US confirms $6.4 billion chip subsidy for Samsung

The US government announced Monday that it will award up to $6.4 billion to Samsung Electronics for its chip fabrication facilities in Taylor, Texas. "The return of leading-edge chip manufacturing to America is a major new chapter in our semiconductor industry," said White House National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard in a press briefing. US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo also revealed that the subsidy plan, coming under the US Chips Act, will support Samsung's two chip produ

April 15, 2024

Samsung, LG showcase built-in lineup at Milan Design Week

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, the leading home appliance giants in Korea, are participating in this year’s Milan Design Week this week to showcase their new built-in appliances incorporating artificial intelligence and connectivity. Milan Design Week is one of the largest international design and furniture exhibitions, held in the city in northern Italy with the participation of some 2,300 companies. This year the event runs from Tuesday to Sunday. The tech giants have also set u

April 15, 2024

LG Uplus chief woos AI talent in Silicon Valley

LG Uplus CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik traveled to Silicon Valley and hosted a special event to lure young talents in the field of artificial intelligence, the telecom carrier said Monday. Hwang hosted the “2024 LG Uplus AI Visionaries Summit" at the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley in San Francisco on Saturday. Invited were some 10 doctoral candidates and master's students in key AI fields such as natural language processing, large language model and vision from major US universities, in

April 15, 2024

Kakao joins AI Alliance, promotes safe, responsible AI

Korean IT giant Kakao joined AI Alliance, the global open-source community dedicated to the responsible development of artificial intelligence, becoming the first Korean firm to do so, the company said Friday. “We will work together with the AI Alliance to establish an open AI ecosystem meeting the global standard for the open, responsible and safe development of AI technology,” Kakao AI Safety Leader Kim Kyung-hoon said. “We will take on the social responsibility as a digital

April 12, 2024

SK hynix exec pins high hopes on new US packaging plant

With the advances in artificial intelligence, there is a growing demand for cutting-edge memory chips. As the technology environment has evolved, SK hynix vice president expressed his ambition to contribute to the development of the highest-performance memory products through advanced packaging technologies. “Package and test (P&T) technology is turning into a crucial factor in the battle for semiconductor leadership,” Choi Woo-jin, vice president in charge of SK hynix’s pa

April 11, 2024

Korea aligned with US export curbs on chips to China: minister

South Korea is largely aligned with the US government’s export curbs on chips to China, but it is also making efforts to maintain trade ties with Beijing, Korea’s trade minister said in the US on Wednesday. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun, who is visiting the US for the first time after he was inaugurated in January this year, added that the government is working to ensure the US trade curbs do not hurt the interests of Korean chipmakers. "Our basic stance is

April 11, 2024

Naver, Intel team up to counter Nvidia’s dominance in AI chips

US chip giant Intel is teaming up with Naver, Korea's leader in artificial intelligence, in an apparent move to counter Nvidia's dominance in the burgeoning AI chip market. Unveiling its more powerful next-generation AI accelerator, Gaudi 3, on Tuesday, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the cutting-edge central processing unit has been enhanced to perform better than Nvidia's graphic processing unit "at a fraction of the cost." He also said the company is working together wit

April 10, 2024

Samsung retains No. 1 spot in US home appliance market

Samsung Electronics retained its No. 1 spot in the US home appliance market for an eighth consecutive year, dating to 2016, thanks to strong sales of key household products including refrigerators and washers, industry data showed Wednesday. According to market tracker TraQline, Samsung notched a 20.9 percent market share based on sales in the US home appliance market in 2023, followed by its crosstown rival LG Electronics with 18.8 percent, GE Appliances and Whirlpool, which secured 17.6 percen

April 10, 2024

Samsung hopes to shed Galaxy brand's ‘ajeossi phone’ reputation

Samsung Electronics is striving to shed the reputation of its flagship Galaxy smartphones as "ajeossi" phones among teens and users in their 20s, with short films starring popular TV celebrities. An "ajeossi" is an older married man or an uncle in Korean, but in this context, it implies a sense of being "old" or "out of style." The world's largest smartphone maker by shipment said its short film series, “S24 Hours Movie Series,” starring a

April 9, 2024

Samsung, SK boost investment to secure hefty chip subsidies in US

South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been boosting investment in the US to secure federal subsidies and get ahead in the intensifying competition in the advanced chip packaging and artificial intelligence chip sectors. Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chipmaker that also runs chip design and foundry businesses, is reportedly planning to increase its investment in its semiconductor fabrication plant currently under construction in Taylor, Texas. According

