The Energy Ministry on Tuesday proposed a new set of tightened measures to prevent lithium-ion batteries mounted on energy storage systems in South Korea from catching fire. The government will seek to revise the law to force battery vendors in Korea to make sure that the ESS field has ground-fault detectors to prevent current flow from running on the ground, a fire extinguishing system and devices to mitigate the internal pressure of a battery cell, in the event of a thermal runaway where the

Technology May 3, 2022

Samsung Electronics is under fire for being “tone deaf” over women‘s safety, as the South Korean tech giant issued an apology Friday for an advertisement of a woman running down a street after midnight. The advertisement was meant to promote health and wellness as part of its “Night Owls” campaign, as well as a multidevice experience using Samsung’s wearable devices such as wireless earbuds and a smart watch. The advertisement, created by Ogilvy, had over 15

Technology April 29, 2022

Organizers of Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show, Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, said Thursday it plans to ban companies from Russia and Belarus from the event this year in the German capital, as it pledged to go ahead with in-person exhibitions for the first time in three years. The comment signals IFA’s decision against Russian firms as being similar to that of the Mobile World Congress in 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. GSMA, the organizer of MWC 2022 in early March, al

Technology April 28, 2022

South Korean chip-to-consumer electronics giant Samsung Electronics posted a record quarterly revenue for three quarters in a row and logged a 51 percent increase in operating profit in the first quarter, its earnings guidance showed Thursday. Samsung Electronics said the solid chip demand for servers and high-end applications, as well as strong sales of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which started replacing its Note lineup this year, dwarfed macroeconomic uncertainties and supply chain issues due to Ru

Technology April 28, 2022

South Korean memory chipmaker SK hynix saw its best first-quarter revenue in history, while its operating profit jumped more than twofold compared to the previous year, despite weakening demand for consumer electronics and external uncertainties such as lockdowns in parts of China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to an earnings guidance, SK hynix logged 12.16 trillion won ($9.63 billion) in revenue for the first quarter, up 43 percent on-year. This beat earnings consensus of lo

Technology April 27, 2022

SK Inc., a holding company of South Korea’s second-largest business group, said Wednesday it would become a controlling shareholder of local electric vehicle semiconductor firm Yes Power Technix in a 120 billion won ($95 million) deal. The strategic investment involving a share sale and a new rights offering means that SK Inc. will control a 95.8 percent stake in the company. Based in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Yes Power Technix is dedicated to silicon carbide power semiconductor desi

Technology April 27, 2022

SK Shieldus, the cybersecurity service arm of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, is poised to use the proceeds from its imminent initial public offering to pursue cross-border mergers and acquisitions, its Chief Executive Officer Park Jin-hyo told reporters Tuesday. Cloud computing security firms would be the major target for a strategic investment, which would allow the nation‘s No. 1 security service firm to make a foray into overseas markets, Park said. “We are pr

Technology April 26, 2022

Five South Korean lobby groups on Monday called for a presidential pardon to be issued to Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of the family-owned electronics giant, with businesses saying the leadership void is taking a toll on the group even after Lee was released from prison on parole last year. The plea for Lee’s clemency was submitted to Cheong Wa Dae and the Justice Ministry, in hopes that it would make it onto the list of incumbent President Moon Jae-in’s l

Industry April 25, 2022

South Korean battery cell makers and the materials industry are seeking supply chain vigilance as prices of key materials such as lithium and nickel continue to skyrocket due to geopolitical uncertainties such as Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, officials of the Korea Battery Industry Association are to fly to the United States to discuss ways to stabilize the battery supply chain for electric vehicles with the Office of the United States Trade Representative and US lawmakers. T

Industry April 24, 2022

The incoming government to be led by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is at a crossroads over how its policy support to nurture the domestic chip industry will take shape, as the global chip arms race and state-led support intensifies. On Thursday, presidential transition committee deputy spokesperson Kim Gi-heung told reporters that the committee was briefed about a proposal to establish a state-run research hub, tentatively named Nano Semiconductor Research Institute. Kim, however, said the co

Technology April 21, 2022

Samsung Galaxy Quantum 3, the latest midrange 5G smartphone powered by a chipset with quantum cryptography technology, is poised to start shipping on April 26 in South Korea, domestic mobile carrier SK Telecom said Wednesday. The chipset with quantum random number generators will allow access for smartphone users to security features for digital activities via mobile apps -- ranging from mobile banking to payments, social networks and games -- as well as for external data storage. “The

Technology April 20, 2022

LG Magna e-Powertrain, a joint venture between LG Electronics and Magna International, will build a $100 million plant that manufactures General Motors electric vehicle components, scheduled for completion in 2023, the company announced Wednesday. The 25,000 square-meter factory will produce inverters, motors and on-board chargers to support North America-focused EV production of GM, as GM was tapped to become a foundational customer for the new facility. The plant will be located in Ramos A

Technology April 20, 2022

Antitrust hurdles brought down a $40 billion deal in February, which would have otherwise allowed graphic processor giant Nvidia to control United Kingdom-based chip design giant Arm. A few months later, there are signs that a consortium of strategic investors is building, joined by South Korea-based memory chip maker SK hynix. The consortium is looking to salvage what was considered the largest deal in the history of the global chip industry. All eyes are on whether the consortium would be a

Technology April 17, 2022

Netflix’s South Korean arm raked in 631.7 billion won ($513 million) in revenue through 2021, up 52 percent from a year prior, a filing showed Friday. The platform’s blockbuster performance in Korea reflects its increasing clout over the streaming service market here, largely thanks to Korean-language hits such as “Squid Game” and “Hellbound.” It also however highlights the “network usage fee” debate in Korean court and parliament. According to

Technology April 15, 2022

South Korea‘s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a two-and-a-half-year jail term for both ex-health minister Moon Hyung-pyo and Hong Wan-sun, former head of the National Pension Service, over their role in the controversial $8 billion merger of Samsung affiliates in 2015. The final ruling came over five years after the two were indicted on charges of abuse of power and crimes of obstructing another from exercising one’s rights. Moon was accused of coercing the NPS, a blockholder of S

Industry April 14, 2022