Samsung's Lee Jae-yong leaves for Middle East

Samsung’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong left for the United Arab Emirates on Monday at around 10 p.m. ahead of scheduled meetings in the Middle East region. Lee told reporters he would be returning to South Korea on Thursday, and did not elaborate on details about the trip. Lee’s visit to the Middle East comes more than two years after the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics’ February 2019 meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. A few months

Dec. 6, 2021

'Metaverse is about seeing things in more integrated way'

Metaverse, a shared virtual world where people can interact with others through avatars, has been the talk of the town in the second half of this year. While some doubt metaverse will be able to take off or see it as just another marketing strategy, others seem to believe it is the next giant leap in information technology. Regardless of the perceptual divide, Kim Beom-joo, head of evangelism at graphics developer Unity Korea, says the coming of the virtual platform was inevitable and its ar

Dec. 6, 2021

SK hynix sets up new US business unit

SK hynix, the chip-making affiliate of SK Group, said Thursday that it has set up a new business unit solely dedicated to the US market where the memory chip giant has made a renewed push to secure a firm footing and expand partnership with local tech firms. The new unit, called American Business Team, is one of the three new units established under the direct influence of CEO Lee Seok-hee, as part of the company’s year-end executive reshuffle and organizational overhaul. The other two u

Dec. 2, 2021

Korea to foster 89,000 more software talents by 2025

South Korea will foster 89,000 more people specialized in software technology by 2025 to cope with a shortage of digital talent in the future, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. Unveiling the government’s plan to support younger generations in times of digital transformation, the ministry said a total of 413,000 software professionals will be supplied over the next five years. The government’s original plan was to raise 324,000 software talents, but the expected demand

Dec. 2, 2021

Kakao to acquire live commerce firm Grip for W180b: sources

Kakao Corp. will acquire a majority stake of live commerce startup firm Grip Co., according to sources Wednesday. The South Korean tech giant plans to acquire a 48 percent stake of the company for 180 billon won ($152.5 million), sources familiar with the deal said. Established in 2018, the company currently operates its namesake live commerce mobile application, which allows users to sell products online. The number of sellers on Grip stood at some 12,000 as of April, and the volume of tr

Dec. 1, 2021

Naver, SoftBank join forces for metaverse push

South Korean internet giant Naver on Wednesday laid out its strategies to enter the global market with its latest metaverse technology that allows hyperconnection between the real world and virtual reality. “We have recently joined hands with SoftBank to make an HD map of cities in Japan through our ALIKE solution. It will be an important stepping stone for Naver to bring future without borders,” said Seok Sang-ok, CEO of Naver Labs, during a press conference. Seok added that Nave

Dec. 1, 2021

Samsung unveils 5G chips for cars

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it rolled out an automotive semiconductor chip that delivers a fifth-generational network connectivity for in-vehicle infotainment services for the first time in the industry. The newly-launched telematics control unit for cars, Exynos Auto T5123, aims to provide essential information to a vehicle in real-time via high-speed download speeds of up to 5.1 gigabits per second. Samsung said the new auto chip will allow passengers to enjoy high-definition content st

Nov. 30, 2021

S. Korea, Britain seek closer cooperation in 5G, AI

South Korea and Britain have agreed to bolster bilateral cooperation in artificial intelligence and 5G on the sidelines of a tech forum, Seoul's ICT ministry said Tuesday. Lee Tai-hee, South Korea's deputy minister for planning and coordination at the science and ICT ministry, held talks with Chris Philp, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in London on Monday (local time) as he visited the Future Tech Forum. During their meeting, Lee

Nov. 30, 2021

Kakao marks 10th anniversary of emoticon biz

KakaoTalk, South Korea’s top mobile messenger, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its emoticon service, highlighting the jobs it has created for freelancers. KakaoTalk emoticons that can be purchased and used in the mobile messenger have raised 700 billion won ($586 million) in sales revenue since their launch in 2011, according to the company. More than 300,000 emoticon sets have been sold, and 220 billion emoticons have been sent among users. Five emoticon sets have each collected mo

Nov. 29, 2021

Samsung to nurture young executives to usher in ‘New Samsung’ era

Samsung Electronics is poised to employ a new personnel management system starting in 2022 that could foster young executives, in a move to lay the groundwork for a “New Samsung” era under Samsung’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong, the South Korean tech giant said Monday. Under the new system, Samsung will abolish a set of requirements before an employee gets promoted to a certain level, such as a minimum term of service that lasts roughly eight to 10 years. Instead, excellent em

