The Korea Herald

Samsung Electronics in belt-tightening mode

In the wake of an earnings shock in the second quarter, Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker, is making all-out efforts to cut costs. “Samsung is tightening its belt as it is forecast to face tougher competition in the global smartphone market,” industry watchers said. The Korean firm’s operating profit plummeted 25 percent on-year to 7.2 trillion won in the April-June period, the lowest in two years, according to the Korean headquarters.One of the electronics giant’s latest

Technology Aug. 8, 2014

Foreigners criticize Seoul’s Uber ban

Foreign residents in Korea who have been discontented with Korea’s conventional taxi services have increasingly opted to use Uber, the smartphone car-hailing application.And those foreigners are fuming at the latest move by the Seoul government to block Uber from operating in the city.“Uber has solved every problem that foreigners and tourists have with Seoul taxi services. There is no waiting, no negotiating, and no ‘I won’t go there’ with Uber services,” said Sam, a 45-year-old businessman, ca

Technology July 27, 2014

Uber, a threat or wakeup call to local cab industry?

Controversy over Uber’s car-booking services is spreading like wildfire here following Seoul City’s decision to team up with related government bodies including the Korea Communications Commission to keep the U.S. firm out of the local transportation market. The city government has said it would try to stop Uber’s operations in Seoul, claiming that the services are illegal. “Seoul City will push for stricter measures, including fines for more Uber drivers, in order to ban the illegal ride-sharin

Technology July 22, 2014

Uber, a threat or wakeup call to local cab industry?

Hanwha to release wireless excavator controllers

Hanwha Group has teamed up with robotics researchers at Hanyang University to introduce the world’s first wireless control system for excavators this year. The tele-operation system, called the Ghost, consists of three parts ― a wireless foot pedal, lever and portable controller. It enables users to remotely operate the digger from a distance of up to 100 meters.The company has now inked a 1 billion won ($970,000) deal with a Singaporean company to supply the wireless excavator controllers.“Hanw

Technology July 22, 2014

Hanwha to release wireless excavator controllers

Samsung to build TV plant in S. Africa

Beleaguered by the challenges posed by its Chinese rivals coupled with worsening profits, Samsung Electronics is making efforts to cut costs by expanding its overseas production lines. According to recent news reports, Samsung Electronics is planning to make a $375 million investment in the Dube TradePort special economic zone, located near the city of Durban, South Africa, to construct a TV plant. “We have worked with Samsung and they identified the Dube TradePort as a space to operate from,” t

Technology July 21, 2014

Kakao leads sticker fad

Kakao Corp., the operator of Korea’s most-used mobile messenger Kakao Talk, is aiming to expand its character business based on its stickers ― emoticons going by the name of Kakao Friends ― used in chat services. Kakao, which sells a variety of character products from notebooks to dolls, has recently teamed up with baked-goods maker SHANY, an affiliate of SPC Group, to produce Kakao Friends Bread, featuring mobile characters including Muji, a yellow radish in a bunny costume, Apeach the peach, a

Technology July 21, 2014

Fuji Xerox Korea promises more efficiency at the workplace

Fuji Xerox Korea, a leading document management firm, said Thursday it would make efforts to solidify its leadership in the document management services market. “Fuji Xerox Korea will continuously provide a better work environment for our customers and also make contributions to society,” said Ueno Yasuaki, chief executive of the company, at a press meeting marking the 40th anniversary of its entry into the Korean market.In line with the efforts, the company, which introduced the first color cop

Technology July 17, 2014

Samsung Group to scrutinize underperforming businesses

Samsung Group is said to be carrying out a sweeping “management assessment” on underperforming affiliates in the electronics sector in the wake of the second-quarter earnings shock of its cash cow Samsung Electronics.The audit division under Samsung’s Corporate Strategy Office, the conglomerate’s control tower, has recently began a review on Samsung Electro-Mechanics, a manufacturer of smartphone camera modules, according to Samsung Group.The latest move is just another in a series of management

Technology July 15, 2014

Samsung Group to scrutinize underperforming businesses

Corporate Korea far behind in big data gold rush

Corporate Korea is lagging behind in using big data in day-to-day business, according to a recent survey compiled by The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.The organization said Monday that among the 500 Korean firms participating in the survey, only 7.5 percent said they used big data in their business activities, while 81.6 percent responded that they do not use it at all. The most frequent use of big data is for marketing. Of companies that used big data, 47 percent used it for this purpo

Technology July 14, 2014

Corporate Korea far behind in big data gold rush

Amazon entices authors as fight with Hachette drags on

Amazon wants to put money in authors’ pockets while the online retail titan battles with Hachette over terms of selling books handled by the publishing powerhouse.Hachette told AFP that it had received the proposal on Tuesday, and fired back with a call for Amazon to “withdraw the sanctions they have unilaterally imposed,” on the publisher’s titles.Amazon is offering to give Hachette authors all revenue brought in for digital copies of books ― rewarding writers instead of making them casualties

Technology July 9, 2014

[Herald Interview] RNA research will open new horizon in fighting cancer: expert

Decoding human DNA and targeting mutant proteins used to be seen as the key to curing cancer and other chronic diseases.But the drugs that have come out of years of DNA research are still unable to prevent recalcitrant cancer cells from terminally spreading.A Korean biologist said ribonucleic acid, or RNA, one of three classes of biological macromolecules essential for life, will likely play an important role in treating cancer in the near future.“Almost 98 percent of RNA remains unknown. But as

Technology July 9, 2014

[Herald Interview] RNA research will open new horizon in fighting cancer: expert

N.Y. reaches price limit deal with Uber

The car service Uber has agreed to limit prices during emergencies, natural disasters or other unusual market disruptions consistent with New York’s law against price gouging, the company and state attorney general said Tuesday.Uber, which uses a mobile application to connect riders with vehicles for hire, has its rates rise and fall with demand, but it has been criticized for “surge pricing” that’s sometimes exponentially higher than base fares. Prices usually increase on weekdays during rush h

Technology July 9, 2014

Gunmen rob Samsung plant in Brazil

Armed thieves raided one of Samsung Electronics’ plants in Brazil on Monday, stealing millions of dollars of computers and smartphones, according to recent news reports.The value of the stolen goods was initially said to be around $36 million, but Samsung denied this, claiming that it is closer to $6.4 million. It also stated that the losses would be covered by insurance. Around 20 bandits armed with submachine guns carjacked a shuttle headed to the factory in Campinas, near Sao Paulo, with eigh

Technology July 8, 2014

Samsung Electronics likely to see profit drop in Q2

Samsung Electronics will likely see its profit decrease in the April-June period due to the sluggish performance of its flagship smartphone business, analysts said on Monday, a day before the firm is to announce its earnings guidance. The tech giant was expected to see its operating profit drop below 8 trillion won ($7.9 billion). Some, such as IM Investment and Securities, forecast the figure to be around 7.5 trillion won. “The worsening performance is mainly due to decreasing consumer loyalty

Technology July 7, 2014

Time to say goodbye to plasma TV

The lifespan of plasma TVs, or plasma display panel TVs, which once mesmerized consumers with their thin, flat displays and crisp picture quality, is nearing its end, as the world’s leading TV makers, including Panasonic and Samsung, have announced a halt in production. The transition in the TV market from plasma to next-generation LCD or OLED TVs has gained steam since Japanese TV maker Panasonic announced its exit from the PDP business last October. Industry watchers officially declared the en

Technology July 6, 2014

Articles by Kim Young-won