Samsung, UK's Arm team up to produce advanced AI chips

Samsung Foundry, Samsung Electronics' chip manufacturing arm, is teaming up with the UK's Arm to adopt the firm's design assets for Samsung's most advanced chip-making process technology, Gate-All-Around, which aims to boost the company's edge in the global AI chip sector. Samsung Foundry announced Wednesday that it will deliver the next generation Arm Cortex™-X CPU optimized on its cutting-edge Gaa process technology. The collaboration between the two companies is

Feb. 21, 2024

Samsung chief's return to board pushed back as trial continues

More than a year has passed since Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong ascended to the company's top seat in 2022, but his board membership continues to hang in the balance amid an ongoing legal dispute. Samsung Electronics held a board of directors meeting Tuesday and fixed the date of the upcoming general shareholders meetings for March 20. During the meeting, the members also appointed Shin Je-yoon, former Financial Services Commission chairman, and Cho Hye-kyung, an applied artific

Feb. 20, 2024

LG Innotek develops new camera module for self-driving cars

LG Innotek said Tuesday it has developed a cutting-edge direct-heating camera module designed for autonomous vehicles, which can quickly remove frost and snow from the lens. The latest module is an optimized version of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems cameras, equipped with a heater to promote safe autonomous driving, especially during extremely cold weather conditions. An increasing number of automakers consider direct-heating cameras essential products for ensuring safe driving, as obstr

Feb. 20, 2024

SK Telecom, NTT Docomo unveil white paper on vRAN

SK Telecom said Tuesday that it has jointly released a technical white paper with Japan's No. 1 mobile operator, NTT Docomo, for the adoption of the virtualized Radio Access Network. The joint white paper, titled “Key Considerations for vRAN,” marks two years of cooperation on the metaverse, mobile network infrastructure and media business since the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2022. VRAN, a technology that incorporates various network functions

Feb. 20, 2024

Samsung’s foldable display boasts US military-grade durability

Samsung Display on Monday said its foldable panel for smartphones has passed the US military’s material durability test, proving its strength in withstanding the harsh conditions of operational and combat zones. According to the display maker, its 7-inch foldable panel used in the latest foldable smartphones passed the MIL-STD 810G test, which is the US Department of Defense's military standard. First developed as a certification for equipment and materials for military applications,

Feb. 19, 2024

Daewoong completes AI-based drug development system

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Monday that it has completed a new drug development system that secures drug candidates based on artificial intelligence technology. It created a collection of 800 million preprocessed molecular models, called Daewoong Advanced Virtual Database, or DAVID, and a separate AI system, called Daewoong AI System, or DAVIS, to nurture new drug candidates throughout the preclinical, clinical and commercialization phases. Daewoong said the ex

Feb. 19, 2024

Korean telcos to show off latest AI tech at MWC

Korea’s leading telecommunication firms are to showcase their latest artificial intelligence technologies and services at the upcoming MWC Barcelona 2024, the world’s largest connectivity show slated for next week in Spain. The country’s top two mobile carriers SK Telecom and KT revealed their plans Sunday to set up showrooms at this year's event running from Feb. 26 to 29, with exhibitions mainly focused on AI and next-generation 5G and 6G connectivity. LG Uplus, Korea�

Feb. 18, 2024

SK-backed Sapeon to develop on-device AI chip

Sapeon, a fabless startup backed by South Korean telecom-to-chip conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it would develop a new semiconductor optimized for on-device artificial intelligence as the market has been witnessing significant growth in recent years. The company said it was selected to get support to develop prototypes for commercializing AI chips with edge AI, IoT and embedded computing firm Advantech Korea under the project dubbed Compass, run by the state-run government research institu

Feb. 16, 2024

Kakao posts record annual sales of W8.1tr in 2023

Kakao said Thursday it logged all-time high annual sales in 2023 due to increased profitability from its mobile messenger, KakaoTalk. The IT giant reported 8.11 trillion won ($6.08 billion) in sales last year, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier. It marks the first time for the company surpassing the 8 trillion won mark in annual sales. Annual net profit, however, fell 13.5 percent on-year to 501.9 billion won and it shifted to a net loss of 1.5 trillion won, from a net profit of 1.07 trillion w

Feb. 15, 2024

Activist funds demand W1tr Samsung C&T payout

A tense faceoff between shareholders and Samsung C&T management is expected, as five foreign activist funds have teamed up to demand the Korean firm return its profit to shareholders through dividends and a share buyback program that would amount to some 1.2 trillion won ($900 million). In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Samsung C&T reported it has submitted the proposal made by the five activist funds, which includes City of London Investment, for a vote at the upcoming regular shareholders me

