Samsung Electronics could face its first-ever labor strike, as unionized workers have secured the right to legally conduct a walkout after wage talks between management and labor have fallen through, according to industry sources Friday. The National Labor Relations Commission, a government agency under the Labor Ministry, held a coordinating session to arbitrate the wage deal between the two parties a day earlier, but ended up deciding to stop the talks as the two sides could not reach an agree

Industry March 15, 2024

Thursday marked the second anniversary of Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon taking office. Under the executive's leadership, the internet giant has enjoyed stable growth, setting annual earnings records two consecutive years. Naver logged an all-time high operating profit of 1.49 trillion won ($1.13 billion) and sales of 9.67 trillion won last year. It recorded 8.22 trillion won in annual sales in 2022, surpassing the 8 trillion won mark for the first time. Choi has undertaken management innovation e

Technology March 14, 2024

With increasing complaints from Korean consumers regarding the quality of products and the prevalence of knock-off items they purchased from Chinese e-commerce platforms, the country’s antitrust regulator vowed to strengthen the monitoring of foreign operators’ unfair business practices and uphold stern punishments for any illegal activities under relevant domestic laws. The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday rolled out a set of comprehensive measures that aim to better protect local

Industry March 13, 2024

Samsung Electronics said Monday it would launch its latest Bespoke AI Combo, a combined washer and dryer powered by artificial intelligence, in global markets in the next few months. "Shipments to the US have already started for their launch later this month," Lee Moo-hyung, executive vice president and head of the customer experience team of the digital appliances business at the company, said during a press briefing. “Their global launch, including in Southeast Asia, is slated

Technology March 11, 2024

Samsung Group, South Korea’s top conglomerate, said Sunday that its official recruitment in the first half of this year will start Monday, with 19 affiliates joining the large-scale hiring of entry-level workers. The key affiliates include Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung Biologics, Samsung SDS and Samsung SDI, Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance and The Shilla Hotel. Applicants are required to submit their applications via Samsung’s official recruitment website from

Industry March 10, 2024

Fair Trade Commission Chair Han Ki-jeong on Thursday shared the key policies of the antitrust regulator for this year, including the controversial anti-monopoly platform bill, at a conference hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. “The Fair Trade Commission will strive to establish a fair market economy system that serves as the basis for economic stability and market innovation,” Han said, citing deepening inflation and high interest rates as continued economic difficu

Industry March 7, 2024

Korean internet giant Naver on Wednesday said it has signed a partnership with Aramco Digital, a technology subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, for digital innovation in the Middle East and North Africa. Under the deal, the two sides agreed to build a sovereign cloud and super app optimized for the Middle East region. They will also join forces to develop sovereign artificial intelligence based on the Arabic language model. “Aramco Digital is the best partner to implement Naver's cutting-edge

Technology March 6, 2024

South Korean travel platform operator Yanolja is making a big push in cloud services, as it seeks to transform itself into a global tech solutions provider. As the company accelerates the expansion of its overseas solutions business, market watchers and investors are paying keen attention to whether the company will go public on the US stock market this year. According to industry sources on Tuesday, Yanolja is preparing for an initial public offering on either the New York Stock Exchange or Nas

Technology March 5, 2024

A subway station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was renamed “Samsung Galaxy Station“ on Feb. 29 as part of the tech giant’s big push into the Southeast Asian market. Samsung said Monday that Tun Razak Exchange Station, the nation’s largest interchange station, was renamed TRX Samsung Galaxy Station. The new station name comes as the Korean tech giant has partnered with the city‘s metro company, MRT and follows a similar deal signed with Bangkok’s Siam Station last

Industry March 4, 2024

With the competition in artificial intelligence-based services intensifying globally, heads of Big Tech firms have visited Korea one after another to enhance cooperation with Korean tech companies and take the lead in burgeoning markets. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Toronto-based AI chip startup Tenstorrent CEO Jim Keller visited Korea last week. Just a month after the visit of Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the two tech titans seemed to hurry to visit here for consultations on their cooperation

Technology March 3, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, formerly Facebook, on Thursday to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in cutting-edge technologies, especially artificial intelligence, upon the US tech giant’s request. The presidential office confirmed that Yoon and Zuckerberg met at the presidential office in Yongsan-gu earlier in the day. During the 30-minute meeting, they shared visions for creating an AI digital ecosystem and ways to strengthen cooperation between Meta an

Technology Feb. 29, 2024

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, formerly Facebook, met with LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan on Wednesday in Seoul to discuss ways to strengthen their corporate partnership in the extended reality business. Zuckerberg had a luncheon with Cho and other senior officials from LG, including Kwon Bong-seok, chief operating officer at LG Corp., and Park Hyoung-sei, president of home entertainment business at LG Electronics, at the tech giant’s headquarters in western Seoul, according to the company.

Technology Feb. 28, 2024

KT Corp. CEO Kim Young-shub declared the company’s new vision that accelerates innovation and growth in information technology, artificial intelligence and communications technology. “Although KT is a leading telecom company in the world, it lacks IT competitiveness. We must make up for weak points by combining our CT and IT,” the CEO said at a press conference held on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday. Kim urged KT Corp. to embark

Technology Feb. 28, 2024

Speculation is growing of a possible artificial intelligence alliance between SK Group and Samsung Electronics after SK Chairman Chey Tae-won reportedly requested a deeper discussion with Samsung's mobile business chief Roh Tae-moon during their meeting at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. On Monday, the opening day of the world's largest gathering of the mobile tech industry, Chey's first MWC destination was Samsung's exhibition booth, where he explored the t

Technology Feb. 27, 2024

A global alliance led by South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom agreed to establish a joint venture within the year to develop large language models tailored to the needs of telecommunications companies. The Global Telco AI Alliance, which was launched in Seoul in July last year, held its inaugural meeting at the Mobile World Congress 2024, the world’s largest mobile tech show, in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, with SoftBank joining as a new member. The key attendees of Monday’s meetin

Technology Feb. 26, 2024