Hanwha Group’s succession race is underway with all of chairman Kim Seung-youn’s three sons involved in the group’s key businesses. Kim’s eldest son and heir-apparent Dong-kwan, 33, is chief commercial officer for the group’s solar power unit Hanwha Q Cells while his younger brothers Dong-won, 31, and Dong-seon, 27, are working for Hanwha Life and Hanwha Engineering & Construction respectively. Kim Dong-kwan, chief commercial officer of Hanwha Q Cell (Hanwha Group)Industry watchers predict that

Industry Aug. 16, 2016

Leading global DRAM-makers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix -- may face tough competition from 2018 as the mass production of Chinese chipmakers is predicted to raise oversupply concerns, according to industry reports. According to the latest report from market research firm IC Insights, the average selling price of DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, chips is expected to rise through the end of this year and into 2017 due to growing demand for enterprise systems -- for the use of “big dat

Technology Aug. 15, 2016

Renault Samsung’s mini electric car Twizy may be rolled out in South Korea as early as October, according to a local news report Monday. The compact electric car has a top speed of 80 kilometers per hour and is able to drive at a maximum of 100 kilometers on a single charge. Twizy (Renault Samsung)Twizy was not able to hit the road in the nation because of regulation issues on compact electric cars. In May, the Transport Ministry lifted these barriers amid rising demand for such cars and growing

Mobility Aug. 15, 2016

The head of SK Networks has vowed to expand its business partnership and seek new opportunities in Brazil during his business trip to the nation this week, according to the company on Thursday. Chairman Choi Shin-won paid a courtesy call to Brazil’s Acting President Michel Temer in his office in Brasilia.  SK Networks chairman Choi Shin-won (right) poses with Brazil’s Acting President Michel Temer. (SK Networks)“As an honorary consul to Brazil and chairman of Korea-Brazil Society, I will make ef

Technology Aug. 11, 2016

The growth of South Korea’s big data industry is being hampered by strict regulations on personal data and lack of understanding of the technology, industry analysts say. The global big data market, which is expected to stand at around $27.3 billion this year, will more than triple by 2026, according to market research firm Statista.  (Bloomberg)However, tech-savvy Korea is still far behind in this industry. The local big data market was worth around 262 billion won ($239 million) last year and

Technology Aug. 11, 2016

Samsung Electronics’ mobile chief said Thursday that the iris technology used for its new smartphone Galaxy Note 7 is the safest security technology. “Iris-scanning is the safest security technology at the current level. Iris, which is fixed within 18 months to 20 months (since a baby is born), cannot be reproduced,” said Koh Dong-jin, the head of the tech giant’s mobile business, at a launch event for the Galaxy Note 7 in Seoul. Koh downplayed a recent hacking demonstration of Samsung Pay by se

Technology Aug. 11, 2016

China’s tech giant Huawei said Wednesday that it will launch a new computer product in South Korea, jumping into the fierce market race that has been led by home players as Samsung and LG.Huawei will launch its new device MateBook that combines the features of a laptop and a tablet on Thursday. This is the first digital device the Chinese firm rolled out here other than smartphones it has offered since 2014 in partnership with mobile carrier LG Uplus. Wu Bo, Japan and Korea regional head of Huaw

Technology Aug. 10, 2016

Korean automakers should push EV cars in China amid declining sales in the world’s largest car market, analysts said on Tuesday. The combined market share of Korean carmakers in China -- namely Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors -- declined to 7.3 percent in the first half of this year from 9 percent in 2014, while Chinese makers saw their share surge to more than 42 percent. Industry watchers said Korean automakers may further lose its share in the mid- to long-term in China if they fail to gain the

Mobility Aug. 9, 2016

Samsung Electronics is facing competition from the Chinese companies Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, whose combined smartphone market share was 20 percent globally in the second quarter of this year, industry watchers said Monday.According to data from research firm IDC, Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone-maker, held a 22.4 percent share of the market and Apple’s share stood at 11.8 percent. Huawei took a 9.4 percent share, while Oppo had 6.6 percent and Vivo had 4.8 percent. When the ma

Technology Aug. 8, 2016

Star designers sided with Apple in a longstanding court battle with Samsung Electronics, according to news reports. More than 100 design experts told the U.S. Supreme Court that Samsung should pay the hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to Apple for infringing the patented designs of iPhone, in a brief filed with the court on Thursday. The big names include Calvin Klein, Paul Smith and Alexander Wang and Lord Norman Foster, who is the designer behind Apple’s Campus 2 project.The Supreme C

Technology Aug. 5, 2016

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo visited Kia Motors’ factory in Zilina, a city in northwestern Slovakia, during a visit to Europe, the company’s officials said Thursday. “Hyundai and Kia should overcome the uncertainty through global sales as we did grow by pioneering overseas markets,” Chung told employees at the factory.Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo visits Kia Motors’ factory in Slovakia. (Hyundai Motor)The factory in Slovakia, which currently produces Kia Motor’s vehi

Mobility Aug. 4, 2016

Despite anticipation that Tesla Motors might make inroads in South Korea this year, the American electric vehicle maker might fail to capture significant market share due to its high prices, industry watchers said Thursday. Tesla will reportedly open flagship stores in Korea, with one in shopping mall Starfield in Hanam, a southeastern satellite city of Seoul, and the other possibly in Gangnam, southern Seoul. “Tesla’s presence in Starfield Hanam is confirmed. It may open the store at the end of

Mobility Aug. 4, 2016

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo (center) inspects the quality of the carmaker’s new compact sport utility vehicle Creta, during his visit to its factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday. Chung encouraged the employees to persevere despite difficult market conditions, calling them “patriots.”  (Hyundai Motor)

Mobility Aug. 3, 2016

LG Electronics will step up its efforts to strengthen its automobile component business, as General Motors’ new electric car Bolt is expected to go on sale later this year, a brokerage said in its report Wednesday.SK Securities said LG’s vehicle components division is expected to post 1.4 trillion won in the latter half of this year -- a more than 40 percent increase from the previous year. The division already fared well in the first half, by posting 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion) in sales, a 48

Mobility Aug. 3, 2016

Samsung SDS, the IT solutions affiliate of Samsung Group, is expanding its mobile security solution business into the European market, company officials said on Wednesday. The tech firm recently partnered with the U.K. banking and financial services company Barclays to back the development of digital banking services together with Samsung Electronics. Under the partnership, Samsung Electronics is set to provide its mobile security platform KNOX while Samsung SDS plans to offer its mobile authent

Technology Aug. 3, 2016