China’s TCL chairman visits Samsung headquarters

[THE INVESTOR] Chinese tech giant TCL’s chairman Li Dongsheng visited Samsung Group’s headquarters in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, on July 6, possibly to seek partnership on liquid-crystal display business. Li was also accompanied with top executives of China Start Optoelectronics Technology, TCL’s display-making unit and China’s second-largest display maker. TCL chairman Li DongshengSamsung Electronics’ top executives, including CEO and display business chief Kwon Oh-hyun and the company’s TV b

July 6, 2016

Samsung Display to separate LCD, OLED business divisions: report

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Display, an affiliate of Samsung Electronics, is expected to separate its liquid-crystal display and organic light-emitting diode business divisions in a planned reshuffle next week, the Electronic Times reported on July 5. This is the first reshuffle since Samsung Electronics vice chairman and CEO Kwon Oh-hyun took the helm of the display business division in April, hinting at the company’s strategic shift toward more lucrative OLED. Samsung’s flexible OLED displayThe com

July 6, 2016

LG Display installs production equipment at plastic OLED plant

[THE INVESTOR] LG Display said on July 6 it has installed new production equipment for the sixth-generation plastic organic light-emitting diode or POLED panels at its plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The equipment installation comes after the display-making unit of LG Group invested a combined 1.5 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) into the facilities over the past year. Plastic OLED production equipment is transferred to LG Display’s plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, on July 6. / L

July 6, 2016

Netmarble Games seeks to buy Playtika

[THE INVESTOR] Netmarble Games, South Korea’s leading online game developer and publisher, has joined the race to buy Israel-based social casino game firm Playtika in a deal could worth over 4 trillion won (US$3.4 billion). It will be the largest acquisition deal made by a South Korean game company since No. 1 player Nexon and NCSoft jointly attempted to takeover Electronic Arts for 4 trillion won in 2012. According to a source on July 6, Netmarble Games submitted a letter of intent for the tran

July 6, 2016

Latecomer LG Pay to feature IC chip, one-time password

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics’ mobile payments service LG Pay -- expected to debut in September -- will feature more diverse functions such as an integrated circuit chip and one-time password, industry sources said on July 6. Unlike its app-based rivals such as Samsung Pay, the LG service is expected to come as a tangible smart card.LG had planned to launch the service within the first half of this year but the plan was delayed to extend partnership with local banks and card companies. Unlike ot

July 6, 2016

Samsung Display accelerates transition from LCD to OLED

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Display, the display business arm of Samsung Electronics, is ramping up its efforts to outpace its rivals in the organic light-emitting diode display sector. As a part of this strategy, the firm is planning a quick transition from liquid-crystal display to OLED at its L7 plant in South Chungcheong Province. The plant currently runs two LCD assembly lines. “Samsung Display will cease the operation of both lines at the L7 plant by the end of this year and replace LCD equipme

July 6, 2016

Toshiba takes on Samsung with US$14.6b investment deal

[THE INVESTOR] Japanese tech firm Toshiba and US hard-disk maker Western Digital will jointly invest 1.5 trillion yen (US$14.6 billion) over the next three years to beef up their flash memory production. The partnership is expected to help Toshiba catch up with Samsung Electronics in the 3-D NAND flash memory sector. Under the latest deal, Toshiba and Western Digital will add a new chip fabrication facility in their existing joint chip-manufacturing plant in Japan’s Yokkaichi complex of Mie Pref

July 6, 2016

Samsung to maintain Europe HQ in UK

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has decided to maintain its Europe headquarters in the UK after considering relocation to other European Union countries such as the Netherlands and Germany in the wake of Brexit.Citing an unnamed Samsung executive, Maeil Business News reported on July 6 that the Korean tech giant has no plan to relocate its Europe headquarters. A Samsung Galaxy S7 experience zone set up at a shopping mall in London.“Maintaining the current location is the company’s official st

July 6, 2016

SKT seeks countermeasures after failed merger

[THE INVESTOR] SK Telecom on July 5 expressed regrets at the antitrust watchdog’s disapproval of its planned merger with the nation’s No. 1 cable TV operator CJ HelloVision. The company had planned to merge its Internet TV affiliate SK Broadband with the CJ unit, becoming the nation’s second-largest paid TV operator and the No. 1 in the long term. The deal price was estimated at 1 trillion won (US$823 million). “The watchdog’s decision comes as a shock,” the company said in a statement. “We expr

July 5, 2016

NHN Comico starts Chinese service via Baidu

[THE INVESTOR] NHN Entertainment ’s Japanese operation NHN Comico said July 5 it has signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s largest search engine Baidu. Under the agreement, Comico has already started distributing a total of 52 webtoons through Baidu’s popular Tieba, an online community-based group discussion service. Seven Korean webtoons, including “To a lower place,” “World where everyone has become beautiful,” and “Brave civilian,” have also been included in the Chinese service. C

July 5, 2016

Samsung willing to learn from Google

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics on July 5 aired a 20-minute video, titled “Samsung Software Competitiveness Naked,” lamenting about its lack of software prowess directly comparing it with that of the US Internet giant Google. The video, aired early in the morning across Samsung Group’s key affiliates, pinpointed design architecture for software as the key to success stories of software powerhouses such as Google and Facebook. “Facebook’s key competitiveness is software architecture. We also s

July 5, 2016

ESTsoft receives W10b funding to push AI business

[THE INVESTOR] Korean software developer ESTsoft, best known for its anti-virus solution ALYac, said July 4 it has secured a new funding worth 10 billion won (US$8.7 million) from local venture capitalist Atinum Investment.The new investment was made through a 5-year convertible bond that was acquired by Atinum Investment. The company said the new funding will be used mainly for artificial intelligence-related development and other security businesses. ESTsoft has poured resources into AI-based

July 5, 2016

Watchdog opposes merger of SK Broadband, CJ HelloVision: report

[THE INVESTOR] The Fair Trade Commission has reportedly objected to the planned merger and acquisition deal between IPTV operator SK Broadband and cable TV firm CJ HelloVision. The antitrust agency said in its July 4 evaluation report of the merger plans to SK Telecom -- the parent company of SK Broadband -- that the transaction should not be allowed as it could hamper fair competition in the market.The combination of SK Broadband, a wholly owned subsidiary of No.1 mobile carrier SK Telecom, and

July 5, 2016

Naver upgrades tourist services ahead of PyeongChang Olympics

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s No.1 portal Naver has unraveled plans to beef up its online services aimed at foreign tourists ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the company spokesperson said on July 5. Naver estimes 5 million tourists -- including 50,000 foreign visitors -- to participate in the Winter Olympics in 2018. The portal’s e-services -- mobile map, search engine, and booking – will be renovated. A global login and payment system is also being considered.The firm revealed its

July 5, 2016

Samsung employees organize political group in US

[THE INVESTOR] A group of employees at Samsung Electronics’ US office formed a political action committee in 2015 to engage in activities such as fund-raising and providing support for politicians. Called Samsung Electronics America Inc. Political Action Committee, or Samsung America PAC, the group was formed late last year, and since then has raised around $17,000. Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions America headquarters. SamsungSteve Merlis, a senior director of Samsung’s government relation

July 5, 2016