Samsung Electronics in belt-tightening mode

In the wake of an earnings shock in the second quarter, Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker, is making all-out efforts to cut costs. “Samsung is tightening its belt as it is forecast to face tougher competition in the global smartphone market,” industry watchers said. The Korean firm’s operating profit plummeted 25 percent on-year to 7.2 trillion won in the April-June period, the lowest in two years, according to the Korean headquarters.One of the electronics giant’s latest

Aug. 8, 2014

LG Uplus develops enterprise networks in Middle East

LG Uplus, a South Korean mobile carrier, said Thursday that it had finished developing telecommunication networks at base camps and offices of a local construction company carrying out projects in the Middle East.The company said it had established enterprise Internet lines for the builder’s camps in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Libya and Kuwait, marking the first time it has provided the service for a client in the region.It worked with Epsilon, a Hong Kong-based IT outsourcing company, to d

Aug. 7, 2014

Samsung to showcase direct-call wearable device in Berlin

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to launch a new wearable device early next month in Berlin that is able to make phone calls without being linked to a smartphone, industry sources said Thursday.The world’s No. 1 smartphone maker, which has recently been making moves to expand its presence in the wearable industry as a new source of revenue, will roll out the “Gear Solo,” which will be equipped with its own universal subscriber identity module card.The model is set to be showcased on Sept. 4 i

Aug. 7, 2014

Kakao, LINE may be used by terrorists: China

South Korea said Thursday it confirmed that Chinese authorities had intentionally blocked services of Kakao and LINE mobile messengers on fears of abuse by terrorist groups. Talks are underway to normalize the services, it said.“Some of the messenger services in China that spread information linked to terrorist activities were blocked (by the Chinese authority), including Kakao Talk and LINE,” the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said.“Many terrorist groups in China reportedly spread

Aug. 7, 2014

KAIST to host cultural festival for Asia’s top tech universities

Korean public research university KAIST said Wednesday that it would hold a cultural festival at its main campus in Daejeon with Asia’s top science universities until Aug. 9.The three-day event, called the ASPIRE League E-Olympics, will invite students from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, China’s Tsinghua University and Japan’s Tokyo Institute of Technology. ASPIRE stands for Asian Science and Technology Pioneering Institutes of R

Aug. 6, 2014

ICT exports gain 1.7% on-year in July

South Korea’s exports of information-communication technology products rose 1.7 percent from a year earlier last month largely on growing shipments to advanced markets, including the United States, while the trade surplus in the sector narrowed, the government said Wednesday.In July, outbound shipments of ICT products came to $14.28 billion, posting an on-year gain for the second straight month, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.However, the country’s trade surplus in the s

Aug. 6, 2014

Kakao continues to expand business portfolio

Awaiting a major merger and market listing later this year, South Korea’s leading mobile messenger service provider Kakao Corp. has been trying to diversify its business portfolio as its conventional sources of profit weaken, and the rumor is that it is looking into the taxi business.“Although it is hard to reveal detailed businesses, we have established a task force to find new models for profits,” Kane Lee, a communications official from Kakao, said Tuesday over the phone.The goal, Lee said, i

Aug. 5, 2014

Samsung to launch new Galaxy Note on Sept. 3

 The Galaxy Note 3, the latest in Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note line-up, will be introduced on Sept. 3 in Germany, industry sources said Tuesday. According to the sources, the world's largest smartphone maker will showcase the new phablet -- a cross between a smartphone and tablet PC -- ahead of the IFA Berlin to be held Sept. 5-10.The Galaxy Note 4 is anticipated to feature a 5.7-inch-wide QHD with resolution of 2560×1440, along with a Snapdragon 805 processor and a 16 megapixel camera. The

Aug. 5, 2014

Another Samsung semiconductor worker dies of leukemia

Another worker from a Samsung Electronics Co. chipmaking facility died earlier this month from leukemia after working at the company for 27 years, a labor advocacy group said Tuesday, just days after compensation talks between the two sides for similar victims ended without much progress.The Protector of Health and Human Rights of Semiconductor Workers said Lee Beom-woo, 47, died a month after being hospitalized for leukemia. He worked for 23 years at Samsung's facility in Onyang, South Chungche

Aug. 5, 2014

Samsung to inject W1.8t in safety amid deadly accidents

South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it plans to invest some 1.8 trillion won ($1.74 billion) this year to boost safety in its facilities across the country, following a series of accidents that led to deaths and injuries.This year's investment will mark a 50 percent rise from the 1.2 trillion won in 2013, the company said, adding it has already injected 1 trillion won through July, and the remaining budget will also be invested as scheduled."Most of the budget will

Aug. 5, 2014

LG’s annual smartphone sales to top 60m

South Korea’s No. 2 handset maker, LG Electronics Inc., is anticipated to ship more than 60 million units of smartphones in 2014, analysts said Monday, backed by its robust sales of the G3 flagship model.“While the competition in the smartphone sector is set to escalate over the second half, the G3 model will continue to gain ground before the launch of the new iPhone,” Kiwoom Securities Co. said in its report, adding the local rival of Samsung Electronics Co. will post annual sales of 62 millio

Aug. 4, 2014

Korea to ease TV ad regulations

The Korea Communications Commission said Monday that it would deregulate rules governing terrestrial broadcast advertising in line with efforts to help the saturated network advertising market and boost ultrahigh-definition content production.South Korea currently regulates the amount of time and the type of commercials broadcasters can show between TV programs and station breaks as a means to control their influence on the public.However, the KCC said it would revise this to regulate only the t

Aug. 4, 2014

LG's annual smartphone sales to top 60m

South Korea's No. 2 handset maker, LG Electronics Inc., is anticipated to ship more than 60 million units of smartphones in 2014, analysts said Monday, backed by its robust sales of the G3 flagship model."While the competition in the smartphone sector is set to escalate over the second half, the G3 model will continue to gain ground before the launch of the new iPhone," Kiwoom Securities Co. said in its report, adding the local rival of Samsung Electronics Co. will post annual sales of 62 millio

Aug. 4, 2014

SK Telecom’s net profit up 6.4% in Q2

SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s leading mobile operator, said Friday its second-quarter net profit edged up 6.4 percent from a year ago on reduced marketing costs amid business suspensions.Net profit came to 497.6 billion won ($482.68 million) in the April-June period, compared with 467.7 billion won tallied a year earlier, SK Telecom said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 4.6 percent on-year to 4.3 trillion won, while operating profit gained 0.1 percent to 546 billion won.Analysts surveyed by i

Aug. 1, 2014