon International Airport will deploy autonomous robots programmed to clean its facilities and to provide information, before the nation hosts the Winter Olympics in 2018.Incheon International Airport Corp. and LG Electronics on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding for the robot project and agreed to test run prototype machines from later this year.An image of a concierge robot for airportsThe project is a part of the airport’s smart service strategy, an official said. Robots will be

July 1, 2016

Korean chipmakers plan W38tr equipment investment for 3 years: report

[THE INVESTOR] Korean chipmakers, including the top two Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, are expected to pour a combined 37.8 trillion won (US$33 billion) into wafer fabrication equipment or WFE in the next three years. Starting US$10.02 billion this year, the companies will invest more than US$10 billion every year in the coming years, according to a recent research jointly conducted by market research firm Gartner and chip equipment giant Applied Materials. Samsung’s wafer fabrication facilit

July 1, 2016