Diplomacy urged to ease concerns over US CHIPS Act

South Korea's chip industry is feeling pressured to take a side between the United States and China in the two superpowers’ strategic rivalry, as Washington recently disclosed some "unusual" requirements for its $52 billion semiconductor funding program aimed at securing an upper hand against Beijing. Home to two of the world's largest memory chip makers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the South Korean government has also raised concerns, as the US CHIPS and Scienc

March 13, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'Antarctica, a savior to the future of the Earth'

In the 2009 movie “Avatar,” set in the year 2154, the Earth’s natural resources have been depleted, so people explore another star system to mine a valuable mineral. But before going to outer space, mankind can rely on Antarctica, a well-preserved continent twice the size of Australia, and the vast Southern Ocean -- also called the Antarctic Ocean -- around it, rich in water, food and mineral resources. The kilometers-thick ice and snow covering the continent hold in store th

March 13, 2023

Samsung SDS renews vision for cloud leadership

South Korea’s IT services firm Samsung SDS on Friday unveiled a renewed vision for its burgeoning cloud business, touting itself as the nation’s only “hybrid” service provider that offers integrated hardware and software solutions for corporate clients. “Cloud computing itself is inherently complicated enough and it also covers a vast range of options now. We’d like to simplify the service for our clients under our new brand slogan, ‘Cloud. Simply Fi

March 12, 2023

SK Geocentric readies world’s 1st plastic recycling complex

SK Geocentric, a chemicals unit under South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it has completed technological preparations for the Ulsan Advanced Recycling Cluster with its US partner, Purecycle Technologies. The Ulsan Advanced Recycling Cluster is expected to be the world’s first plastic recycling complex, according to SK Geocentric. The companies aim to complete construction of the recycling complex in 2025. Researchers and engineers at the South Korean chemicals firm conducted te

March 10, 2023

LG sets up automotive R&D unit in Vietnam

LG Electronics said Thursday it has elevated its research and development center in Vietnam into a corporate entity as the tech giant seeks to further bolster its fast-growing automotive solutions business. The new unit, called LG Electronics Development Vietnam, will be in charge of developing and testing software for in-vehicle infotainment systems, one of the key products of LG’s vehicle solutions division. The IVI systems encompass telematics, audio, video and navigation solutions prov

March 9, 2023

SK Networks secures stake in US AI startup

SK Networks said Thursday it has committed a total of $22 million in both direct and indirect investments to secure a 2.6 percent stake in the recent Series C funding round held for Humane, an AI startup founded by ex-Apple employees through the company’s investment subsidiary Hico Capital. This bold investment decision, which SK Networks has disclosed to its stakeholders following the end of the Series C funding round, rides along the tides of the growing industry-wide interest in AI tech

March 9, 2023

OLED TV war looms as Samsung returns after 10-year hiatus

Samsung Electronics on Thursday debuted its first organic light-emitting diode TVs in a decade at home, making official its comeback to the fast-growing premium TV segment, which is currently dominated by its crosstown rival, LG Electronics. The tech giant held a media event at its headquarters in Gangnam, southern Seoul, unveiling its brand new TV lineup this year, which also included its latest high-end LCD TVs, branded as Neo Quantum LED or Neo QLED TVs. The world’s largest TV maker i

March 9, 2023

LG welcomes more rivals entering OLED TV market

LG Electronics, the dominant No. 1 company in the organic light-emitting diode TV market, said Wednesday it welcomes more tech firms, including its archrival Samsung Electronics, entering the fast-growing OLED TV market. Ahead of the official release of its 2023 TV lineup, LG held a press briefing with a group of local reporters at the company's research and development campus in Seoul and boasted its confidence in the quality of its OLED TV products. “As observing an increasing numbe

March 8, 2023

SK Plasma to build $250m blood products plant in Indonesia

SK Plasma, a blood products unit of SK Discovery, announced Wednesday that the company has clinched a deal to build a blood products plant in Indonesia, which is expected to be worth around $250 million. SK Plasma has received final approval from the Indonesian Health Ministry for construction of a plasma fractionation facility, which will produce products like immune globulin and albumin, used for patients with immunodeficiency diseases and hemophilia. The plant will be capable of producing 1 m

March 8, 2023

Samsung CEOs to discuss inclusivity with female employees

Celebrating International Women’s Day this week, Samsung Electronics’ top brass will hold luncheon talks with female executives to discuss woman’s leadership in the workplace, the tech giant said Wednesday. Its Co-CEOs Han Jong-hee, the mobile device and home appliance business chief, and Kyung Kye-hyun, who handles the semiconductor business division, will attend the event dubbed “One Table,” slated for Friday. The leaders are expected to discuss ways to improve ge

