After witnessing US President Joe Biden hold up a silicon wafer in front of the world’s chip industry leaders, including Samsung Electronics, calls are growing in South Korea that its leader, too, should act to help safeguard Korean chipmakers from an unfolding global war for chips. Despite Korea’s unchallenged position in the global memory chip market, industry officials and pundits worry the country could fall victim to the global power struggle between the US and China, and co

Technology April 14, 2021

It’s official: US President Joe Biden wants semiconductor chips to be produced in his own country, not China, posing a dilemma for foreign chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics, which are torn between two strategically important markets. Samsung, the only South Korean participant in Monday’s White House meeting on chips, is the world’s No. 1 producer of memory chips used in computers, smartphones and a growing list of smart devices. It is the world’s No. 2 in the found

Technology April 13, 2021

The South Korean government and experts in the semiconductor industry are paying close attention to a meeting hosted by the White House on Monday in the US.  According to Seoul-based government officials and industry experts, concerns exist about recent moves by the US government to reinforce its chip industry in terms of Korea’s industrial competitiveness and Korean chipmakers’ global operations.  The moves by the Biden administration -- the review of America’s sem

Technology April 12, 2021

South Korean battery rivals LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation reached a 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion) settlement in their two-year-long legal dispute over battery technologies, the two companies announced Sunday. SK will pay 1 trillion won in cash and 1 trillion in royalties to the rival as compensation for its theft of lithium-ion battery technologies. LG, in exchange, will drop all legal action against SK both in Korea and abroad. This allows SK to avert a punishment by a US court that w

Technology April 11, 2021

SK Telecom, South Korea’s top telecom company, is utilizing its artificial intelligence technology to support the country’s health authority in monitoring recipients after COVID-19 vaccination, it said Thursday. Dubbed NUGU Vaccine Carecall, SKT’s NUGU AI platform will provide guidance to those subject to vaccination through calls, and monitor any abnormal signs after shots are administered. The telecom company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korea Disease C

Technology April 8, 2021

SK Innovation, apparently buoyed by its recent battery patent victory at the US trade court against LG Energy Solution, reiterated Wednesday that it will “respond sternly” to any attempt by its rival to “hamper its business with legal issues.” Last week, the US International Trade Commission made a preliminary ruling that cleared SKI of alleged infringement of LGES’ patents related to lithium ion battery separators. The ruling provided a much-needed boost to SKI

Technology April 7, 2021

In an earnings surprise, Samsung Electronics is believed to have recorded an operating profit of 9.3 trillion won ($8.3 billion) in the first three months of 2021, according to early estimates released Wednesday. According to the company’s Q1 earnings guidance, its revenue is projected to reach 65 trillion won. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue and operating profit would represent increases of 17.48 percent and 44.19 percent, respectively. The operating profit growth fa

Technology April 7, 2021

Preparing to bid adieu to its 26-year-old mobile device business, LG Electronics is mulling over what to do with its overseas phone plants, with outright closure being considered as one possible option, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Closure could mean hundreds of employees losing their jobs within a few months. LG’s head office in Seoul, when announcing the handset business exit on Monday, said it planned to “convert” the overseas facilities and use them for o

Technology April 6, 2021

South Korean telecommunications companies, which in 2019 made Korea the world’s first country to launch a commercial 5G network, are ditching their “telco” identity. No longer content to stay within the traditional boundaries of the telecommunications business, they are seeking business opportunities in areas where growth might come from in future. For KT Corp., the industry’s No. 2, the new direction entails producing its own original cultural content, such as drama

Technology April 6, 2021

  After 26 years of ups and downs, LG Electronics is putting an end to its money-losing handset segment and shifting its focus to future mobile solutions for bigger industries, the company announced Monday. LG’s board of directors decided to officially terminate the handset business by July 31 after trying, and failing, to sell it off in the past two months. “LG has failed to respond well to the intensifying competition with the top two players in the mid-range smartphone ma

Technology April 5, 2021

Euljiro, the very center of Seoul with Subway Line 2 passing through, has the longest underground walkway in South Korea. The 3.3-kliometer underground walkway runs all the way from Seoul City Hall Station, through Euljiro 1-ga Station and on to Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station. It is not just a pedestrian tunnel with a lot of commercial shops, but also d a street where culture and arts co-exist.  Because it is underground, the street offers a pleasant environment to enjoy ex

Arts & Design April 3, 2021

The United States International Trade Commission on Friday dismissed a request made by LG Energy Solution to sanction SK Innovation’s lawsuit that accused LG of infringing on patents. The ITC dismissal came just one day after the US government agency ruled in favor of SK in another patent case filed by LG against SK. The latest denial involves SK’s complaint that accused LG of infringing on its patents in September 2019, a separate case from the two archrivals’ dispute abou

Technology April 2, 2021

Kakao Mobility, Korea’s digital transportation service app operator, said Thursday the company will explore new business opportunities together with Google. Under their partnership, Kakao has attracted investment of $50 million from the US tech giant, which is to be paid completely by April 22, according to the company’s regulatory filing. With the investment, Kakao and Google will work together on advancement of artificial intelligence technologies based on the cloud, create s

Technology April 1, 2021

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI is among the first four companies in the world to sign on to a World Wildlife Fund call for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, according to an announcement by WWF on Wednesday. The battery-making affiliate of Samsung Electronics joined Google, BMW and Volvo in committing not to source any minerals -- such as cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese -- from the seabed or finance deep-sea mining activities, and to exclude minerals obtained this way from their s

Technology March 31, 2021

KT is rolling out a mobile fee discount program exclusively for non-South Korean nationals, becoming the first mobile carrier here to do so, the firm announced Wednesday. While many local subscribers are eligible for family plans, which entail discounts and benefits such as shared data usage, most foreigners have been left out of such benefits as many are here without their families. KT’s new plan for non-Koreans will group five foreign customers with the same nationality and offer a

Technology March 31, 2021