LG Hausys sets sights on U.S. auto parts sector

LG Hausys, a construction materials firm and affiliate of LG Group, said Wednesday it has completed the construction of a factory in the U.S. in Gordon County, Georgia. The factory will produce materials for car seats, door panels and dashboards, collectively often referred to as automotive skins.The opening ceremony for the factory, dubbed “Autoskin Plant,” took place in the U.S. town on Tuesday. LG Hausys president Oh Jang-soo (left) and local state representative John Meadows look at automoti

April 20, 2016

Netmarble releases new mobile game ‘Stone Age’

South Korea’s leading mobile game firm Netmarble Games launched “Stone Age,” a new mobile role-playing game, on Tuesday in Seoul.The newly released game features a fictitious, prehistoric world where people resist against industrial revolutions. It is based on a PC online game of the same title, released by Japanese game company Japan System Supply in 1999. Netmarable Games’ new mobile role-playing game “Stone Age.” (Netmarble)Players complete a series of quests, such as winning an one-on-one ba

April 20, 2016

KT joins forces with DreamWorks Animation

Korean telecommunications companies are desperately seeking ways to overcome breakneck competition in the local mobile network sector.One such effort involves beefing up their media platform businesses, often considered as their future growth engine.On Wednesday, network operator KT joined hands with U.S. filmmaker DreamWorks Animation to provide the latter’s animation content on KT’s IPTV service olleh TV.DreamWorks has produced mega-hit animated movies such as “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “How to

April 20, 2016

'Samsung Display's automotive push late but in right direction'

SHENZHEN, China -- Samsung Display’s latest automotive push may have come late but it is the right direction for its future profitability, a top analyst told The Korea Herald on Tuesday. “Car is becoming an electronic, smartphone-based device. And you need displays to go with it,” said Paul Gray, principal analyst of market research firm IHS.“Those applications are also far more valuable. You are working with companies where you can secure businesses for three to five years as opposed to consume

April 20, 2016

LG Chem launches fertilizer affiliate

South Korea’s leading chemical company LG Chem launched a fertilizer affiliate, FarmHannong, on Tuesday after completing months-long acquisition efforts.LG Chem chief executive Park Jin-soo will take helm of FarmHannong, formerly owned by Korean conglomerate Dongbu Group, and stabilize the firm’s businesses, including fertilizers and pesticides, according to the chemical firm.  The logo of fertilizer firm FarmHannong. (LG Chem)Founded in 1953, FarmHannong is a leader in the agricultural chemical

April 19, 2016

Samsung SDI aims to speed up global expansion

Samsung SDI, one of South Korea’s leading battery firms, said Tuesday that it has teamed up with Korea Electric Power Corp. to tap into the global energy storage system markets.The state-run utility firm signed a memorandum of understanding with the Samsung Group affiliate to lead a consortium bidding for global energy projects. As a part of the consortium, SDI will supply its ESS technology for future energy projects.  KEPCO chief executive Cho Hwan-eik (left) poses with Samsung SDI chief execu

April 19, 2016

Telecom spectrum auction to begin this month

South Korea’s big three network operators -- SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus --on Monday completed their applications to participate in an upcoming spectrum auction, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning Tuesday.A total of five blocks in the 700-megahertz, 1.8-gigahertz, 2.1GHz and 2.6GHz frequencies will be up for sale during the spectrum auction, which is expected to raise at least 2.6 trillion won ($2.3 billion) in total. Executives and officials from network operator LG

April 19, 2016

IFA seeks to expand presence in China

HONG KONG -- Europe’s largest electronics trade show IFA is seeking to expand its presence in China, by launching a local edition -- CE China -- this week. IFA, which is held every September in Berlin, attracted almost 250,000 visitors last year for the weeklong event.  Christian Goke, CEO of Messe Berlin, speaks at IFA’s global press conference in Hong Kong on Monday. Lee Ji-yoon/The Korea HeraldWhile Korean and Japanese companies are still one of the biggest exhibitors, the presence of Chinese

April 19, 2016

[Photo News] Samsung partners with U.N. for charity

SAMSUNG-U.N. PARTNERSHIP FOR CHARITY -- Kim Jung-hwan (left), manager of Samsung Electronics’ South America headquarters, poses with Amanda Mukwashi, U.N. volunteers’ knowledge and innovation team leader, after signing an agreement to run support programs together for the underprivileged in South America.　(Samsung Electronics)