Feb. 15, 2024

Race heats up for multifoldable phones

Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies is reportedly preparing to launch the world’s first triple-foldable smartphone within the second quarter, aiming to challenge the dominance of Samsung Electronics in the global foldable phone market. Huawei has reportedly begun the development of a triple-foldable phone, which includes three display panels alongside two sets of hinge technologies. The device will likely sport an S- or Z-shaped form factor, according to news reports on Wednesday. The

Feb. 14, 2024

SK chief headed to Germany, Spain to bolster ties

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is expected to travel to Germany next week, joining an economic delegation as the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, according to industry sources, Tuesday. Chey will be traveling to Berlin on Feb. 19 to take part in various business forums and gatherings, where business and government officials from Korea and Germany are expected to discuss strengthening collaborative efforts. Chey is also expected to travel to Barcelona, Spain, to attend a globa

Feb. 13, 2024

Apple’s market share exceeds 25% for first time in Korea

US tech giant Apple saw its domestic market share exceed 25 percent for the first time in 2023, slightly narrowing the gap with its archrival Samsung Electronics, despite the global economic downturn and decreased demand, a report showed Tuesday. Apple’s share rose 3 percentage points on-year to reach 25 percent in Korea last year, according to the data by market research firm Counterpoint Research, while maintaining the No. 2 spot in the Korean smartphone market. Samsung kept the No. 1

Feb. 13, 2024

Samsung, Princeton University team up for 6G network tech

  Samsung Electronics said Tuesday its California-based research and development unit has partnered with Princeton University to lead innovation in the sixth-generation telecommunications networking system. Samsung Research America has become a founding member of the corporate affiliates program launched by Princeton University, dubbed the NextG Initiative Corporate Affiliates Program, to lead 6G research and development, the tech giant said. The NextG program aims to bring up technologic

Feb. 13, 2024

[KH Explains] Why Korea’s platform act faces backlash at home, abroad

Skepticism has grown over the platform act, as the nation’s antitrust watchdog hints at a thorough review of the most contentious aspect of the bill: the preliminary designation of “monopolistic” online platform operators. The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday announced its decision to review the proposed act to explore whether there is an alternative to the ex ante designation that would have similar effects with less impact on the digital services market, before making a fur

Feb. 12, 2024

[KH explains] Why ramyeon makers still stick with 'ramen' marketing

Amid soaring exports of Korean instant noodles in recent years, a renewed spotlight has been cast on a decadeslong dilemma among local food companies -- whether or not the word "ramen" should be ditched from their marketing strategy. Ramen, rooted in Japanese culinary tradition, has become a household name globally that refers to noodles in broth. The term "ramen" can also refer to instant noodle products. Amid a growing global presence, Korean businesses have long used the t

Feb. 12, 2024

Samsung chief inspects battery plant in Malaysia during holidays

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong last week renewed his will to continue bold investments despite business uncertainties upon his visit to the construction site of a new 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion) battery plant in Malaysia. According to the tech giant on Monday, the Samsung chief on Friday visited the Malaysian city of Seremban where Samsung SDI, the battery-making arm of Samsung Group, is building its second plant with its completion set for 2025. Samsung SDI aims to bolster its re

Feb. 12, 2024

Top 10% of creators take 76 percent of content profits: data

The top 10 percent of content creators accounted for 76 percent of all creators’ total income in 2022, according to data released Thursday. The National Tax Service data, obtained and released by Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea, put the number of people who reported income as individual media creators at 39,366 in 2022 and their total aggregated income at 1.14 trillion won ($859 million). The data showed that the majority of the income is concentrated among some highl

Feb. 9, 2024

Anticipation grows over Samsung chief's next move

As the legal charges have been cleared for Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong in a recent ruling, anticipation is growing that the tech giant will now go in search for mega mergers and acquisitions to secure future growth engines at full throttle. The Seoul Central District Court this week acquitted Lee of charges including stock manipulation linked to the merger of two of Samsung affiliates in 2015. In Korean business culture, legal risks surrounding a company's leader are often per

Feb. 8, 2024

KT turns to loss in Q4 on higher operating costs

KT Corp., South Korea's major mobile carrier, said Thursday it shifted to a net loss in the fourth quarter from a profit a year earlier due to an increase in operating costs. The company said in a regulatory filing it logged a net loss of 41.7 billion won ($31.4 million) in the last three months of 2023 on a consolidated basis, swinging from a profit of 242.7 billion won a year earlier. Operating income for the October-December period rose 75.4 percent on-year to 265.6 billion won, and sale

Feb. 8, 2024