Korea aligned with US export curbs on chips to China: minister

South Korea is largely aligned with the US government’s export curbs on chips to China, but it is also making efforts to maintain trade ties with Beijing, Korea’s trade minister said in the US on Wednesday. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun, who is visiting the US for the first time after he was inaugurated in January this year, added that the government is working to ensure the US trade curbs do not hurt the interests of Korean chipmakers. "Our basic stance is

April 11, 2024

Naver, Intel team up to counter Nvidia’s dominance in AI chips

US chip giant Intel is teaming up with Naver, Korea's leader in artificial intelligence, in an apparent move to counter Nvidia's dominance in the burgeoning AI chip market. Unveiling its more powerful next-generation AI accelerator, Gaudi 3, on Tuesday, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the cutting-edge central processing unit has been enhanced to perform better than Nvidia's graphic processing unit "at a fraction of the cost." He also said the company is working together wit

April 10, 2024

Samsung retains No. 1 spot in US home appliance market

Samsung Electronics retained its No. 1 spot in the US home appliance market for an eighth consecutive year, dating to 2016, thanks to strong sales of key household products including refrigerators and washers, industry data showed Wednesday. According to market tracker TraQline, Samsung notched a 20.9 percent market share based on sales in the US home appliance market in 2023, followed by its crosstown rival LG Electronics with 18.8 percent, GE Appliances and Whirlpool, which secured 17.6 percen

April 10, 2024

Samsung hopes to shed Galaxy brand's ‘ajeossi phone’ reputation

Samsung Electronics is striving to shed the reputation of its flagship Galaxy smartphones as "ajeossi" phones among teens and users in their 20s, with short films starring popular TV celebrities. An "ajeossi" is an older married man or an uncle in Korean, but in this context, it implies a sense of being "old" or "out of style." The world's largest smartphone maker by shipment said its short film series, “S24 Hours Movie Series,” starring a

April 9, 2024

Samsung, SK boost investment to secure hefty chip subsidies in US

South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been boosting investment in the US to secure federal subsidies and get ahead in the intensifying competition in the advanced chip packaging and artificial intelligence chip sectors. Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chipmaker that also runs chip design and foundry businesses, is reportedly planning to increase its investment in its semiconductor fabrication plant currently under construction in Taylor, Texas. According

April 8, 2024

[Photo News] SK founder's legacy lives on

SK Group said Monday that it was opening the birthplace of its founder Choi Jong-gun and the second-generation Chairman Chey Jong-hyun to the public in celebration of its 71st anniversary. The "Ancient Residence of SK," located on a 1,111 square-meter site in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, has been refurbished as a memorial hall exploring the history of South Korea’s economic growth and entrepreneurship. The current Chairman Chey Tae-won is the third-generation leader of the nation&rs

April 8, 2024

Taiwan quake may push up memory chip prices in Q2: analysts

The powerful earthquake that hit semiconductor powerhouse Taiwan last week may push up memory chip prices temporarily, as chipmakers there face operational disruptions, according to market watchers on Sunday. The earthquake, which struck off the east coast of island with a magnitude of 7.4 on Wednesday, put the tech industry on edge, as Taiwan is home to 18 percent of global chip manufacturing capacity and approximately 92 percent of the world's advanced semiconductors are produced there. M

April 7, 2024

Children, teens using smartphones more: study

South Korean children and teens used smartphones for longer periods of time in 2023 than the year before, a report by a state-run think-tank showed Thursday. Children under the age of 10 used smartphones for an average of 1 hour and 15 minutes a day last year, marking an increase of 17.2 percent or 11 minutes, according to the report by the Korea Information Society Development Institute. The report surveyed 9,757 individuals from 4,077 households across the country. While not as prominent as in

April 6, 2024

LG Electronics expects Q1 profit to drop 11% despite robust sales

LG Electronics said Friday it expected its first-quarter operating earnings to decline more than 10 percent on-year despite the company strong overall sales of its home appliances. LG estimated that its operating profit for the January-March period came in at 1.33 trillion won ($983.2 million), down 11 percent from a year ago, according to the company’s earnings guidance. But this was still above the consensus of 1.28 trillion won predicted by local analysts, as provided by the market inte

April 5, 2024

Samsung Electronics anticipates tenfold profit surge in Q1 amid chip market rebound

Samsung Electronics predicted a more than tenfold increase in its operating profit for the the January-March period, signaling a dramatic resurgence in its semiconductor business on rebounding demand for memory chips. Samsung’s first-quarter operating profit is estimated to hit 6.6 trillion won ($4.89 billion), up 931.3 percent from a year ago, according to its earnings guidance. The amount surpassed the consensus of 5.26 trillion won predicted by local analysts, as provided by the market

