The Korea Herald

Firms willing to do business in N.K.

Eight out of 10 South Korean companies intend to do business in North Korea after unification, a recent survey found Monday, with resource development and infrastructure building cited as their key interests. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently conducted the survey on its 500 member companies. Of them, 87.2 percent responded they were willing to carry out North Korea-related projects when the two Koreas are unified. Gaeseong and Haeju, both located near Gyeonggi Province, were p

Industry Aug. 10, 2015

Samsung C&T merger clears last hurdle

Samsung C&T, the construction and trading arm of Samsung Group, is taking the final steps to complete its $8 billion merger plan with sister firm Cheil Industries by buying back shares from dissenting investors. 　The company said Friday shareholders who opposed the merger deal had exercised appraisal right to request Samsung C&T to repurchase 11.7 million shares, about 7.5 percent of stakes in the company. 　Local laws give shareholders the right to sell shares they held before a merger announcem

Industry Aug. 7, 2015

Chaebol owners use tiny stakes to control business empires

Although the nation’s top 10 chaebol owners own tiny stakes in their business empires, their shady cross-shareholding structure allows their families to wield absolute power through affiliates, recent data found Thursday. According to Chaebul.com, an online conglomerate tracker, their average ownership stake was just 0.25 percent. Including the stakes owned by other family members, the figure increased to a mere 0.49 percent.Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee, who has been hospitalized sin

Industry Aug. 6, 2015

SK hynix ends legal dispute with SanDisk

SK hynix, South Korea’s top chip maker, said Wednesday it has agreed with U.S.-based SanDisk to end their ongoing legal battle and to extend ties on patent use. In March last year, SanDisk filed a lawsuit against SK hynix in the U.S., claiming that its former researchers had moved to the Korean chip maker and leaked confidential business information in 2008. Following the agreement, SK hynix will pay an undisclosed amount in patent fees to SanDisk and supply dynamic random access memory, or DRAM

Technology Aug. 5, 2015

Samsung to create W100b fund for leukemia victims

Samsung Electronics said Monday it would create a 100 billion won ($85 million) fund for employees who had suffered from incurable diseases, including leukemia, while working at its manufacturing plants for semiconductors and displays. “Even though the exact causal relationship (of their illness) has not yet been verified, we will make all-out efforts to solve the issue promptly for the victims and their families,” the company said in a statement. Samsung has continued the compensation talks wit

Technology Aug. 4, 2015

Samsung, LG to beef up OLED production

The two Korean tech giants Samsung and LG will beef up their production of organic light-emitting diode displays as their liquid-crystal display earnings are at risk due to competition from cheaper Chinese rivals. According to market research firm IHS, the global flat panel display industry, jolted by an oversupply of LCD panels, is forecast to see a 2 percent decline in sales from $131.4 billion in 2014 to $129 billion this year. In the meantime, OLED is the only display technology expected to

Technology Aug. 2, 2015

Samsung to focus on premium TVs, chips

Samsung Electronics on Thursday hinted at cutting prices of its flagship smartphones later this year, pledging to focus on premium TVs and chips for more profits. The Korean tech giant announced an 8 percent drop in second-quarter net profits at the company’s conference call on the day as its smartphone business remained sluggish on lackluster Galaxy S6 sales.A customer tests a Galaxy S6 phone at a retail shop in southern Seoul on Thursday. YonhapNet income came to 5.75 trillion won ($4.95 billi

Technology July 30, 2015

Microsoft launches Windows 10 in Seoul

Microsoft released its latest operating system in South Korea on Wednesday, offering one single platform that works on PCs, as well as smartphones, as the world‘s top software giant sets its sights on claiming the mobile and cloud segments.Windows 10 for desktops and tablet PCs is now available for purchase, with the mobile version to be introduced later in the year, its local unit said at a press briefing. The price for Windows 10 Home, the version for general users, is set at 172,000 won ($14

Technology July 29, 2015

Samsung C&T shares fall on possible Elliott exit

Samsung C&T shares on Tuesday fell below a key level set in its $8 billion merger with sister firm Cheil Industries on speculation that Elliott Associates, a key opponent to the deal, may soon sell its stake in the builder. Elliott, the U.S. hedge fund that had launched an agressive campaign to block the merger deal, returned its C&T certificate to the Korea Securities Depository on Monday, meaning it can now sell its 7.1 percent stake in the company.Elliott is also said to have returned the cer

Industry July 28, 2015

Samsung C&T shares fall on possible Elliott exit

LG to double OLED TV lineup

LG Electronics said Monday it would add five new organic light-emitting diode TVs in the coming months, doubling its Korean lineup to a total of 10 models. The Korean tech giant said four of the new models will be “Ultra” models that offer ultrahigh definition displays aimed at appealing to premium customers. New models also feature the company’s Art Slim Design that has further reduced the size of parts and circuits for a slimmer design. For example, the 55-inch Ultra OLED TV boasts a 4.8-milli

Technology July 27, 2015

LG Display to invest W1tr in flexible OLED

LG Display said Thursday it would make a fresh investment of 1.05 trillion won ($900 million) into the production of sixth-generation flexible OLED panels at its plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The company said it aims to produce 7,500 units of the futuristic display per month from 2017. By producing larger panel sheets, the company hopes to more than quadruple the plant’s production efficiency.LG Display, the world’s largest display-maker by sales, has invested more than 14 trillion w

Technology July 23, 2015

Marriott makes big push for IT services

International hotel chain Marriott is making a big push for IT-oriented services aiming to increase customer convenience and renew its brand image in the digital era. The company recently launched a new mobile app, Meetings Imagined, which allows event planners around the world to better communicate and inspire one another. The app, with a sister website, aims to mimic the successes of popular services like Instagram and Pinterest as it offers latest meeting trends and hundreds of inspirational

Technology July 22, 2015

Samsung offers record incentives to chip suppliers

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it planned to pay a combined 14.2 billion won ($12.3 million) in incentives to its 103 chip suppliers in the first half of this year.The Korean tech giant said it was the highest ever amount going to the largest ever number of recipient companies. The company has offered suppliers incentives every year since 2010 as part of its shared-growth efforts with small and medium-sized firms. The recipient companies are decided based on their performance in production,

Technology July 22, 2015

LG denies Google buyout rumor

LG Electronics on Wednesday denied rumors that U.S. search giant Google was mulling to acquire a 35 percent stake, worth 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion), in the company.According to the rumors, Google would acquire the stake in a block deal, but would not participate in the management despite becoming the largest shareholder. Inspite of the company’s denial, LG’s share price soared 14 percent in the morning. The closing price was 43,650 won, up 3.07 percent from the previous day. The share price

Technology July 22, 2015

Samsung heir pledges support for start-ups

Samsung Group heir apparent and Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong on Tuesday visited the group’s start-up incubation centers in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province to discuss future support plans. The centers opened last year, joining a government-led initiative that aims to nurture start-ups and venture companies across industries. Lee attended the opening ceremony of each center together with President Park Geun-hye.During the visit, Lee, the de facto leader of South Korea’s large

Technology July 21, 2015

Samsung heir pledges support for start-ups

Articles by Lee Ji-yoon