SK Group is reportedly seeking to acquire a sizeable stake in TerraPower, a US nuclear power startup backed by Bill Gates, as part of its investment push in the carbon-free energy sector such as electric vehicle batteries and hydrogen. According to local daily Chosun Ilbo on Tuesday, the nation’s third-largest conglomerate is in talks to purchase a 10 percent stake, worth $15.4 million, in TerraPower, from India’s Reliance Industries. “Nothing has been decided yet,” an

Industry April 12, 2022

Samsung Electronics has recently hired Daniel Oh, a corporate governance specialist who worked for Institutional Shareholder Services and BlackRock, as an executive vice president at its global investor relations team. According to the tech giant’s business report Monday, Oh, 48, started working at Samsung in February, becoming the No. 2 man on the investor relations team. Oh who studied economics at MIT has more than 19 years of experience in investor relations and corporate governance

Technology April 11, 2022

Oeam Village, listed as Important Folklore Cultural Heritage No. 236, is located on the southeast slopes of Seolhwasan, some 8 kilometers south of the rural city of Asan in South Chungcheong Province.  The village was created when the Yean Yi clan settled down during the reign of King Seonjo (1567-1608) of the Joseon era. There were many talented descendants of the clan and among them was Yi Gan, a great Confucianism scholar whose pen name was Oeam, the origin of the village’s name.&n

Travel April 9, 2022

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it was highly likely to report its best quarterly earnings in the first quarter this year on upbeat sales of memory chips and smartphones. According to its earnings guidance, the tech giant projected its operating profits at 14.1 trillion won ($11.5 billion) for the first three months of the year, a 50.03 percent increase from a year earlier. The figure topped estimates consensus of 13.8 trillion won among local securities firms compiled by market tracker Fn

Technology April 7, 2022

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday its latest smartphone Galaxy S22 is highly likely to see 1 million unit sales at home this week, calling its sales performance a “smooth ride” despite unfavorable market conditions such as supply chain constraints and slowing domestic smartphone sales. According to the company’s preliminary estimates, the phone’s sales exceeded 900,000 units early this month, and the figure is expected to hit the 1 million mark on Friday, six weeks afte

Technology April 6, 2022

Samsung Electronics and its tech foundation said Tuesday they are spending a combined 48.65 billion won ($40 million) this year to fund 27 new research projects on futuristic technologies from anti-aging to new materials for chips. The tech giant has supported local researchers and their work through the Samsung Science & Technology Foundation since 2013. About 1.5 trillion won has been poured into supporting 735 projects involving 14,000 researchers at some 50 schools over the past decade

Technology April 5, 2022

A rare partnership between crosstown rivals Samsung and LG seems imminent, as they are finalizing talks on LG’s panel supply for Samsung’s upcoming OLED TVs, industry sources said Thursday. “Until early this year, the outlook for their partnership was dimming at least for this year. But the talks have recently been speeding up,” said an industry source on condition of anonymity. The source predicted the first panel shipments could start as early as September, considerin

Technology March 31, 2022

SK Inc., the strategic investment arm of SK Group, on Tuesday pledged to enhance shareholder benefits while consolidating its investment portfolio centering on advanced materials, biopharmaceuticals and carbon neutrality. The holding firm of the nation’s third-largest conglomerate held a general meeting of shareholders at its Seoul headquarters earlier in the day, during which all agenda items, including financial statements for the fiscal year of 2021 and the reelection of SK Group Chai

Industry March 29, 2022

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the world’s top two memory chip makers, are projected to post record first-quarter earnings this year over rising chip prices and robust demand, Yonhap Infomax, a local financial data tracker, said Monday. According to earnings consensus among securities firms here, Samsung, the No. 1 producer of memory chips, is forecast to record 75.21 trillion won ($61.34 billion) in sales and 13.89 trillion won in operating profits in the three months of this year, u

Industry March 28, 2022

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on Wednesday showed high expectations about the private sector playing a bigger role in the agenda-setting process of the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government. “I think it may be the time to rethink the role of the private sector,” Chey told reporters in an interview marking his first anniversary as the chief of the nation’s largest business lobby. “In the past, the governm

Industry March 24, 2022

Hong Ra-hee, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s mother, reportedly sold her shares in the company worth 1.3 trillion won ($1.06 billion) in a block trade Wednesday, the latest stake sale by the Samsung family being carried out apparently to pay inheritance taxes. According to industry sources on Thursday, Hong entrusted the sale of her 0.33 percent stake in Samsung Electronics to KB Bank in September last year and the stake was sold in a block deal through Morgan Stanley an

Industry March 24, 2022

LG Energy Solution and SK On, two Korean battery makers that are increasingly expanding their production base in key markets for electric vehicles, have recently won hefty incentives in the US and Europe, respectively. On Tuesday, the state of Michigan approved a package of incentives worth about $600 million for LG Energy Solution, including $565 million in government subsidies and $132.6 million in tax cuts. The incentives come after the battery maker announced a new investment of $1.7 bil

Industry March 23, 2022

Samsung Group’s two heiresses are reportedly seeking to raise about 400 billion won ($327 million) by selling their shares in Samsung SDS, the IT solutions unit, possibly in a move to secure funds to pay inheritance taxes. According to industry sources Tuesday, a combined 3.9 percent stake in Samsung SDS was sold in a block trade after Monday’s closing through KB Securities and Morgan Stanley. The price ranged between 127,400 won and 129,500 won apiece, about a 7 to 9 percent disco

Industry March 22, 2022

BH, a local display parts supplier for Apple and Samsung Electronics, said Monday it is in talks with LG Electronics to acquire the tech giant’s in-car wireless smartphone charging business. “Discussions are underway to acquire the in-car wireless smartphone charging business as part of efforts to diversity business portfolio and bolster competiveness,” the firm said in a regulatory filing in response to a news report earlier in the day. According to the report, BH is seeki

Technology March 21, 2022

Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho on Thursday hinted at the possibility of building the battery maker’s own plant in the US, a burgeoning market for electric vehicles where the company is setting up a joint venture with Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot vehicles. “Adding to the joint venture with Stellantis, we think there needs to be our own production base in the US,” Choi told reporters after a general meeting of shareholders in Seoul. “We are conside

Industry March 17, 2022