SK On exceeds hiring goal in Georgia ahead of schedule

The US State of Georgia said Tuesday SK Battery America, a production subsidiary of South Korean battery giant SK On, has exceeded its hiring goal two years earlier than the initial schedule to fill jobs at its manufacturing facilities for electric vehicle batteries in the city of Commerce, Jackson County. The state government said the company had achieved its goal of 2,600 employees as of the end of 2022, with plans to expand the workforce to some 3,000 this year. Since launching its EV batte

Jan. 31, 2023

Samsung defies chip price slump, vows to continue investment

Despite witnessing a sharp drop in chip profits, Samsung Electronics said it will not scale back its output and spending in 2023, bucking the trend of cost-cutting among its global rivals. "The deteriorated business environment is not so favorable for our performance for now, but we believe it is also an opportunity where we can thoroughly prepare for the future," the company said Tuesday in the earnings call for the fourth quarter of 2022. The company added that its capital expenditur

Jan. 31, 2023

LG Innotek aims high with new chip substrate plant

LG Innotek said Monday it will ramp up development of its flip chip ball grid array packages, or high-density package substrates to secure a top position in the market. "FC-BGA is a sector LG Innotek can excel in, as the company has been leading the global substrate material market with its unrivaled technology and productivity," said LG Innotek's president and CEO, Jeong Cheol-dong. "We will create differentiated customer value so the company can lead the global FC-BGA marke

Jan. 30, 2023

[Newsmaker] Why is Samsung starting a legal fight against smartphone repair shops in US?

Samsung Display has recently filed a complaint against 17 smartphone repair shops in the US over their use of “illegal” panels that it says infringed its highly sophisticated OLED patents, according to industry sources Monday. The display-making unit of Samsung Electronics is a market leader making almost 70 percent of OLED panels used in high-end mobile devices, including Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhone smartphones. Sources say the company seems determined to offer no leniency for

Jan. 30, 2023

Samsung hires ex-Ericsson execs to boost network business

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics has hired two experts from Swedish telco Ericsson to reinforce its network business. According to industry sources on Sunday, Samsung recently established a task force under its network business division to oversee a new business strategy. For the task force chief, the company hired Henrik Jansson, formerly the strategic sourcing manager for Ericsson. The company also recruited Jo Mi-sun who served as the head of sustainability and corporate responsibi

Jan. 29, 2023

Samsung Biologics 2022 earnings hit all-time high with W3tr sales

Korean contract manufacturer Samsung Biologics' earnings in 2022 hit all-time high, mainly because its biopharmaceutical unit was included in the consolidated financial result after a full acquisition early in the year. Its sales almost doubled to 3 trillion won ($2.4 billion) from 1.56 trillion won in 2021, according to its regulatory filing on Friday. It logged 983.6 billion won in operating profit, up 83 percent from 537.3 billion won a year earlier. The dollar figure above has been calc

Jan. 27, 2023

LG Electronics Q4 operating profit tumbles 91%

LG Electronics said Friday its operating earnings for the fourth quarter dipped more than 90 percent from a year earlier on slumping demand for home appliances coupled with global economic difficulties. The consumer electronics giant reported an operating profit of 69.3 billion won ($56.1 million) for the October-December period, down 90.7 percent from the same period a year prior, the regulatory filing showed. It was the first time South Korea’s No. 2 home appliances maker had reported a

Jan. 27, 2023

Samsung SDS posts record revenue on upbeat cloud sales

South Korean IT solutions provider Samsung SDS logged a record sales of 17.2 trillion won ($14 billion) in 2022 that was driven by an expansion in its cloud business, the firm said Thursday. In a regulatory filing, the company said its annual sales in 2022 saw a growth of 26 percent when compared to the previous year. It also posted an operating profit of 916.1 billion won. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company garnered 4.25 trillion won in sales and an operating profit of 187.5 billion won

Jan. 26, 2023

[Photo News] Energy-saving air conditioners

Samsung Electronics on Thursday rolled out this year’s new air conditioner lineup, including more energy-efficient models in light of rising energy bills. Starting this year, the company’s patented “windless” cooling, a high-end feature that gently and quietly disperses air through micro air holes, will be adopted in all air conditioner models.

