South Korean business moguls are expected to start considering potential business projects in North Korea after their Pyongyang trip, according to the industry on Wednesday. According to news reports, the chiefs of the country’s three-biggest family-run conglomerates -- Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and 14 others -- are expected to hold meetings with top executives on the results of the trip after arriving in Seoul

Industry Sept. 19, 2018

An unusual sight played out Tuesday as some of the most powerful business leaders from South Korea shook hands with the North Korean economy chief and officials as they walked into a room at the People’s Culture Palace in Pyongyang. On the sidelines of the third summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the first visit to Pyongyang in 11 years, what captured the business world’s attention throughout the day was the encounter between North Korean Dep

Industry Sept. 18, 2018

South Korea’s biggest conglomerate chiefs left for Pyongyang early Tuesday morning to accompany President Moon Jae-in to the third inter-Korean summit and discuss tentative business plans involving North Korea. Including Lee Jae-yong, heir to the country’s No. 1 family-run business, Samsung, 17 business leaders from a variety of industries joined the 52-member special delegation, created as part of the Moon government’s “new economy” initiative for the Korean Peninsula. LG Corp. Chairman Koo Kwa

Industry Sept. 18, 2018

Chiefs of South Korea’s three biggest conglomerates -- Samsung, SK and LG, in order -- will join President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Pyongyang on Tuesday as part of the 52-member presidential business delegation for the third inter-Korean talks this year, Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Sunday. According to the announcement, the list of business delegates includes Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, all of whom hold absolute aut

Industry Sept. 16, 2018

Chung Eui-sun, now officially the second in command at South Korea’s biggest automaker and second-largest conglomerate, will be able to wield greater power across 55 affiliates, operating in business areas ranging from steelmaking and construction to finance, industry sources said Sunday.The 48-year-old heir apparent will assist his 80-year-old father in his newly created post, a notch higher than the six existing vice chairmen in charge of the group’s automaking, steelmaking and finance units.

Industry Sept. 16, 2018

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo emphasized that his top priorities are artificial intelligence and big data technologies, at a meeting with research and development leaders of LG affiliates, the group said Thursday. The fourth-generation leader of South Korea’s fourth-biggest conglomerate made his first official visit to LG Science Park, the group’s R&D hub, in Magok, western Seoul, on Wednesday, as part of preparations for the group’s future businesses. Koo was sworn in as the chairman and CEO o

Technology Sept. 13, 2018

Cheong Wa Dae has invited business representatives including chaebol scions leading South Korea’s four-biggest conglomerates -- Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG and SK -- to accompany President Moon Jae-in on his trip to Pyongyang next week, officials said Thursday without mentioning names.According to news reports, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won were invited. But the fin

Industry Sept. 13, 2018

Globally renowned scholars in the field of artificial intelligence gathered at Samsung Electronics’ Seocho campus in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss the tasks faced by Samsung and other tech giants in embracing AI in the near future. The first day of the two-day Samsung AI Forum focused on deep learning algorithms and technologies, with the tech titan inviting eminent professors recognized as experts in the deep learning sector. Yann LeCun, a professor at New York University, lectured on self-supe

Technology Sept. 12, 2018

LG Chem, a leading South Korean battery and chemical company, announced Wednesday that it acquired an American automotive adhesive maker as part of efforts to enhance the portfolio of its automotive material business. The Korean firm purchased a 100 percent stake in Indiana-based Uniseal from its parent company Koch Enterprises for an undisclosed price, it said. Uniseal, established in 1960, is one of the top 25 automotive adhesive makers chosen by the Adhesives & Sealants Industry this year. Th

Technology Sept. 12, 2018

Tech Brunch breaks down how complex technologies work. -- Ed.The second heyday of cylindrical batteries is coming as electronic applications get bigger while going wireless, and Samsung SDI is one of the firms leading the trend with the newest form factor of the cells, says Jeong Sang-hun, principal engineer at the company. “The latest 21700 cylindrical battery platform is on its way to becoming a new standard due to performance improvement and proven safety,” said Jeong in an interview with The

Technology Sept. 11, 2018

Samsung Electronics might reveal some details on the world’s first foldable smartphone in the pipeline at its developers’ conference in San Francisco in November, according to the industry on Monday. Rumors that the South Korean tech titan would unveil its foldable phone at the Samsung Developer Conference have been circulating around the world following a recent interview of the company’s mobile business CEO Koh Dong-jin by a group of foreign media outlets last week. Flexible OLED display (Sams

Technology Sept. 10, 2018

South Korean telecom companies are expected to finalize their decisions on 5G equipment vendors this week amid accelerating efforts to commercialize fifth-generation network services as early as in December, in a bid to lead the global telecom industry. According to industry sources on Sunday, the likelihood that Korea’s three-biggest mobile carriers by number of subscribers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- will adopt major 5G equipment made by China’s Huawei is not high, due to persisting conc

Industry Sept. 9, 2018

ZKW, an automotive lighting affiliate of LG Electronics, announced its new logo as an LG company on Friday, highlighting its role in driving the South Korean tech giant’s vehicle component business.The announcement was made after a visit by LG CEO Jo Seong-jin to its headquarters in Wieselburg on Wednesday. The CEO welcomed the Austrian company as a new LG affiliate and encouraged around 2,000 executives and employees at a ceremony. “ZKW will be major part of a great journey,” Jo said. “Wieselbu

Technology Sept. 7, 2018

SK Innovation, a South Korean refinery and energy company, is increasing its presence in the global market for electric vehicle batteries, raising expectations it could soon catch up with leading EV makers, according to a market researcher on Thursday. A recent report by SNE Research showed SK Innovation came in at No. 6 in shipments of batteries for electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles for the period between January and July. The company’s ranking ros

Technology Sept. 6, 2018

LONDON -- Samsung Electronics will become a leader in the field of artificial intelligence by differentiating itself from other AI players with human-centric communication that will help devices understand users’ emotions better, said professor Maja Pantic, who is affiliated with a UK-based AI center for Samsung, on Tuesday. “Samsung’s devices will ceaselessly communicate with users and learn from them through the screen, voice, vision and tactile features,” said Pantic during a press conference

Technology Sept. 6, 2018