[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s three largest network operators are expected to post relatively strong earnings for the April-June period thanks to their reduced marketing costs, according to market research firm FnGuide on July 21.The combined revenues of the three companies -- KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus -- are expected to come in at 12.6 trillion won (US$11 billion) on average.The sales figure increased 2.3 percent from the same period of 2016 and 1.4 percent from the previous quarter.KT, which

Technology July 21, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean tech giant LG Electronics has recently completed the relocation of its European headquarters from London to Germany’s Eschborn, an official from the tech firm said. “LG has already completed the relocation process of the European head office to Germany,” Cho Joong-kwon, an LG Electronics spokesperson, said, denying recent news reports that the company is moving its Europe headquarters out of London in the wake of "Brexit."“Related discussions were underway before the

Technology July 21, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Nexon GT, an affiliate of game developer Nexon, saw its stock price plunge to a record low in 16 weeks amid the snow-balling investigation into founder Kim Jung-ju’s alleged involvement in insider trading.The company’s stock price dropped 31.3 percent from 13,200 won (US$11.60) on April 7 to 10,050 won on July 20 -- the lowest since Feb. 15 when the share price plummeted to 9,920 won.Kim Jung-ju, Nexon founder and the chairman of the game firm’s holding firm NXC. The Investor Kim,

July 20, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The growing global digital signage market is becoming a new battlefield for Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, each vying to gain the upper hand.The shipment volume of digital signage displays in the global market is forecast to grow from 4.4 million in 2015 to 7.7 million units by the year of 2020, according to a recent report by market research firm IHS.The signage market will grow 8.3 percent per year on average, the market researcher forecast. Samsung E

Technology July 20, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is expected to release the upcoming Galaxy Note 7 with a 64-gigabyte internal storage capacity only, ditching its existing marketing strategy of offering two storage options. According to industry sources, Samsung has decided to do so considering the latest trend of bigger smartphone storage as mobile users are increasingly enjoying multimedia functions, including high-resolution photos and videos. Its predecessor Galaxy Note 5 came with 32GB and 64GB memory op

Technology July 20, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Following its failed attempt to take over cable firm CJ HelloVision earlier this week, network carrier SK Telecom said that it would instead put more focus on the connected car solutions business. The company made its car navigation app T-map available to all mobile subscribers of its rivals KT and LG Uplus on July 19.KT and LG Uplus subscribers can now use the app for free. T-map boasts 18 million subscribers, among which around 8 million use it on a monthly basis.“The decision t

Industry July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The Korea Communications Commission, the state media regulator, said that a preparation committee for starting ultra-high definition broadcasting in Korea was launched on July 19.The committee consists of 14 members from the government agencies, TV makers, research institutes, and academia, including the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics.Lee Ki-joo, a standing committee member of the KCC, and Second ICT Vice Minister Choi Jae-yoo

Technology July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said July 19 that the ministry will invest a total of 12.5 billion won (US$11 million) in the field of bio-inspired robotics, often called “soft robotics,” over the next seven years. Soft robots are highly flexible and look like sea creatures. The research aims to build machines that handle tasks impossible with traditionally designed robots. A stingray-shaped bio hybrid robot (left), a joint research project of Korea’s Sogang Unive

Technology July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is seeking to lure more users to its mobile payment service Samsung Pay with a new loyalty rewards program, tentatively called Samsung Pay Rewards, industry sources said on July 19. The Korean tech giant has been pouring resources into expanding Samsung Pay’s presence globally, which it believes is crucial for its device sales. Since its launch in August 2015, the number of subscribers has reached 2.5 million globally, with the total transaction volume surpassi

Technology July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Mobile messenger operator Kakao and K Cube Venture, an early-stage venture capital, will jointly invest 30 billion won ($26.4 million) in Shiftup, a game company.Shiftup was established by art director Kim Hyeong-tae, who participated as an art director in the development of mobile game “Blade & Soul.” The game start-up has recently received the limelight with a hit trailer for mobile game “Destiny Child” which it is currently developing with game firm Nextfloor. Well-known illust

Technology July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Mobile messenger operator Kakao said July 19 that it has acquired 20 percent of start-up CNT Tech, which develops systems that receive orders from customers and transfer them to POS systems at the nearby stores.The start-up has also developed its own POS system which is compatible with any network environment and can be utilized for any business in an easy manner, the mobile messenger firm said.The 10-year old start-up which has built up its expertise in e-commerce and POS sector

Technology July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The Seoul Family Court will review a high-profile divorce case involving 1.2 trillion won of alimony (US$1.05 billion) between Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee’s eldest daughter Lee Boo-jin and her husband Im Woo-jae, according to news reports. The family court made the decision based on the residential address that the bickering couple shared together for the last time. Im Woo-Jae (left), an advisor at Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin.Im, serving as a

July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Jeon Je-wan, a Korean first generation start-up entrepreneur, has acquired Cyworld, a social networking service considered a trailblazer in the SNS sector in Korea.Cyworld said on July 19 that Jeon, the head of streaming service Air, has recently taken over the firm after acquiring 100 percent stake in the company previously held by 29 shareholders. The exact cost of the takeover deal was not revealed, but it is estimated to be less than 1 billion won ($881,000).Jeon founded Web p

Technology July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] LG Display has added a new customer for its organic light-emitting diode display -- German-based TV manufacturer Metz TV.Metz -- owned by Chinese TV maker Skyworth -- will reportedly become LG’s 10th client for OLED panels. The German firm recently said that it would roll out an ultra-high definition OLED TV in September 2016, supporting high-dynamic-range -- a video solution for improving brightness and contrast levels. LG Display’s OLED display. LG DisplayThe Korean display firm

Technology July 19, 2016