Samsung Electronics said Thursday it would not create a holding company, rejecting demands from activist hedge fund Elliott Management to reshape its corporate structure.“After conducting a comprehensive review with external advisers, the company’s board of directors has decided not to convert to a holding company structure,” Samsung said. The company said the review found that a holding company structure would not strengthen the competitiveness of the company’s businesses and could potentially

Industry April 27, 2017

LG Display said Wednesday it posted record-breaking profits in the first quarter of the year due to the growing demand for large-size televisions and high-end devices. The Korean display maker said it posted 7 trillion won ($6.2 billion) in sales and 1.02 trillion won in operating profits, 17.9 percent and 2,498 percent increases, respectively, year-on-year. “The record-breaking operating profits were driven by the growing demand for lucrative products such as large-size ultra-high-definition te

Industry April 26, 2017

Samsung Electronics’ facial recognition technology requires more than four years to be solely used for mobile payment, a source from Samsung and industry watchers predicted on Monday. Facial recognition is considered the next-generation biometric technology as it is more convenient than an iris scanner or fingerprint. It can be certified by simply looking at the smartphone instead of positioning your eyes in a small section of the screen or moving your finger around trying to locate the scanner.

Technology April 25, 2017

In a swift move seen to quell doubts over its latest smartphone quality, Samsung Electronics confirmed Friday that it will be upgrading the Galaxy S8 software criticized by some for having red-tinted screens.“Because there are some complaints about the red-tinted screens, we decided to upgrade the software next week for all Galaxy S8 clients,” a Samsung spokesperson told The Korea Herald. The tech giant sent an announcement to all of its Samsung Service Centers, saying, “There will be an additio

Technology April 21, 2017

Samsung Electronics began preorders of its Galaxy S8 smartphone in India on Thursday, with the aim of reclaiming the top spot in the nation’s premium smartphone market. The Korean tech giant said it had begun preorders of its flagship smartphones, setting the price of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus at 57,900 rupees ($895) and 64,900 rupees ($1,004), respectively. Its official launch will be on May 5.Samsung holds a press conference for the Galaxy S8 in India (Samsung Electronics)“In order to k

Industry April 20, 2017

LG Chem posted record-breaking sales for the first quarter of this year. LG Chem said Wednesday that it posted 796.9 billion won ($698 million) in operating profit, a 74 percent rise on-year. It also posted 6.4 trillion won in sales, a 33 percent increase, for the same period. The battery firm said the strong earnings were brought about by the record-breaking operating revenue in its basic material business, the turnaround in its information electronics materials and profit increases in its life

Industry April 19, 2017

The global OLED market for smartphones, currently dominated by Samsung, is about to get a little more crowded with LG Display recently throwing its hat into the ring.LG Display has started supplying its organic light-emitting diode products to Chinese handset makers and is gauging potential partnerships with Apple and Google, according to news reports and industry sources.“LG Display confirmed the supply of OLED panels to Xiaomi and it is in talks with other Chinese handset makers for further su

Technology April 19, 2017

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S8 is facing complaints from some customers who say the display panels of their new phones have a reddish tint. The problem may be caused by the color balance of organic light-emitting diode panels, according to industry watchers. Some customers who preordered the Galaxy S8 wrote on online communities that their new phones have a reddish screen that did not improve even after correcting color display settings. (Yonhap)One user said, “After I read articles that there a

Technology April 18, 2017

The Galaxy S5 remains the most popular Samsung device in the US, and 76 percent of S5 owners would prefer to purchase Samsung again, according to a report from consumer insight firm Kantar Worldpanel. This may be good news for Samsung’s new flagship smartphone Galaxy S8, considering the two- or three-year smartphone upgrade cycle.  Galaxy S5 (GSM Arena)According to a latest report released by Kantar Worldpanel, the Galaxy S5 that was unveiled in February 2014 remained the most popular Samsung de

Technology April 17, 2017

A state-run main creditor of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and the National Pension Service (NPS), the biggest bondholder of the troubled shipbuilder, are struggling Friday to find common ground on debt rescheduling measures for the shipyard. The NPS had been scheduled to hold a meeting to decide on whether to agree on the latest rescue plan for Daewoo Shipbuilding, but the meeting has not been held so far. Still, officials from the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the NPS are eng

Industry April 14, 2017

Samsung Electronics appointed Terry Halvorsen, a former US military information technology expert, as a global enterprise adviser to Shin Jong-kyun, the tech giant‘s CEO, the company said Friday.Halvorsen built his career in the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy over more than 35 years and will focus on Samsung’s global business-to-business mobile business, particularly on security issues over quickly developing connected devices. He will serve as an executive vice president at Sa

Industry April 14, 2017

Despite the positive elements of unmanned services for making life more convenient and saving time, concerns are also rising over the technology-backed services replacing jobs and causing security concerns.Seoul National University has been operating unmanned security systems by reducing the number of security guards.The college has installed surveillance cameras and sensors at 25 buildings designed to raise the alarm only in case of an emergency. Currently it has 180 guards, but they are expect

Industry April 14, 2017

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has expressed his confidence in acquiring Toshiba’s chip unit, implying that the group‘s chipmaking unit would take a different approach when the real race begins.“The bidding for Toshibia currently being carried out is not binding. The (bidding) price has no significant meaning,” he told reporters after a lecture Thursday at a local university in Seoul.”When (the process with) binding begins, things will change differently.“SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (Yonhap)T

Industry April 14, 2017

Calls for an overhaul of the tax system are growing in South Korea, as global companies recently faced allegations that they used legal loopholes to minimize their tax payments.The need for a revision of current taxation rules has constantly been discussed here. The latest debate was sparked after Oracle was reportedly ordered to pay 314 billion won ($278 million) in fines for alleged tax evasion earlier this week. On Wednesday, Google came under fire upon news reports that its Google Play here

Industry April 13, 2017