Jan. 26, 2023

[Photo News] Brew bot

South Korean telecom giant SK Telecom’s artificial intelligence-powered Barista Robot blends and pours a cup of coffee for a customer. Jointly developed by Doosan Robotics, the robot can make around 20 kinds of coffee, cool ades and other beverages. SKT has made upgrades to the robot to create custom coffee blends and close plastic cup lids. A surveillance camera is also attached to oversee unmanned coffee shops. The company added it is in talks with several specialty coffee chains to supp

Jan. 26, 2023

SK hynix develops world’s fastest DRAM for mobile devices

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix said Wednesday it has developed the world’s fastest mobile DRAM chips that have already been delivered to customers. The new product, named Lower Power Data Rate 5 Turbo, or LPDDR5T, operates at a data rate of 9.6 gigabits per second, 13 percent faster than the previous generation the company rolled out last November. According to the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, the low-power memory chip for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet

Jan. 25, 2023

Korean biotech lobby expresses concerns over Biden executive order

The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-pharma Manufacturers Association on Friday sent a written opinion to the US government, in which the business lobby raised concerns over the Biden administration's executive order aimed at bolstering domestic production of biotechnology and biomanufacturing products. "The US should not take discriminatory measures against its allies,” the association said in a statement released on Wednesday, adding that the executive order should not violate the

Jan. 25, 2023

Will Samsung, Hyundai clash over robots?

South Korea’s two major conglomerates, Samsung and Hyundai, have long been keeping their distance as they avoid competing head-on in their core businesses. But the decades-old unspoken rule may be ending in robotics, a burgeoning area where their leaders are pouring resources in search of a future growth driver. Hyundai with hardware prowess Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s third-largest carmaker dominating almost 90 percent of car sales at home, was the first to make a big move

Jan. 24, 2023

[Photo News] LG Gram marks 10th anniversary

LG Electronics on Tuesday unveiled LG Gram Style, a new addition to the tech giant’s Gram premium laptop lineup that marks its 10th anniversary this year. The Gram debuted in 2014 as the industry’s lightest 13-inch laptop, weighing just 980 grams. The Style comes in 14- and 16-inch models. The 16-inch model is the first Gram laptop equipped with an organic light-emitting diode display.

Jan. 24, 2023

Daewoo E&C opens construction education center in Nigeria

South Korean builder Daewoo E&C said Friday it opened an education school to train experts in welding and scaffolding, as part of its social outreach project. The center launched training programs for welding and scaffolding, the two skills that are large in demand in Nigeria, Daewoo E&C said. The welding program began on Jan. 11, and it aims to foster 100 welders in six seasons, with each season lasting for three months. The scaffolding program also began on Monday. Those who complete t

Jan. 20, 2023

[KH Explains] How soon will microLED replace OLED?

Micro light-emitting diode, or microLED, has become a buzzword in tech, as Apple -- the world’s largest consumer electronics company by revenue -- is reportedly working to use the sophisticated display technology in upcoming Apple Watches while reducing the use of organic light-emitting diode displays, whose key suppliers are South Korea’s Samsung and LG. In recent years, OLED has been increasingly used in high-end TVs, smartphones and wearable devices to offer better picture quality

Jan. 18, 2023

Researchers offer new solution to reduce clothing waste

Scientists have developed the world’s first technology to recycle clothing waste by converting discarded fiber into usable materials, the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology said Wednesday. A group of researchers led by Cho Joung-mo, a senior researcher at the KRICT, found a screening technology that can isolate recyclable materials from clothing waste by using the chemical characteristics of dyes. The research team also came up with a recycling technology to convert separated

Jan. 18, 2023

Samsung's mobile chief confident about new Galaxy S series

Samsung Electronics’ mobile chief on Wednesday expressed his ambition to set new performance standards for premium smartphones with the upcoming Galaxy S series at its annual unpacking event next month. Roh Tae-moon, president and head of Samsung Electronics’ mobile experience business, said in a blog post that there is no better example of Samsung delivering on its vision than the Galaxy S series. “We believe mobile technology can be the catalyst to enrich people’s lives

Jan. 18, 2023

Samsung Biologics to go full throttle during Seollal holiday

Samsung Biologics, the country's largest contract manufacturing company, will run its production lines at full throttle during the upcoming Lunar New Year's holiday to ensure timely delivery of pouring orders, industry sources said Tuesday. An official from Samsung Biologics also noted the company has been operating 24/7, 365 days a year to meet its goals in regards to promised delivery times. Samsung Biologics also maintained its production level during the Chuseok holiday last year a

Jan. 17, 2023

[Photo News] Coming soon

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it will open Galaxy experience zones in 24 cities around the world, including San Francisco, London, Paris, Singapore and Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, next month. It is the follow-up event to its annual unpacking event for its new flagship Galaxy devices, which is slated to take place in San Francisco on Feb. 1. The venues will allow visitors to explore Samsung's newly unveiled devices and innovations such as its exciting new camera features. The Galax

Jan. 17, 2023