Competition is heating up between Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to take the lead in the next-generation High Bandwidth Memory chip market, which holds great potential for growth with the rise of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Even though the market is still in its nascent stage, the world’s top two memory chip makers have already started a war of nerves, each claiming they take the majority of the market share. High Bandwidth Memory or HBM is a new type of DRAM

Industry July 17, 2023

LG Electronics announced Wednesday its vision to transform into a "smart life solutions company" to expand customer experience, to take a leap from its core identity as a top home appliance brand. The tech giant also set the goal to achieve a global annual revenue of 100 trillion won ($77.5 billion) by 2030, and vowed to invest 50 trillion won to drive the growth. "LG will continue to pursue its bold vision to transform and leap forward as a smart life solutions company that con

Industry July 12, 2023

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, has been named the sole chip supplier for Apple’s Vision Pro virtual reality headset, according to industry sources Tuesday. Even though the chipmaker declined to confirm the deal, sources said the company will provide a dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, customized for the brand-new Apple gear. “We cannot provide comments related to our clients,” an SK hynix official said. The special type of DRAM chip is reporte

Industry July 11, 2023

Samsung Electronics has predicted an operating profit of 600 billion won ($458.5 million) for the April-June period, a 96 percent plunge to what would be the lowest quarterly earnings in 14 years, amid a severe global downturn in the chip industry. Releasing its earnings guidance on Friday for the second quarter this year, the tech giant said its consolidated sales is expected to be approximately 60 trillion won, down 22.3 percent on-year. As for the operating profit, the estimate is the worst s

Industry July 7, 2023

LG Electronics reported Friday it expects its second-quarter revenue to increase 2.7 percent to 19.9 trillion won ($15.2 billion) year-on-year, the highest figure for the April-June period in the company’s history. Its operating profit is expected to jump 12.7 percent on-year to 892.7 billion won, which would be the second highest Q2 record for the firm. Releasing its preliminary earnings results for the April-June period, LG attributed its record earnings to its efforts to improve the fun

Industry July 7, 2023

LG Electronics said Thursday its home entertainment business division had set up its first research and development unit in Indonesia, completing a comprehensive business operation from product development to manufacturing and sales. The new facility spanning 40,000 square meters is located 3.5 kilometers from LG’s TV production plant in the Cibitung area,and some 40 kilometers from Jakarta where the tech giant operates a sales unit. LG said the new R&D unit will help not just improve

Industry July 6, 2023

Samsung Electronics may be subject to the European Union’s new platform service regulations targeting big tech companies, as the Korean tech giant notified the European Commission it meets the EU’s criteria as a “gatekeeper.” On Tuesday, the EU revealed the names of seven companies that have reported they meet the criteria set by the Digital Markets Act, which came into force in November last year. The seven companies are Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Tik

Industry July 5, 2023

The European Union is keen on cooperating with South Korea in chips, digital trade and clean technology, the European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said Friday, amid mounting geopolitical uncertainties. "It is important that like-minded partners cooperate by coordinating policies, align on issues related to economic security and discuss trade-distorting practices, not only to ensure a level global playing field, but also to guarantee that supply chains are resilient to ext

Industry July 4, 2023

For those who may believe in the ideal of "free trade," it might seem "protectionist" for governments to intervene in international trade and provide subsidies to nurture their own industries. But these days, semiconductor powerhouses such as the US, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, are all racing to present hefty subsidy programs to boost their own industries based on the fear that the lack of governmental support will decide the fate of their key strategic sectors. The world&

Industry July 3, 2023

South Korean telecom giant SK Telecom announced late Thursday it will invest $100 million to acquire a 2 percent stake in US urban air mobility firm Joby Aviation. The two forged the investment agreement on Tuesday, and vowed to strengthen their partnership in the UAM business further. The Korean mobile carrier first signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Joby Aviation in February 2022, which was expanded to include TMAP, South Korea’s largest mobility platform, in May 2022. Joby

Industry June 30, 2023

South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun discussed measures to strengthen bilateral trade with his Japanese counterpart Hirohide Hirai during his visit to Seoul on Friday. The bilateral talk comes as Japan has announced to reinstate South Korea as a "Group A" country earlier this week, returning to Seoul the preferential export treatment it had enjoyed until 2019. The latest decision marked the end to a trade dispute that had dragged on for four years stemming from the issue ofKoreans

Industry June 30, 2023

South Korea and the United States agreed to work closely to resolve concerns over the US' Inflation Reduction Act, discussing ways to strengthen battery supply chains, Thursday. South Korean Deputy Minister Joo Young-joon in charge of industrial policy at the Ministry Trade, Industry and Energy met with Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi visiting Seoul. During the bilateral talks, Joo assessed that the two sides overall have smoothly managed the IRA issue, closely communicating vi

Industry June 29, 2023

LG Group, South Korea’s fourth largest conglomerate, has seen its market capitalization triple and sales jump about 30 percent under the leadership of Koo Kwang-mo, who marks his fifth anniversary as the group's chairman on Thursday. With bold decisions to restructure the business portfolio and concentrate investment in key areas of automotive solutions and energy, and future technologies, Koo appears to be solidifying his leadership after he took office on June 29, 2018, following th

Industry June 28, 2023

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, on Tuesday unveiled a new foundry business road map, saying it will expand the adoption of the 2-nanometer manufacturing technology in phases to mobile applications by 2025, high-performance computing by 2026 and automotive chips by 2027. The bold plan comes as Samsung, a distant No. 2 in terms of foundry sales after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., is investing heavily to boost its burgeoning foundry business and narrow the

Industry June 28, 2023

Japan is putting South Korea back on its “whitelist” of trusted trading partners, marking the end to a trade dispute that had dragged on for four years, as the two sides have renewed a commitment to improve bilateral economic ties. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced Tuesday it has decided to redesignate Korea as a "Group A" country, returning to Seoul the preferential export treatment it had enjoyed until 2019. “The Republic of Korea will

Industry June 27, 2023