South Korean chipmakers will be given a one-year grace period that would allow for their China-based chip plants to continue to import critical chipmaking tools from the United States, without the licensing requirements announced the previous week by the Joe Biden administration. Memory chip maker SK hynix revealed that the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security has assured SK hynix that the company, its suppliers and business partners are still authorized to engage in

Technology Oct. 12, 2022

South Korean lithium-ion battery maker LG Energy Solution and Japanese automaker Honda have selected Fayette County, Ohio as the location to commit to a combined $4.4 billion to build an electric vehicle battery plant beginning 2023, the companies said Wednesday. The construction was initially estimated to cost $3.5 billion. Once the construction is complete by the end of 2024, the new plant will start to mass produce pouch-type lithium-ion batteries beginning 2025 with the annual production cap

Technology Oct. 12, 2022

South Korean semiconductor wafer maker SK Siltron and Britain-based chip material firm IQE has inked a strategic collaboration agreement to develop next-generation compound semiconductor products targeting the Asian market, SK Siltron said Tuesday. Under the agreement signed Thursday, the two companies will work to develop epitaxial wafers based on gallium nitride using IQE's technology, with wafer substrates made of silicon and silicon carbide supplied by SK Siltron. Gallium nitride can he

Technology Oct. 11, 2022

South Korean business conglomerate Lotte Group has signed a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Iljin Materials, a copper foil supplier to electric vehicle battery makers for 2.7 trillion won ($1.9 billion), in Lotte's move to enhance the EV component portfolio, filings showed Tuesday. Lotte Battery Materials USA, a subsidiary of Lotte's petrochemical arm Lotte Chemical, will buy a 53.3 percent stake, or 24.6 million ordinary shares, in the world's fourth-largest copper foil ma

Technology Oct. 11, 2022

ULSAN -- SK Innovation, petrochemical arm of South Korea's second-largest business conglomerate, is poised to open a 1.7 trillion-won ($1.19 billion) plastic recycling complex by the second half of 2025, a move to accelerate its transformation to becoming a provider of ecofriendly products for a sustainable future. The 215,000-square-meter space in Korea's heavy industry powerhouse Ulsan will house facilities that would collect 250,000 tons of waste plastic each year and recycle about 80-90 per

Industry Oct. 11, 2022

ULSAN -- A green transition of Ulsan Industrial District, home to oil refineries, petrochemical plants, auto manufacturing facilities and shipbuilding sites, is crucial to alleviating the cost of carbon emissions and keeping the products' competitive edge in the global market, an Ulsan high-ranking official told reporters on Thursday. "Ulsan is now focusing on how it can diversify energy sources for the industrial complex," said Noh Dong-wan, director-general of innovative industry bu

Industry Oct. 10, 2022

Steel-to-chemical material firm Posco Holdings and lithium-ion battery cell manufacturer LG Energy Solution signed a more comprehensive agreement for electric vehicle battery material supply, the companies announced Monday. Based on the nonbinding agreement signed on Friday, Posco Holding is to ink a long-term deal to supply cathode materials and anode materials to LG Energy Solution before the end of 2022, according to South Korea's largest battery cell maker by batteries supplied to cars.

Technology Oct. 10, 2022

Amid a chaotic mood building among Korean chipmakers operating fabrication plants in China over Washington's chip export curbs on Beijing, a South Korean lawmaker said Sunday the companies are unlikely to be hurt, as the US would take some time to see to how the repercussions of its actions play out through the global supply chain. "(US authorities) are unlikely to be harsh in export controls on semiconductor equipment going to Korea-owned facilities, because the extent of (repercussions fr

Technology Oct. 9, 2022

LG Electronics said Sunday it has supplied autonomous robots to two locations of shopping mall chain Aeon in Japan. The multipurpose customer service robots, branded as the LG CLOi GuideBot, have recently begun operating in Aeon malls in Toki, a suburb of Nagoya, and Narita, 60 kilometers east of Tokyo, according to the South Korean tech giant, without specifying dates. The robots feature two 27-inch flat-panel displays with touch-screen functions at the front and the rear side. They can also co

Technology Oct. 9, 2022

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son held talks on Tuesday over ways for a strategic alliance between the chips-to-mobile giant and SoftBank-backed chip intellectual property giant Arm, according to industry sources on Wednesday. The meeting at Samsung Electronics’ Seoul office was also accompanied by Samsung’s co-CEO Kyung Kye-hyun, who oversees semiconductor business, and mobile business chief Roh Tae-moon, as well as Arm CEO R

Technology Oct. 5, 2022

South Korean memory chip manufacturer SK hynix on Wednesday pledged to achieve a 100 percent procurement of domestically produced neon gas, a critical material for chip production, by 2024. SK hynix added that 40 percent of neon gas used for chip production is already locally produced in Korean chipmakers' bid to stabilize chip supply chain and reduce their reliance on imports of the specialty gas. Neon gas makes up about 95 percent of excimer laser, a ultraviolet light source for photolith

Technology Oct. 5, 2022

  LG Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Koo Kwang-mo called on some 30 executives across Korea's fourth-largest business group to define the future of customer experience, and the start of it could be identifying who their future customers will be. "LG's key to having an upper hand in the future lies in our unique customer experience, products, solutions and brand value," Koo told executives at a workshop with executives on Thursday in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. "Thi

Industry Sept. 30, 2022

South Korean semiconductor chip wafer supplier SK Siltron announced Thursday that it plans to invest a combined 2.3 trillion won ($1.6 billion) over the course of five years until 2026. The capital will be used to increase the production capacity for its wafer plants in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. SK Siltron will also create 1,000 new jobs for its wafer plants. As part of the plan, SK Siltron's board on Thursday approved a 855 billion won spending plan to expand the production capacity fo

Technology Sept. 29, 2022

South Korean lithium-ion battery cell maker SK On and Australian mining company Global Lithium Resources have signed a two-year nonbinding agreement over the supply of critical materials for batteries used in electric cars. The two companies agreed to explore future business opportunities including the potential development of downstream battery-grade lithium assets for at least two years in western Australia. Under the agreement, SK On also pledged to support Global Lithium's capital rai

Technology Sept. 29, 2022

South Korea's consumer electronics-to-battery conglomerate LG Group has published its first annual report that revolves around its groupwide efforts to tackle environmental, social and governance issues, a holding company LG Corp. announced Wednesday. This is in line with the group's push to disclose nonfinancial performance such as actions to fight climate change, reduce and recycle waste, offer financial supports to vendors and local communities, as well as ensure boardroom diversity

Technology Sept. 28, 2022