April 5, 2024

[Exclusive] Spelling errors call space agency's foreign talent search into question

Multiple spelling errors have been found in the Korea AeroSpace Administration’s English-language job application, raising questions about the country’s professionalism and sincerity in recruiting professionals from overseas to its soon-to-be-established space body. KASA’s English job application, which can be downloaded from the new space body’s official website, on Wednesday showed that all four documents contained the same spelling mistake in the name of the agency. Th

April 4, 2024

SK hynix to build $3.87b chip packaging plant in Indiana

South Korean semiconductor powerhouse SK hynix said Thursday it will invest about $3.87 billion to build an advanced chip packing fabrication and research and development facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, amid intensifying global competition in the burgeoning artificial intelligence memory semiconductor industry. The announcement was made at an investment agreement ceremony attended by officials from SK hynix, the state government of Indiana and Purdue University at the school on Wednesday. S

April 4, 2024

S. Korea to spend W710.2b to expand AI in everyday life

South Korea will funnel 710.2 billion won ($526.9 million) into the government's projects to integrate artificial intelligence into everyday life, the science ministry said Thursday. The AI Strategy High-Level Consultative Council, a government-civilian panel for shaping AI policies, convened its inaugural meeting and approved the investment plan to proceed with 69 AI projects aimed at helping the people feel the benefits of AI across all sectors, according to the Ministry of Science and IC

April 4, 2024

[Photo News] LG Awards for innovation

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo (center) claps at the LG Awards ceremony, held at the LG Academy in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. The awards, launched in 2019, aim to recognize innovative technologies, products and services across LG affiliates. This year, 98 teams and 724 individuals received awards, including the life science business team at LG Chem that played a role in supplying essential infertility treatments during a supply shortage. "Customers recognize unique value when th

April 3, 2024

Korea urged to step up incentives for chipmakers

As governments around the world fiercely compete to boost their semiconductor industries by distributing large subsidies, South Korea is pointed out as falling behind other chip powerhouses, raising concerns about the gap widening in the future. On Tuesday, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry approved subsidies of up to 590 billion yen ($3.9 billion) for chip foundry venture Rapidus, adding to its promise earlier to provide funds worth some 330 billion yen into the chip project.

April 2, 2024

HBM leadership is coming to us: Samsung CEO

Samsung Electronics has established a special team dedicated to High Bandwidth Memory, going all-out to get an edge in the advanced memory chip, which is currently in the spotlight as a key component in raising the processing speed for artificial intelligence applications. Highlighting the importance of HBM in the wake of the AI boom, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kyung Kye-hyun vowed to keep up efforts to secure leadership in the burgeoning market and revealed the company has formed a team

April 1, 2024

Family, business leaders mourn Hyosung honorary chairman

Business leaders joined relatives to mourn the death of Cho Suck-rai, the honorary chairman of Hyosung Group, a textile giant, on Sunday. Cho died of a chronic illness Friday at the age of 89. Cho led the textile giant from 1982 until 2017, when he stepped down from the top management position due to health issues. His eldest son, Cho Hyun-joon took the baton to lead the conglomerate. On Saturday, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and his mother Hong Ra-hee paid respect for Cho at the fu

March 31, 2024

First female CEO takes helm at Kakao

Korean IT giant Kakao on Thursday appointed Chung Shin-a as its first female, chief while it is facing urgent challenges in revamping its corporate culture and management. The announcement was made as she gained a nod from shareholders during the annual meeting and a separate approval from the board of directors earlier in the day at the company’s headquarters in Jeju Island. After being named as the CEO nominee in December, Chung has served as the head of the company’s innovation ta

March 28, 2024

SKT marks 40th anniversary with new emblem

Marking the 40th anniversary of its founding, SK Telecom, South Korea's largest wireless carrier by the number of accounts, promised to transform into a global artificial intelligence company, Thursday. The mobile carrier, first established in March 1984 under the name, Korea Mobile Telecommunication Services Corp., celebrates its 40th anniversary on Friday. "SKT's 40 years of achievements were made possible by its unique DNA of overcoming challenging situations and creating a his

March 28, 2024

LG CNS, Indonesia’s Sinar Mas to form joint venture for DX push

South Korean IT solutions provider LG CNS said Thursday it has agreed to establish a joint venture with one of the largest conglomerates in Indonesia to strengthen digital transformation innovation in the 16th largest economy in the world. Under the agreement, LG CNS and Sinar Mas Group will set up a 50-50 joint venture in the latter half of this year to promote consulting, construction and operation for data center services and cloud conversion services, targeting Indonesian companies and publi

March 28, 2024