Energy-to-semiconductor conglomerate, SK Group, has the largest number of affiliated companies among 76 local business groups with 5 trillion won ($3.9 billion) or more in assets, data showed Monday. According to South Korea's Fair Trade Commission, SK Group, the country's second-largest business group in terms of assets, had 201 affiliates as of Jan. 31. The figure went up by six from just three months ago. It is the first time for the number of affiliates among large business group

Industry Feb. 13, 2023

Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s No. 1 messenger app KakaoTalk, said Friday that it plans to expand its vertical Korean language-based artificial intelligence services based on an AI language model called KoGPT this year. Kakao CEO Hong Eun-taek said in its earnings conference that his group would seek to compete against global AI services with a specialized Korean language service. “The rise of hyperscale AI models like ChatGPT is both an opportunity and a crisis for Kakao,&rd

Technology Feb. 10, 2023

South Korea’s telecom giant KT Corp. said Thursday it will restart the appointment process for its new CEO, accepting applications from potential candidates until Feb. 20. Earlier in December, the company’s CEO candidate review committee appointed the incumbent CEO, Ku Hyeon-mo, as the final candidate to take the helm. But the decision faced opposition from the state-run pension fund and the company’s largest shareholder National Pension Service. Even though Ku seeking his seco

Industry Feb. 9, 2023

South Korean tech giants are shifting their production operations away from China to India to lessen the damage from the lingering uncertainties surrounding the US-China rivalry and to tap further into the world's fifth-largest economy. Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker in terms of shipments, has recently decided to produce the latest Galaxy S23 flagship smartphones in India for local sales – an unprecedented decision considering India had long remained i

Industry Feb. 9, 2023

LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan recently visited the US and Europe to strengthen the company’s presence in the global business-to-business market, seeking ways to expand partnerships with its major clients, the tech firm said Wednesday. Beginning with his attendance at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January, the CEO discussed the electric vehicle component solutions business with LG's strategic overseas partners, including GM and Magna. Cho also trave

Industry Feb. 8, 2023

LOS ANGELES -- After last week's unveiling of the Galaxy S23 smartphone series and Book 3 laptop lineup at this year’s unpacking event in San Francisco, electronic device shoppers and tech aficionados flocked to a Samsung shop in Glendale, in the heart of Los Angeles, on Friday. Situated at the Americana at Brand shopping complex, the Samsung Experience Store is a two-story building with a 1,034 square meter floor space that was opened in February 2019 alongside two other stores loc

Technology Feb. 7, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung Electronics is hoping to expand its presence in the global laptop market where it remains a tiny player, as people are replacing their laptops more frequently after pandemic disruptions. “The replacement cycle of laptops is getting shorter from the previous life span of five years on average since the electric devices are turning into true ‘personal computers’ during the pandemic years,” said Lee Min-cheol, corporate vice president of Samsung&rsqu

Technology Feb. 6, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung Electronics unveiled the new Galaxy S23 smartphones, the latest lineup of its flagship S series, on Wednesday, putting much emphasis on enhanced camera functions -- a secret weapon to fight against its archrival, Apple. “We’ve enhanced our camera system that allows users to take the best photos and videos in any environment. … The Galaxy S23 series not only comes with a 200-megapixel sensor but also provides a satisfactory camera experience with more

Technology Feb. 5, 2023

Artificial intelligence has become a part of our lives, sparking innovation around every corner. After Google DeepMind's AlphaGo surprised the world by winning a historic match against Korean Go grandmaster Lee Se-dol in 2016, the ability of a new humanlike chatbot has recently opened people’s eyes to how far AI has progressed. California-based startup OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in November last year and gained over 1 million users within a week. The AI-powered chatbot is a

Technology Feb. 4, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung Electronics’ mobile head Roh Tae-moon said the South Korean tech titan counts on demand for its premium smartphone devices to drive double-digit growth in sales this year, despite the consumers’ pent-up desire for a phone shopping and macroeconomic headwinds. At a press conference held at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Wednesday, following the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event, Roh showed confidence in expanding the tech firm’s presence in a glob

Technology Feb. 2, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung Electronics on Wednesday unveiled its flagship Galaxy S23 smartphone lineup equipped with upgraded camera functions, faster processors and even sustainable features, touting it “the most powerful S series ever.” The South Korean tech giant held the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco, with some 2,000 journalists and industry people in attendance. It was the first in-person unveiling of the S series phones after thre

Technology Feb. 2, 2023

LG Electronics said Friday its operating earnings for the fourth quarter dipped more than 90 percent from a year earlier on slumping demand for home appliances coupled with global economic difficulties. The consumer electronics giant reported an operating profit of 69.3 billion won ($56.1 million) for the October-December period, down 90.7 percent from the same period a year prior, the regulatory filing showed. It was the first time South Korea’s No. 2 home appliances maker had reported a

Technology Jan. 27, 2023

Samsung Electronics said Thursday that it has won the ISO 22301 certification, a global recognition for crisis preparedness at its chip-manufacturing complex in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The ISO certification, awarded by the British Standards Institution, is the international standard for business continuity management system or BCMS, representing the highest level of commitment to business continuity and disaster preparedness. With the latest recognition, the world’s largest memory chi

Industry Jan. 26, 2023

South Korean telecommunications giant KT Corp. said Thursday it has signed a partnership deal with the Mongolian government to secure a stable supply of some 80 kinds of mineral resources, including rare earth elements. KT CEO Ku Hyeon-mo signed the memorandum of understanding on mineral resources with Ganbaatar Jambal, Mongolia's Mining and Heavy Industry Minister, in Ulaanbaatar on the sidelines of a meeting that aimed to strengthen strategic cooperation in realizing digital transformatio

Industry Jan. 26, 2023

LG Electronics on Tuesday unveiled LG Gram Style, a new addition to the tech giant’s Gram premium laptop lineup that marks its 10th anniversary this year. The Gram debuted in 2014 as the industry’s lightest 13-inch laptop, weighing just 980 grams. The Style comes in 14- and 16-inch models. The 16-inch model is the first Gram laptop equipped with an organic light-emitting diode display.

Technology Jan. 24, 2023