April 19, 2016

[Photo News] LG Uplus supports disabled

LG UPLUS SUPPORTS DISABLED -- LG Uplus, Korea’s third-largest mobile carrier, said Monday it would provide its Home Internet of Things services for free to 3,000 households with physically challenged individuals. The services allow users to monitor and control home appliances through smartphones. (LG Uplus)

April 18, 2016

[Photo News] Samsung TV ad for air conditioner rides popularity

SAMSUNG AD RIDES POPULARITY – Samsung Electronics said Monday that its TV ad for air conditioner Q9500, featuring former figure skating champion Kim Yu-na, has hit 10 million views online in 19 days. (Samsung Electronics)

April 18, 2016

Lezhin bets on TV content business

Lezhin Entertainment said Monday that it has joined hands with a local company to create dramas based on webtoons, or online comics.The operator of webtoon platform Lezhin Comics has signed a memorandum of understanding with SBS The Story Works, a drama maker, to produce TV shows based on popular online comics series. The logos of Lezhin Comics and SBS The Story Works　(Lezhin Entertainment)SBS Story Works has rolled out some hit Korean dramas including “Divorce Lawyer Is in Love” and “Ghost.”The

April 18, 2016

LG to build open mobile market for developers

LG Electronics has launched an online retail store for its smart device line Friends, opening the platform to start-ups and developers to nurture an ecosystem for connected devices. The new website, dubbed LG Friends, is an online market where consumers can buy LG’s latest smart devices, including a removable smartphone camera, a portable speaker, a rolling toy robot, and a wireless headset. Developers attend LG Electronics’ conference in San Francisco, California, last Friday. (LGE)The Friends

April 18, 2016

Lost Galaxy S5 survives 7 months outdoors

A Samsung Electronics Galaxy S5 device remained intact after being left outdoors for nearly seven months, the Korean tech giant said Monday, proving the smartphone's water and dust resistance.According to the company, Bae Gyu-ryong, a 70-year-old user of the Galaxy S5 who works at a medical center in Chungju, about 150 km southeast of Seoul, lost his smartphone while working in a persimmon orchard near his rural farmhouse in September last year. As the device was in silent mode, Bae was not able

April 18, 2016

Samsung to roll out new budget smartphone

South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. will release a new budget smartphone in  China next month, industry sources said Sunday.The Galaxy C will be first rolled out in the Chinese market and later in the global market, they said.The Galaxy C will come with a 5.5-inch display and the price will be in the mid-200,000 won ($170) range.  The move apparently follows the release of similar budget phones by Chinese and Indian manufacturers, they added.Samsung has been making efforts to bo

April 17, 2016

[Photo News] Korean telecom watchdog beefs up ties with U.S. counterpart

KOREAN TELECOM WATCHDOG BEEFS UP TIES WITH U.S. COUNTERPART -- Tom Wheeler (left), chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, and Choi Sung-joon, chairman of South Korea’s telecommunications regulator Korea Communications Commission pose at a meeting held at the FCC last week. They discussed a range of issues including mergers between telecom companies and broadcasting firms, privacy laws, net neutrality and spectrum auctions. (KCC)

April 17, 2016

SKT signs export deal for smartphone projector

SK Telecom, South Korea’s leading wireless firm, said Sunday that it has struck a deal to export its pico projector, worth 300 million yen, to Japan.The telecom firm said that it would supply its projector, UO Smart Beam Laser, to Taisei Express of Japan for one year starting from this month. Kim Sung-han(right), head of SKT’s device planning division poses with Taisei Express CEO Hwang Kyong-ho after signing a supply deal in Hong Kong on Saturday. (SKT)The two partners reached the deal at the H

April 17, 2016

Chipmakers betting big on solid state drive storage system

Competition in the global solid-state drive market is heating up as more players are rolling out the storage system built on technology that stacks cells vertically.An SSD is lighter and more compact than a conventional hard disk drive. It also boasts shorter booting time and faster reading and writing speeds than an HDD.  Intel’s solid-state drive product (Intel)Intel recently rolled out a new SSD lineup based on 3-D NAND flash memory in Seoul, home turf of Samsung Electronics, the largest SSD

April 17, 2016

Samsung lays off largest number of workers in 2015

South Korea's largest conglomerate Samsung Group reduced its number of employees by the largest margin among the country's top 30 business groups last year, data showed Saturday.As of end-2015, Samsung's total workforce came to 222,821 workers, down 5.8 percent or 13,636 workers from a year earlier, according to data from CEO Score, a market research firm.Samsung was the only one among the country's 30 largest conglomerates to have laid off more than 10,000 employees in 2015. Such a large cut wa

April 16, 2016