March 8, 2023

Corporate Korea sees momentum in reviving ailing Japan business

Amid the budding efforts to patch up the rocky relationship between South Korea and Japan, major Korean firms are expected to see momentum grow for the revival of their ailing Japan business. Japan has long remained a graveyard for Korean companies, even for the most successful ones like Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, because consumers there are known to prefer local brands and like Sony and Toyota -- who also happen to be Korean brands' archrivals in almost all sectors globally. Ov

March 7, 2023

[Photo News] AI robots on patrol

SK Telecom said Tuesday that it has teamed up with Neubility, a delivery robot developer, and SK Shieldus, a security services firm, to develop artificial intelligence-based self-driving patrol robots. The telecom giant said the robots are equipped with camera-based solutions instead of high-priced LiDAR sensors. The three companies agreed to sign a deal for the commercialization of the robots in the second quarter, with an aim to make their market debut later this year.

March 7, 2023

Seoul-Tokyo trade talks to resume after 3 years

South Korea and Japan have agreed to hold talks to scrap Tokyo’s export restrictions on key industrial materials to Seoul, taking a step closer toward mending their soured bilateral ties over the years. Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Monday it is starting negotiations with its Japanese counterpart to ease export curbs that were imposed in 2019 in an apparent retaliatory measure against a court ruling in favor of Korean victims of forced labor during Japan&rsquo

March 6, 2023

[KH Explains] Will rise of ChatGPT save chipmakers from mounting inventories?

As the latest frenzy over ChatGPT, OpenAI's artificial intelligence chatbot, has prompted global tech giants to jump into commercializing their own large-scale language models and services, anticipation is growing in the semiconductor industry that the new tech market could create lucrative business opportunities and help them clear out mounting inventories. Reflecting the fever for ChatGPT, shares of Nvidia, whose graphic processors are in high demand for high-capacity AI services, surged

March 6, 2023

Trade minister, chipmakers to hold meeting on US CHIPS Act

South Korean Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun will meet with officials of major semiconductor companies, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, Tuesday to discuss countermeasures to the US CHIPS Act and its requirements, according to the ministry on Monday. The meeting aims to listen to domestic chipmakers’ needs and grievances regarding the conditions for the first US CHIPS for America funding opportunity for subsidies and come up with negotiation and support measures

March 6, 2023

Chip inventory hits 26-year high

South Korea's semiconductor inventory has increased to its highest point in 26 years, data showed Sunday, hammered by the sluggish demand for chips, the country's main export item, amid economic uncertainties. According to data compiled by Statistics Korea, the inventory to sales ratio of chips produced by local chipmakers came in at 265.7 percent in January, the highest since 288.7 percent was posted in March 1997. Exports of chips also nosedived 42.5 percent on-year to $5.69 billion

March 5, 2023

[Beyond Earth] ‘Focus on space solutions, not market'

Korean space startups should look for problems and solutions instead of putting too much focus on technology’s future marketability, says the managing director at the Korean branch of Starburst, a US-based startup accelerator specialized in the aerospace sector. “Push back how big of an investment you can receive with your idea on the priority list,” Kim Sang-dawn, managing director of Starburst’s Korean office, told The Korea Herald in an interview at the Herald Square i

March 5, 2023

[Photo News] Promoting Busan's Expo bid in Europe

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (left), who doubles as chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, talks with Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at her office in Copenhagen, Friday, as he delivers President Yoon Suk Yeol’s personal letter asking for the European country’s support for Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Chey has wrapped up his weeklong trip to Spain, Portugal and Denmark as a presidential special envoy.

March 5, 2023

Medytox's BTX patent could face invalidation trial in US

A patent regarding Medytox’s botulinum toxin product can be embroiled in another legal dispute as its domestic rival Hugel filed for a patent invalidation in the US, according to industry sources on Friday. The patent, which could be considered for invalidation at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in the US, concerns a method for isolating Botulinum toxin from solution. Medytox applied for the patent in 2017, and the patent was issued in May last year. Hugel, however, argues that the paten

March 3, 2023

Celltrion Group’s retired founder Seo Jung-jin returns to management

Seo Jung-jin, the founder and the honorary chairman of Celltrion Group, will return to management after leaving the company in 2021, Celltrion announced Friday. On Friday, the biopharmaceutical group's key affiliates -- Celltrion Holdings, Celltrion, Celltrion Healthcare, and Celltrion Pharma held separate board meetings and recommended Seo as a candidate for director and co-chairman of the board of directors. Seo’s return will be determined at the four companies’ separate share

March 3, 2023