Samsung Electronics on Wednesday announced new presidents for its lucrative semiconductor business along with new chiefs for some of its affiliates, centering on solidifying key businesses but maintaining overall stability. The three chief executive officers of each business -- Kim Ki-nam of semiconductors, Koh Dong-jin of smartphones and Kim Hyun-suk of consumer electronics -- will retain their positions amid high uncertainties expected to unfold next year, to seek sustainable growth. And as

Technology Dec. 2, 2020

LG Innotek, the electronics parts making affiliate of LG Group, has been recognized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities, the firm said Tuesday. The Welfare Ministry selects businesses with outstanding corporate social responsibility programs every year in partnership with the Korea National Council on Social Welfare. LG Innotek’s plants in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, and in Gwangju Metropolitan City were credited by the minis

Technology Dec. 1, 2020

Apple Korea announced Monday it would open its second South Korean store in Yeouido, the financial district in northwestern Seoul, as part of a strategy to expand its sales and services in the country. Although the Seoul branch didn’t reveal an official date for the opening of the new Apple Store, the second shop is likely to open within the year. The second Apple Store of the global tech giant will be located in the first basement floor of the IFC Mall in Yeouido. Apple is opening

Technology Nov. 30, 2020

Several moves recently made by Samsung allude to a major change in the tech giant’s smartphone lineup strategy for 2021, according to various news reports on Monday. One of the biggest changes would be a reduction of the Galaxy Note, which used to be Samsung’s flagship smartphone model along with its signature S Pen and has been released in the second half of each year for the past 10 years. High-profile tipsters like Max Weinbach and Ice Universe, as well as smartphone-focus

Technology Nov. 30, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has proven the importance of semiconductors. While the novel coronavirus has roiled many other industries, the chip industry has not just survived, but thrived owing to a surge in demand for noncontact businesses. Despite the border shutdowns, the world’s leading chipmakers -- regardless of which specific segments of the markets they are playing in -- have been silently preparing for a new chapter in the industry’s growth after the COVID-19 crisis.

Technology Nov. 29, 2020

LG Uplus, the third-biggest mobile carrier by subscriptions in South Korea, said Sunday that it has created a division for new businesses that it hopes will propel the company’s growth. The telecom company said it has decided to combine small business units scattered across the organization -- covering areas ranging from smart health to security, education, advertising and data -- and form one group that will be the carrier’s core unit for new growth. It was part of the first org

Technology Nov. 29, 2020

LG Group, the fourth-biggest conglomerate in South Korea, will add a new holding firm before its planned leadership split-off, the group announced Thursday. Spearheaded by the current holding company, LG Corp., LG’s affiliates announced organizational and personnel restructuring plans for 2021 as they were approved by each company’s board of directors. LG was the first among Korea’s family-run conglomerates to announce its plans for next year. LG Corp. said the group will

Industry Nov. 26, 2020

South Korean mobile carrier KT said Thursday the company’s Internet Protocol television service is now available in Thailand, marking the first export case of IPTV platform technology to a foreign country. Dubbed the “3BB GIGA TV,” KT’s IPTV platform combined with over-the-top media service is being made available in the Southeast Asian country staring Thursday under a 24 billion won ($21.7 million) deal. KT worked with 11 local partners over the past 15 months via

Technology Nov. 26, 2020

  SK Telecom announced Thursday the mobile carrier’s shareholders approved the spinoff of its mobility business unit as part of enhancing the carrier’s future mobility solutions. Approved by 99.98 percent of its shareholders, a new mobility business dubbed as T Map Mobility will be established on Dec. 29 as a wholly owned subsidiary. The unit has been operating SKT’s T Map service, the largest mobile navigation service whose users doubled from its rival Kakao’

Technology Nov. 26, 2020

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and the company’s top brass gathered in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday to mark the 33rd anniversary of founder Lee Byung-chull’s death. The memorial ceremony was held about three weeks after former Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s death. Samsung scion Lee held a luncheon with 50 C-suite-level officials of the tech giant after the ceremony. The heir thanked the executives for their support for the former chairman’s funeral.

Industry Nov. 19, 2020

E-commerce giant Coupang was the third-largest business in South Korea in terms of staff as of the third quarter of this year, following Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, a market research firm said Tuesday. The report released by CEOScore showed that Coupang hired a total of 43,171 employees as of late September, rising from the fourth-biggest employer position to the third. The report was based on data from the number of subscribers to the National Pension Service. Coupang’s ris

Consumer Nov. 17, 2020

LG Group, the fourth-largest conglomerate in South Korea, is set to split off multiple affiliates with the former chief’s sibling, according to industry sources on Monday. Koo Bon-joon, an uncle of current LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and younger brother of late former Chairman Koo Bon-moo, is preparing to take control of multiple affiliates. The affiliates expected to be separated from the group are LG International Corp., LG Hausys Ltd., and Pantos Co., according to news reports. It

Industry Nov. 16, 2020

With the latest announcement of Micron’s completion of a 176-layer NAND Flash chip, pressure is mounting on market leader Samsung Electronics over its belated new product launch. Up until early this year, it was widely expected that Samsung was going to announce the mass production of its seventh-generation 3D V-NAND Flash this year. However, industry insider s said that the Korean chip giant seems to have changed plans due to technological challenges that it has not yet overcome. Sa

Technology Nov. 12, 2020

Two of the top four televisions of 2020 selected by US Consumer Reports were LG Electronics’ organic light-emitting diode TVs, according to a report on Wednesday. The LG OLED TV 65-inch C9 and CX models received the highest scores in the high definition and ultra-high definition categories, the report said. The three-dimensional sound effect offered by Dolby Atmos was also recognized. The other two best TVs were Sony’s OLED TV and Samsung Electronics’ QLED TV (Q90). Sams

Technology Nov. 11, 2020

“Sammy” is a new wake-up word for Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Home Mini speaker, according to the tech giant on Thursday. Samsung has recently added the new word to wake up its voice-activated artificial intelligence speaker, the Galaxy Home Mini, through a software update. Users can both use “Hi, Bixby” and “Sammy-ya” to activate the speaker. There have been some complaints on inaccuracy and inconvenience from calling the AI assistant Bixby, due t

Technology Nov. 5, 2020