A rapidly aging population is a cause of great concern for South Korea already, but a report released Monday gave another reason to worry about: It would hurt the locomotive of the local economy -- manufacturing. According to the Seoul-based Korea Economic Research Institute, the sector will suffer a severe blow from the graying of the workforce. Its analysis of the demographic trends of the manufacturing workforce over the last 10 years shows that the proportion of workers in their 50s and a

Industry Aug. 23, 2021

LG Electronics said Friday it has forged a business partnership with Hyundai Elevator, seeking joint opportunities to integrate robotics technologies into buildings such as residential apartments, office buildings or hospitals. The home appliance giant signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hyundai affiliate that provides various kinds of elevators for both residential and corporate buildings during a ceremony held at LG Science Park in western Seoul. “LG will partner with Hyund

Technology Aug. 20, 2021

South Korea’s large business groups increased their investments by nearly 5 percent in the first half of 2021, according to data by a local market researcher on Friday. Including the country’s biggest tech giant Samsung Electronics, the top 332 Korean companies invested a combined 82.8 trillion won ($70.3 billion) in the January-June period, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, showed figures released by CEO Score. The investment amount surged 12.6 percent in the first half of 201

Industry Aug. 20, 2021

South Korean Justice Minister Park Beom-kye on Thursday reiterated his stance that Samsung Group’s de facto chief Lee Jae-yong is not technically working at Samsung and so is not breaking a work ban imposed on him. “It is hard to say Lee is employed at this moment,” Park told reporters on Thursday, repeating what he said a day before. “Lee has not been paid for years, does not have a permanent position and is not a registered executive.” Park then added, &ldquo

Technology Aug. 19, 2021

In another sign of the rise of the “new rich” in Korea Inc., the producer behind K-pop juggernaut BTS topped the list of highest-paid executives in the first half of this year, beating the country’s far more prominent tycoons running conglomerates like Samsung, Hyundai and LG. According to regulatory filings by listed companies on Wednesday, senior song producer Kang Hyo-won took home the biggest sum during the first six months of this year, receiving a total of 40.07 billi

Industry Aug. 18, 2021

Samsung Group’s de facto chief Lee Jae-yong is going full speed ahead after returning to the office Tuesday, tending to tasks waiting for his attention at Samsung Electronics. On Tuesday, the first working day since his release from jail Friday, the Samsung vice chairman reported to his office at Samsung’s headquarters in Seocho, southern Seoul, early in the morning. Of all the items on his agenda, three appear to be of top priority: compliance, chips and vaccine. It was uncl

Technology Aug. 17, 2021

Samsung Electronics’ two latest foldable smartphones, Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3, didn’t seem to have the “wow” factor when first unveiled, but at a closer look, they do deserve some praise. As a user of Z Flip, with a husband who also owns the Galaxy Z Fold, I personally had expectations for new editions of the foldable devices, hoping they would be “more comfortable” to use in daily life. As I had hoped, Galaxy Z Fold3 became slightly thinner and lighte

Technology Aug. 16, 2021

UIWANG, Gyeonggi Province -- Lee Jae-yong, de facto leader of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Electronics, has been released on parole Friday. At 10 a.m. on Friday, Lee walked free from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province after being jailed for bribery. Around 300 citizens and global media thronged the area in the hours before Lee’s release. In front of the detention center’s gate, members of conservative civic groups held up placards and ba

Technology Aug. 13, 2021

Samsung Electro-Mechanics, a component supplier of Samsung Electronics, said Thursday it has developed two key multi-layer ceramic capacitors for autonomous driving systems. One is the smaller than any MLCCs currently available for advanced driver assist systems, or ADAS, measuring 0.6 millimeters in length and 0.3 mm across, the firm said. The other boasts storage of 47 microfarads. The company expects the new products to be widely used for self-driving cars in the foreseeable future. T

Technology Aug. 12, 2021

Samsung Electronics is making a big bet on the fate of its smartphone business by replenishing its flagship lineup for the remaining 2021 with cheaper, more durable foldable smartphones. The Korean tech giant presented the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3, two models of the Galaxy Watch4 and the wireless ear buds Galaxy Buds2, in a Galaxy Unpacked show that was live-streamed from Seoul at 11 p.m. Wednesday. The third-generation models of the inwardly folding Z Fold and clamshell-type Z Fl

Technology Aug. 11, 2021

CJ OliveNetworks, an IT solution provider of CJ Group, said Wednesday that the company succeeded in establishing a network using public cloud and software-based WAN in Germany in what it said was an industry first. Known as SD-WAN, the software-defined network enables establishing virtual over-lay networks by connecting with a variety of networks like MPLS, internet and 4G, providing customers with flexibility and efficiency. The CJ affiliate adopted SD-WAN to the public cloud systems used

Technology Aug. 11, 2021

It was Samsung Group’s de facto chief Lee Jae-yong who in 2019 unveiled Samsung Electronics’ whopping 133 trillion won ($155.77 billion) investment plan, in front of President Moon Jae-in, with a vision to grow the presence of the world’s No. 1 memory chip maker in nonmemory fields. Two years have passed and the Korean chipmaker appears to have made little process on the quest. With its chief busy fighting criminal charges, including bribery and embezzlement, and being plac

Technology Aug. 10, 2021

With its de facto chief Lee Jae-yong set to be released from jail this week, attention is turning to the fate of Samsung Electronics in its mission to become the world’s No. 1 integrated device manufacturer amid a heightening race for leadership in the global chip market. With a void at the top leadership, the IT giant has been suffering from apparent delays in its decision-making process, affecting significant investment plans. Lee’s return is expected to expedite the firm’

Technology Aug. 9, 2021

The Ministry of Justice on Monday decided to parole Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is in prison for bribery. He will walk free from the Seoul Detention Center in a southern suburb of Seoul at 10 a.m. on Friday, about 11 months before the end of his sentence. The de facto chief of Samsung Group is among over 800 prisoners to be released the same day as part of South Korea’s long tradition of clemency for Liberation Day, which falls on Aug. 15. “The committee

Industry Aug. 9, 2021

Kakao Corp., the No. 1 mobile messenger app operator in South Korea, said Friday that it plans to expand the domestic ecosystem for subscription-based platforms while also seeking to grow its profit in the Japanese webtoon market. The plans were revealed during the firm’s earnings call for the second quarter. During the call, Kakao announced that it had achieved 42 percent on-year growth in sales for the April to June period, posting 1.35 trillion won ($1.18 billion). Its operating p

Technology Aug. 6, 2021