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

Technology Feb. 12, 2024

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

Industry Feb. 12, 2024

South Korea's antitrust regulator on Wednesday said it would review its proposed act aimed at regulating monopolistic practices by major online platform players before making a further legislation push, as opposition voices grow. “We’re communicating extensively with the (related) industries here and abroad and stakeholders to legislate the platform act. … Rather than making the bill public shortly, it was deemed desirable to further collect opinions from the industry and

Technology Feb. 7, 2024

Stage X, a consortium comprising Kakao affiliate Stage Five and other unidentified companies, selected as the new operator of the 28 gigahertz band of the fifth-generation network in South Korea, said on Wednesday it would launch a nationwide telecommunications service in the first half of 2025. “We aim to become a new deep-tech telecom company that innovates technology and services,” Seo Sang-won, representative of Stage X, said in a press briefing in Seoul, after the consortium b

Technology Feb. 7, 2024

SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, on Tuesday announced that it would increase its proportion of materials accounted for by recycled materials to over 30 percent by 2030. The target, as part of the company’s carbon neutrality goal, is the first of its kind set by a semiconductor maker. Under the plans, the company aims to first increase recycled material usage to 25 percent by 2025. The company said the target is a part of its plans to implement its carbon neutral

Technology Feb. 6, 2024

Broadcasting watchdog chief said Monday that scrapping the controversial handset subsidy ban can provide "greater benefits" to consumers as the removal would boost competition among mobile carriers to lower smartphone prices to sell more. "The Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act was legislated in 2014 to resolve excessive competition. As time passed, however, the act limited the local telecom carriers' competition and caused the cost of smartphones to become even more

Industry Feb. 5, 2024

Merck, the science and technology juggernaut based in Germany, will continue to put capital into Korea in line with the growth of the country's semiconductors industry while expanding cooperation with key clients and the world's two largest memory chip producers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The German firm is seeking to leverage its capabilities to supply materials and equipment needed for chip manufacturing as its Korean clients increase their investments into artificial intelli

Technology Feb. 2, 2024

After logging all-time high earnings last year, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon expressed her determination to strengthen the tech giant's core search platform and commerce services using generative artificial intelligence technology this year. "Based on AI and data, Naver will focus on enhancing competitiveness in key businesses, including search engines and commerce platforms," Choi said during the company’s earnings conference held on Friday. Choi expected that Cue, a generative

Technology Feb. 2, 2024

Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it narrowed the size of the semiconductor deficit in the October-December period, as a result of its ongoing chip production cut efforts. “As we revised down (the chip output), the chip inventories decreased rapidly in the fourth quarter, especially for DRAM memory chips,” Kim Jae-june, executive vice president in charge of memory marketing strategy, said in the fourth-quarter earnings call. He also said the tech giant will continue cutting its m

Technology Jan. 31, 2024

The US Chamber of Commerce has openly opposed a proposed act aimed at preventing unfair market activities by major online platform players, voicing concerns over the country’s apparent rush to pass the law. Charles Freeman, senior vice president for Asia at the US Chamber, issued a statement warning Seoul on the push for the rules on Monday and called for transparency and open dialogue with Korea’s antitrust regulator that “an action of this magnitude requires.” "It

Industry Jan. 30, 2024

US tech giant Dell Technologies has jumped on the generative artificial intelligence bandwagon with a range of new AI offerings combining its hardware and software prowess. The firm is also setting its sights on Korea, a tech powerhouse aspiring to become a potent player in the burgeoning AI era. “Korean firms, from manufacturing giants to internet and cloud service providers, have embraced AI faster than their Asian rivals. We are confident in saying that Dell was at the center of the jou

Technology Jan. 29, 2024

LG Group said Monday it supported an art program showcasing three artificial intelligence-integrated artworks of Brooklyn-based artist Stephanie Dinkins at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York on Thursday. “Late Shift x Stephanie Dinkins” shed light on how AI tends to have the mindset of the majority, easily overlooking and further ostracizing those living in the gray areas of society. Dinkins is an artist who uses cutting-edge technologies such as AI, augmented reality and v

Industry Jan. 29, 2024

Customers line up to activate their preordered Galaxy S24 smartphones at Samsung Electronics’ flagship store in southern Seoul on Friday. The latest smartphone scored record preorders in Korea, selling more than 1.21 million units during the preorder period from Jan. 19-25. On Sunday, Samsung said it is extending the preactivation period to Feb. 8, due to an influx of customers. (Samsung Electronics)

Technology Jan. 28, 2024

LG Electronics reported another year of record sales in 2023, driven by upbeat sales of home appliances and automotive parts and solutions, the Korean tech giant said in its earnings conference Thursday. The company posted all-time high annual sales of 84.2 trillion won ($62.9 billion) last year, up 0.9 percent from the year before. This is the third consecutive year the company has achieved record-breaking sales figures. Despite the global economic downturn and decreased demand, LG Electronics&

Technology Jan. 25, 2024

LG Display said Wednesday it would focus investment on OLED displays this year, seeking to continue growth momentum after it posted the first profit in seven quarters in the October-December period last year. “The panel demand, which has been volatile over the past three years due to COVID-19, is expected to stabilize this year. … We have raised our internal OLED panel shipment goal for this year by 20 percent on-year,” an LG Display official said during the company’s

Technology Jan. 24, 2024