Nov. 29, 2021

LG Energy Solution lays out new funding plan for Michigan plant

LG Energy Solution, the batteries unit of LG Group, has laid out a new $1.36 billion funding plan to drastically ramp up the capacity of its plant in the US state of Michigan in the next three years. In a regulatory filing Friday, parent company LG Chem said LG Energy Solution's Michigan arm will raise $681 million in fresh capital without rights to add new production facilities to the Michigan plant, while securing the remaining $681 million from local borrowing. The new funding aims t

Nov. 28, 2021

Samsung ranks No. 1 in US high-end projector market

Samsung Electronics said Sunday that it ranked No. 1 in the premium home cinema projector market in the United States, a year after the electronics giant entered the market with its flagship The Premiere lineup. Samsung Electronics’ high-end projectors priced at $3,000 or more accounted for 27.8 percent of the US market by sales from January to October, the company said, citing an estimate from US market intelligence firm NPD Group. In particular, Samsung’s focus on ultrashort th

Nov. 28, 2021

Fast-growing metaverse creates legal risks: law firm

The metaverse, a kind of virtual community that lets users interact in real-time, carries potential legal risks, and requires regulations to ensure platform operators protect their users from digital crimes, experts said Friday. “Since metaverse embodies the virtual world as almost exactly the same as the real world, there are concerns on severe privacy violations. It is highly possible that data on the users’ whereabouts, medical information and political affiliations could be lea

Nov. 26, 2021

Kakao Brain to give Korean-language AI an upgrade

Kakao Brain, an AI technology research and development subsidiary of Kakao, said Thursday it will upgrade its Korean-language AI model to go full swing in promoting the development of local AI industry. According to the AI company, it plans to enhance the deep learning process of KoGPT, Kako Brain’s Korean- language AI model, and make it 100 times more efficient by using Google Cloud’s supercomputer, Google Tensor Processing Unit. Google TPU is a large-scale computing system that

Nov. 25, 2021

Lee Jae-yong’s ‘New Samsung’ vision taking shape

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has returned home after a packed North American trip, with his vision for the “New Samsung” taking shape and putting a renewed emphasis on chip business. During his 10-day visit to the US and Canada, Lee held a series of meetings with prospective clients, partners and political leaders and finalized the tech giant’s $17 billion US fab investment. Upon his arrival in Seoul on Wednesday afternoon, the tycoon said the responsibili

Nov. 24, 2021

Naver lays out new future with metaverse, AI

South Korean internet giant Naver on Wednesday unveiled its latest technology to expand its business in the metaverse, the fast-emerging platform connecting virtual communities. “We will soon launch Arcverse, a metaverse ecosystem, that connects the virtual world and real world. In Arcverse, users will be able to use the data and services from both worlds at the same time,” said Seok Sang-ok, CEO of Naver Labs, during Deview 2021, Naver’s 14th developer conference. For insta

Nov. 24, 2021

Samsung says new Texas chip plant to open new chapter

A $17 billion investment to build Samsung Electronics’ second fabrication plant in the US will open a “new chapter” and contribute to stabilizing the global chip supply chain, the South Korean tech giant said Wednesday as it made an official announcement of the plan. The new foundry will enable production of chips equipped with cutting-edge technologies suitable for fifth-generation networks, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence, Samsung said. &ldqu

Nov. 24, 2021

Samsung looks to add 2nd US foundry chip plant in Texas

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics is looking to add a second site for its foundry semiconductor chip manufacturing plant in Texas, according to reports Tuesday. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is scheduled to make an “economic announcement” concerning Samsung Electronics’ plan to build a new chip plant in Williamson County, near the city of Taylor, Texas, which will involve $17 billion of capital expenditure, Wall Street Journal reported. A Samsung Electronics spokesperson s

Nov. 23, 2021

Chip shares surge on recovery signs of memory chip, metaverse wave

Shares of South Korean semiconductor firms rose sharply Monday over market prospects on recovery of memory chip price on intensifying global race to adopt metaverse technology. Memory chips are a critical component in the metaverse, in which users interact with each other in digital worlds, which could offset the bearish forecast for memory chip prices.　 Samsung Electronics -- the tech giant with interests in semiconductors, electronic devices and handsets -- surged 5.2 percent Monday. Another

Nov. 22, 2021

S. Korea breaks ground for AI complex in Gwangju

South Korea broke ground Monday for an artificial intelligence complex in the southwestern city of Gwangju to foster the related industry, the science ministry said. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, for a major construction project to create an AI complex center, including data centers and facilities in automobiles and energy sectors. A total of 393.9 billion won ($332 million) will be spent from 2020 to 2024 for the project, according to the mini

Nov. 22, 2021