Samsung Electronics’ extraordinary win streak over the past three quarters is likely to end in the second quarter this year amid growing uncertainties surrounding the war in Ukraine, rising costs and inflation fears. In its earnings guidance released Thursday, the South Korean tech giant projected its operating profits at 14 trillion won ($10.7 billion) for the April-June period, up 11.38 percent from a year ago. Its revenue also jumped 20.94 percent to 77 trillion won, the highest figu

Technology July 7, 2022

LG Innotek said Wednesday that it is investing a total of 1.4 trillion won ($1.07 billion) into its local production facilities by 2023 to beef up the production of circuit substrates and camera modules – its key growth drivers. The company signed a memorandum of understanding for the new investment with the local governments of North Gyeongsang Province and its capital city, Gumi, earlier in the day. The new funding will be used to expand its production facilities in the city, includin

Technology July 6, 2022

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong held meetings with Japanese business leaders who were staying in Seoul this week to attend the annual gathering of the Korea-Japan Business Council, according to the tech giant on Tuesday. Lee, the de facto leader of Samsung, on Monday had dinner with Masakazu Tokura, chairman of Sumitomo Chemical who doubles as chairman of Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation. He also held a luncheon meeting on Tuesday with Toshiaki Higashihara, chairman o

Industry July 5, 2022

LG Electronics said Tuesday its automotive parts business has secured new orders worth 8 trillion won ($6.16 billion) in the first half of this year, with the total cumulative orders set to exceed 65 trillion won by the end of this year. The company said its Vehicle Component Solution unit has recently signed a series of new deals with global carmakers to supply its in-vehicle infotainment systems and 5G telematics solutions. The Korean tech giant is looking to beef up its competitiveness in

Industry July 5, 2022

The Federation of Korean Industries held a meeting with its Japanese counterpart Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, in Seoul on Monday after a three-year hiatus spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The two business lobbies have held an annual meeting, known as the Korea-Japan Business Council, since 1982. However, the last two gatherings were postponed due to the protracted pandemic. Monday’s meeting saw more than 20 business leaders from the two countries coming together to dis

Industry July 4, 2022

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it has started producing chips using its latest 3-nanometer manufacturing technology – an industry first globally. The 3-nm technology boasts greater transistor density than the current 5-nm technology, which means higher speed and lower power consumption of advanced chips for artificial intelligence, big data and autonomous cars. The new technology is a secret weapon for Samsung, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, to take on Taiwan’s TS

Technology June 30, 2022

LG Group is betting big on clean energy technology as part of its ongoing efforts to seek future growth drivers that are also environmentally sustainable. LG Corp., the holding unit, said Wednesday that LG Group plans to inject 2 trillion won ($1.55 billion) in the next five years into the fields of bio materials, batteries and plastic recycling and other carbon neutral technologies. The new clean tech push comes as Chairman Koo Kwang-mo marked his fourth anniversary at the helm of the natio

Technology June 29, 2022

LG Energy Solution said Wednesday it is reviewing the profitability of its new battery plant in the US, citing growing uncertainties surrounding inflation woes and unfavorable foreign exchange movement. In March, the world’s second-largest electric vehicle battery maker announced plans to build its own battery plant in Queen Creek, Arizona, with an annual capacity of 11 gigawatt hours of cylindrical batteries. A 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 billion) investment had been planned to be injected in

Industry June 29, 2022

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo on Wednesday marks his fourth anniversary at the helm of the nation’s fourth-largest conglomerate, with his leadership taking shape, though not yet completed. Koo, then 40, took office as chairman and CEO of LG Corp., the holding unit, on June 29, 2018, following the death of his father, Chairman Koo Bon-moo. He was the youngest person to lead one of the nation’s top four chaebol groups, which also include Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor. Pragmatism i

Industry June 28, 2022

The nation’s four refiners -- SK Innovation, GS Caltex, S-Oil and Hyundai Oil Bank -- are expected to post record earnings in the second quarter this year, with sky-high oil prices boosting their operating margins. But they are under heavy social and political pressure as their thriving business means higher energy bills for consumers. Commodity prices rise and fall dramatically and refiners are sometimes threatened with a tax on their “extraordinary” profit at times of high

Industry June 27, 2022

LG Electronics and Kakao Mobility have teamed up to create a new ecosystem for future mobility as they jointly develop services like delivery robots and in-car infotainment systems. The two firms recently signed a memorandum of understanding, with their chief technology officers in attendance, they said in a statement Wednesday. Their partnership involves a slew of new projects on in-car user experience, delivery robots, connected home appliances, vehicle communications for passenger safety

Technology June 22, 2022

South Korea’s chaebol groups are expected to take a more cautious approach toward hiring and spending as they brace for rough times ahead amid widespread fears of an economic downturn. Samsung Group held a rare CEO meeting on Monday, almost five years since a weekly meeting of top executives across affiliates was suspended following the dissolution of the Future Strategy Office, also dubbed as the group’s control tower, in 2017. According to Samsung, a total of 25 CEOs of key aff

Industry June 21, 2022

LG Chem said Monday that it is building its first hydrogen plant in South Korea as part of efforts to become carbon neutral throughout its petrochemical production. The plant, to be located in its Daesan complex, some 75 kilometers southwest of Seoul, will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons of hydrogen by the second quarter of 2024, with the construction work to start early next year. The facilities for cracking naphtha at a high temperature, known as naphtha cracking centers,

Technology June 20, 2022

Naver’s cloud computing arm Naver Cloud said Monday it has partnered with US chip giant Qualcomm and local drone developer Argosdyne to build the nation’s first drones running on the 5G wireless network. Under the partnership, Naver Cloud will build the 5G network infrastructure for drone services, while Argosdyne will develop drones that can be operated to run on Qualcomm’s Flight RB5 5G platform. Flight RB5 5G is the world’s first artificial intelligence- and 5G-ena

Technology June 20, 2022

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to discuss chip partnership, especially on a stable supply of cutting-edge equipment for making advanced chips. Lee, on his two-week Europe trip that started on June 7, was visiting the Netherlands, home to Samsung’s key suppliers, including ASML, the world’s sole producer of extreme ultraviolet lithography systems. According to industry sources, Lee reportedly asked the Dutch PM to

Technology June 15, 2022