Korean battery maker Samsung SDI’s chief executive stressed the importance of safety Monday, amid growing demand for secondary batteries powering electric vehicles and diverse digital devices.“We should establish a corporate culture that puts safety first,” Samsung SDI chief executive officer Cho Nam-seong said during the New Year’s kickoff meeting at its research complex located in Suwon.Samsung SDI CEO Cho Nam-seong (Samsung SDI)The battery maker plans to improve product safety technologies by

Industry Jan. 2, 2017

Smart home appliances and advanced autonomous driving will take center stage at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s biggest technology showcase, which kicks off in Las Vegas on Thursday.Korean tech firms Samsung and LG will unveil their smart home technologies, which have been a popular theme at the show for the last few years. Smart home is an environment where home appliances and electronics are all connected so users can control them from anywhere. Samsung is expected to unveil an

Technology Jan. 1, 2017

The independent counsel team investigating the charges against President Park Geun-hye and other corruption suspicions surrounding her aides sought an arrest warrant for former welfare minister and current National Pension Service chief Moon Hyung-pyo on Thursday. The team reportedly secured an admission from Moon that he had ordered the NPS to approve the controversial merger deal between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries last year when he was welfare minister. This is the first arrest warrant s

Industry Dec. 29, 2016

The National Pension Service’s head Moon Hyung-pyo was brought into custody Wednesday by the independent counsel team on suspicion of having pressured the pension fund to support the Samsung merger deal last year when he was the welfare minister. The special investigation team said it detained the former Welfare Minister Moon, who was summoned Tuesday, on charges of abusing his power to back the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in July of last year. The controversial merger helped

Industry Dec. 28, 2016

The Chairman of the National Pension Service Moon Hyung-pyo was summoned Tuesday by the independent counsel team on the suspicion of having pressured the National Pension Service to favor the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries last year, when he was welfare minister. Moon was summoned as a witness but may turn into a suspect during the investigation, according to local news reports.Before entering the office of the special counsel, Moon denied the alleged influence-peddling, saying,

Industry Dec. 27, 2016

Samsung Electronics said Monday it will showcase its creative lab projects for kids and skin care during the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show. The creative lab project is a startup business program that encourages a creative corporate culture and nurtures innovative ideas from Samsung employees.“Ideas in diverse areas from fashion and kids to beauty are being developed based on innovative technology and we will continue to seek additional ideas across a broad spectrum,” said Lee Jai-il, vice c

Technology Dec. 26, 2016

The independent counsel team is speeding up its probe into whether Samsung paid kickbacks to President Park Geun-hye and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil in exchange for backing the merger between its construction arm Samsung C&T and marketing subsidiary Cheil Industries last year.According to local news reports Monday, the counsel team has secured significant evidence and testimony that former Welfare Minister Moon Hyung-pyo had ordered the ministry’s affiliated organization National Pension S

Industry Dec. 26, 2016

Samsung Electronics has rarely cut its semiannual incentives for its longtime cash cow smartphone division, which continues to struggle to recover from the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, according to news reports Friday. Every June and December, the tech giant provides incentives of up to 50 percent of an employee’s monthly salary for its main business divisions -- Information technology & Mobile communications, Device Solution and Consumer Electronics. Additionally, it provides incentives of up to 50 pe

Industry Dec. 23, 2016

Foldable devices could become popular by 2019, grabbing around 20 percent share of the Korean smartphone market, said an executive of Kolon Industries, a chemical arm of Kolon Group. Kolon Industries is currently the only company in the world that can mass produce colorless polyimide, a key technology for foldable devices as the flexible film can replace rigid glass sheets. It is reportedly supplying the materials to global tech firms including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and BOE, althou

Technology Dec. 22, 2016

Samsung Group has been carrying out charity work throughout December, the company said on Tuesday.Since 1995 Samsung’s management and employees have replaced year-end parties with charity work. This year, around 52,000 employees from all the affiliates of Samsung Group participated in voluntary activities, visiting community child centers and social welfare centers to deliver daily necessities. Samsung employees deliver necessities to elderly people living along near Seoul Station on Dec. 7. Sam

Industry Dec. 20, 2016

Samsung Electronics’ fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 is unlikely to be killed off this year in South Korea, as there are still around 140,000 users who have not yet returned the recalled devices. According to local news reports Tuesday, Samsung may lower the battery charging limit from the current 60 percent rather than complete disable the phones like the company would do in the US.Since Samsung began recalling the phones in October, 85 percent of the total 950,000 units sold here have been returned.“

Technology Dec. 20, 2016

The special investigation team has imposed travel bans on conglomerate chiefs as it prepares to dissect the political scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil, according to news reports on Sunday. Samsung Electronics’ Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group’s Chairman Chey Tae-won and Lotte Group’s head Shin Dong-bin have been banned from travelling abroad. The ban came as the independent counsel team is set to begin a 70-day investigation into the scandal from Mon

Industry Dec. 18, 2016

All of Apple’s iPhone 8 OLED versions will be curved, sources said Sunday, amid growing speculations over the design of the US tech giant’s upcoming flagship smartphones. “The OLED versions of the new iPhone will all have curved screens as Apple ordered only plastic OLED -- not glass -- from Samsung Display. Samsung is capable of supplying a little less than 100 million units of curved OLED displays to Apple,” a source familiar with the matter told The Korea Herald. Plastic OLED has been used fo

Technology Dec. 18, 2016