April 8, 2024

[Photo News] SK founder's legacy lives on

SK Group said Monday that it was opening the birthplace of its founder Choi Jong-gun and the second-generation Chairman Chey Jong-hyun to the public in celebration of its 71st anniversary. The "Ancient Residence of SK," located on a 1,111 square-meter site in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, has been refurbished as a memorial hall exploring the history of South Korea’s economic growth and entrepreneurship. The current Chairman Chey Tae-won is the third-generation leader of the nation&rs

April 8, 2024

Taiwan quake may push up memory chip prices in Q2: analysts

The powerful earthquake that hit semiconductor powerhouse Taiwan last week may push up memory chip prices temporarily, as chipmakers there face operational disruptions, according to market watchers on Sunday. The earthquake, which struck off the east coast of island with a magnitude of 7.4 on Wednesday, put the tech industry on edge, as Taiwan is home to 18 percent of global chip manufacturing capacity and approximately 92 percent of the world's advanced semiconductors are produced there. M

April 7, 2024

Children, teens using smartphones more: study

South Korean children and teens used smartphones for longer periods of time in 2023 than the year before, a report by a state-run think-tank showed Thursday. Children under the age of 10 used smartphones for an average of 1 hour and 15 minutes a day last year, marking an increase of 17.2 percent or 11 minutes, according to the report by the Korea Information Society Development Institute. The report surveyed 9,757 individuals from 4,077 households across the country. While not as prominent as in

April 6, 2024

LG Electronics expects Q1 profit to drop 11% despite robust sales

LG Electronics said Friday it expected its first-quarter operating earnings to decline more than 10 percent on-year despite the company strong overall sales of its home appliances. LG estimated that its operating profit for the January-March period came in at 1.33 trillion won ($983.2 million), down 11 percent from a year ago, according to the company’s earnings guidance. But this was still above the consensus of 1.28 trillion won predicted by local analysts, as provided by the market inte

April 5, 2024

Samsung Electronics anticipates tenfold profit surge in Q1 amid chip market rebound

Samsung Electronics predicted a more than tenfold increase in its operating profit for the the January-March period, signaling a dramatic resurgence in its semiconductor business on rebounding demand for memory chips. Samsung’s first-quarter operating profit is estimated to hit 6.6 trillion won ($4.89 billion), up 931.3 percent from a year ago, according to its earnings guidance. The amount surpassed the consensus of 5.26 trillion won predicted by local analysts, as provided by the market

April 5, 2024

[Exclusive] Spelling errors call space agency's foreign talent search into question

Multiple spelling errors have been found in the Korea AeroSpace Administration’s English-language job application, raising questions about the country’s professionalism and sincerity in recruiting professionals from overseas to its soon-to-be-established space body. KASA’s English job application, which can be downloaded from the new space body’s official website, on Wednesday showed that all four documents contained the same spelling mistake in the name of the agency. Th

April 4, 2024

SK hynix to build $3.87b chip packaging plant in Indiana

South Korean semiconductor powerhouse SK hynix said Thursday it will invest about $3.87 billion to build an advanced chip packing fabrication and research and development facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, amid intensifying global competition in the burgeoning artificial intelligence memory semiconductor industry. The announcement was made at an investment agreement ceremony attended by officials from SK hynix, the state government of Indiana and Purdue University at the school on Wednesday. S

April 4, 2024

S. Korea to spend W710.2b to expand AI in everyday life

South Korea will funnel 710.2 billion won ($526.9 million) into the government's projects to integrate artificial intelligence into everyday life, the science ministry said Thursday. The AI Strategy High-Level Consultative Council, a government-civilian panel for shaping AI policies, convened its inaugural meeting and approved the investment plan to proceed with 69 AI projects aimed at helping the people feel the benefits of AI across all sectors, according to the Ministry of Science and IC

April 4, 2024

[Photo News] LG Awards for innovation

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo (center) claps at the LG Awards ceremony, held at the LG Academy in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. The awards, launched in 2019, aim to recognize innovative technologies, products and services across LG affiliates. This year, 98 teams and 724 individuals received awards, including the life science business team at LG Chem that played a role in supplying essential infertility treatments during a supply shortage. "Customers recognize unique value when th

April 3, 2024

Korea urged to step up incentives for chipmakers

As governments around the world fiercely compete to boost their semiconductor industries by distributing large subsidies, South Korea is pointed out as falling behind other chip powerhouses, raising concerns about the gap widening in the future. On Tuesday, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry approved subsidies of up to 590 billion yen ($3.9 billion) for chip foundry venture Rapidus, adding to its promise earlier to provide funds worth some 330 billion yen into the chip project.

April 2, 2024