The third summit between South and North Korea held on Friday at Panmunjeom marked a major technological difference from the previous talks in 2000 and 2007. South Korea’s mobile carriers KT and SK Telecom actively supported the historical event with cutting-edge fifth-generation telecommunications technologies to promote their upcoming mobile services to international viewers.  The head mounted device installed by KT at 5G exhibition booth at Kintex. (Sohn Ji-young/The Korea Herald)Among others

Technology April 27, 2018

LG Electronics and its holding company LG Corp. announced Thursday they had acquired a 100 percent stake in Austrian automotive light maker ZKW Group for some 1.44 trillion won ($1.33 billion), spurring its vehicle component business as a new growth engine. According to the announcement, LG Electronics bought a 70 percent stake in ZKW Group for 1.108 trillion won, while LG Corp. purchased 30 percent of the Austrian firm’s shares at 433.2 billion won.The acquisition plan was confirmed at a board

Technology April 26, 2018

After achieving a record-high first-quarter operating profit, South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics faces a tough second quarter, as its display and mobile businesses are forecast to experience unfavorable market conditions, according to a conference call held Thursday after its earnings announcement. While the memory business is expected to stay robust in the following quarter, Samsung’s mobile device business is projected to see declines in sales of premium flagship models due to slowing

Industry April 26, 2018

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics said Thursday it achieved record-high operating profit for the first quarter of 2018 due to robust sales of memory chips and smartphones. According to the earnings announcement, Samsung posted 60.56 trillion won ($56.98 billion) in consolidated revenue and 15.64 trillion won in operating profit for the first three months of the year. Its first-quarter revenue grew nearly 20 percent year-on-year, while operating profit for the quarter was a record high.

Industry April 26, 2018

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it had begun mass producing DRAM chips for automobiles, which can endure heat of up to 125 degrees Celsius.The chips are 10-nanometer-class 16-gigabit DRAM capable of enduring hot temperatures during automotive applications. The latest 16Gb DRAM is the industry’s first automotive solution, raising the temperature threshold from the current 105 degrees Celsius to 125 degrees Celsius, making them automotive grade 1-compliant.  16Gb DRAM (Samsung Electronics)The r

Technology April 25, 2018

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it is launching the third generation of its consumer solid-state drive lineup Samsung 970 PRO and EVO for the global market, which will set new standards for nonvolatile memory express SSD products. NVMe refers to an interface enabling high-speed data processing. Samsung first introduced NVMe products in 2015. The Samsung 970 PRO and EVO are designed to provide large-volume storage with the fastest computing power so far by adopting Samsung’s latest 64-layer V-NA

Technology April 25, 2018

SK Telecom will provide an asset management service by using blockchain technologies within this year, and build a platform that will help match blockchain startups with investors for growth of the techs and related industry, the mobile carrier’s blockchain unit head said Tuesday. Oh Se-hyeon, executive vice president of SKT’s blockchain business unit, said the company is planning to launch a blockchain-based asset management and payment service, which will ensure trust for peer-to-peer transact

Technology April 24, 2018

South Korea’s mobile carriers on Monday are preparing their cutting-edge network infrastructure to make the historic third summit between South and North Korea via the fifth-generation network as immersive as possible to viewers around the world. KT has been installing broadcasting and telecommunicating network systems at Panmunjeom. The company said Monday it signed an agreement with Cheong Wa Dae’s preparatory committee for the summit to provide technological support for the inter-Korean talks

Technology April 23, 2018

South Korean mobile carriers are feeling the pinch as they are facing rising costs due to the establishment of the fifth-generation mobile network infrastructure while being pressured to cut mobile service fees, industry insiders said Sunday. Amid the increasing pressures on the country’s three telecom companies to cut households’ mobile costs, the upcoming auction for 5G frequencies in mid-June is predicted to charge the operators huge costs, making it harder for them to seek margins. On Thursd

Technology April 22, 2018

Samsung Electronics is considering the release of new Galaxy smartphones in China to restore its market share there, according to the tech titan on Sunday. Samsung recently won certification from Chinese authority TENNA for the new SM-8750 model, which has raised speculations globally about what will be the name of the new model. According to a Samsung official, the new model will be released as a variant of the Galaxy S series. However, the name has not been confirmed yet.  Chinese consumers lo

Technology April 22, 2018

Bongmilga’s owner Kwon Hee-seung is one of a new breed of young chefs serving up Pyongyang-style naengmyeon, opening his small restaurant five years ago. Kwon’s personal love for Pyeongyang naengmyeon by Woo Lae Oak -- the oldest naengmyeon restaurant in Seoul, established in 1946 – inspired him with a mission to serve the best naengmyeon in the country. He turned his diner that specialized in makguksu -- a dish using noodles with more buckwheat content than those in traditional naengmyeong -- i

Food April 20, 2018

The Korea Herald is running a series of articles titled “What‘s Happening” to look into the culture and trends of companies operating in South Korea. -- Ed.Seeking to be a “new ICT company,” South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom is increasingly hunting for younger talents in the engineering field around the world in a bid to enhance its software capabilities. Those now at key technology posts at SKT leading information and communication technology initiatives were all born in 1970. The

Technology April 19, 2018

South Korea’s semiconductor businesses on Wednesday welcomed deferred disclosure of Samsung Electronics’ assessment reports on workplace environments, although a legal battle between Samsung and the government will continue as scheduled. Samsung has won support from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy in its claim that workplace reports should not be made public as they contain key technologies and trade secrets, Tuesday. The tech titan’s claim to nullify the Ministry of Employment and La

Industry April 18, 2018

Samsung Electronics Service, a warranty service affiliate of Samsung Electronics, will hire 8,000 workers from its subcontractors as regular employees, it said Tuesday. The affiliated entity of South Korea’s largest tech company announced it had agreed with the Korean Metal Workers’ Union to directly employ the workers from about 90 subcontractors.The 8,000 workers are members of the trade union. It marks an unprecedented case at Samsung of turning workers into regular employees while keeping th

Industry April 17, 2018