Korean battery makers are speeding up efforts to diversify their supply chains to source key materials, including graphite, as the US pushes back the deadline for the ban on the use of Chinese minerals by two years. Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department announced an extension to its $7,500 tax credit scheme for electric vehicles containing components from Foreign Entities of Concern, which includes China, until the end of 2026. "There have been concerns that if Korean batteries fai

Industry May 12, 2024

LG Display has started talks to sell off its last liquid crystal display manufacturing plant in China in an apparent move to focus on consolidating its leadership in the more advanced organic light-emitting diode display market. According to industry sources on Thursday, LG Display is discussing the issue with Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as a pricey display plant is considered the nation’s strategic asset whose sales should be approved by the government. In a regul

Industry May 9, 2024

Countries have been rolling out competitive subsidy programs to boost their edge in the critical semiconductor industry. For South Korea, it is difficult to come up with such direct support programs, but the government is working to create an environment to benefit long-term investment in the sector, Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said in a press briefing Tuesday. Ahn also explained that the ministry, along with other government entities will set up a public fund to support strategic industries,

Industry May 8, 2024

With the US imposing strict trade restrictions on China's advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment, Beijing has been ramping up efforts to develop home-grown artificial intelligence chips to keep up with the global AI boom. Recently, the Chinese government and chipmakers have been working together to produce high-bandwidth memory chips, a crucial component in graphic processing units. With the backing of the government, the consortium led by Huawei aims to produce HBM2 by 2026. Indu

Industry May 7, 2024

While the Japanese government is pressuring Naver to shed ownership in Line, the dominating messaging app in Japan, the Korean internet giant said it will make a decision based on the benefit of the company's business, the chief executive officer said Friday. During an earnings call, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said the administrative guidance issued by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications last month, demanding Tokyo-based LY Corp., the operator of Line, to lower its dep

Industry May 3, 2024

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to Seoul on Friday after his trip to Europe, where he made a surprise visit to Vatican City to meet with Pope Francis, and met with business counterparts for cooperation. During the 10-day trip, Lee traveled to Germany, France and Italy, and checked on the company's business operations there. “The spring has come,” he told reporters without further explanation, upon his arrival at the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center. He did

Industry May 3, 2024

SK hynix on Thursday said that its high-bandwidth memory chips have already sold out until 2025, boasting its leadership in the advanced memory chip market for artificial intelligence. "Demand for ultra-fast, high-capacity and low-power memory products for AI applications is expected to see explosive growth,” said SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung during a press conference held at the company’s headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. “Our HBM chips from the 2024 output have al

Industry May 2, 2024

After logging losses for five consecutive quarters, Samsung Electronics' chip business returned to the black in the first quarter this year, thanks to rising demand for high-end chips and a surge in chip prices. In its earnings report for the January-March period on Tuesday, Samsung said its chip division reported 23.1 trillion won ($16.7 billion) in sales and 1.91 trillion won in operating profits. The profit comes after the company suffered operating losses for five consecutive quarters.

Industry April 30, 2024

China outpaced Korea in the shipment of organic light-emitting display panels for IT gadgets for the first time in the first quarter of this year, stirring concerns that Korean manufacturers could eventually be pushed out of the market by Chinese rivals. According to Chinese market tracker Cinno Research on Monday, China's OLED shipments for IT gadgets including smartphones and tablet PCs accounted for 53.4 percent of the total in the January-March period, ahead of Korea’s 46.6 percen

Industry April 29, 2024

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with top executives of German optics manufacturer Zeiss, a crucial partner for the Korean tech giant's push to lead the burgeoning market for artificial intelligence chips, during his recent trip to Europe. According to Samsung on Sunday, its chief toured the Zeiss headquarters in Oberkochen on Friday and discussed long-term partnerships with Zeiss Group CEO Karl Lamprecht and Zeiss Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology CEO Andreas Pecher. Lee&

Industry April 28, 2024

Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday unveiled a slew of new vehicles at the 2024 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, ramping up efforts to boost its sluggish presence in the world's largest automotive market. At the Beijing Auto Show, one of the biggest motor shows that has returned in-person after four years, all three brands of the Korean auto giant -- Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis -- promised to introduce electric vehicles tailored for Chinese customers. Unveiling the Ioniq 5 N hig

Industry April 25, 2024

South Korean robotics startup WIRobotics aims to transform the walking experience via its award-winning wearable robot WIM, made lighter and more convenient for everyday use, the company's chief said Wednesday. "We believe humans will be able to enhance walking and physical abilities with the assistance of the interactive robotics technology, and have thought wearable robots will be optimal," WIRobotics CEO and Chief Technology Officer Kim Yong-jae said at the press conference in

Industry April 24, 2024

SK hynix is joining hands with TSMC, the world’s top foundry, to develop High Bandwidth Memory 4 and cutting-edge packaging technology, the company said on Friday. Under the partnership agreement, the two sides plan to proceed with the development of HBM4, the sixth-generation model of the advanced memory chip, and enhance logic and HBM integration through advanced packaging technology, SK hynix said. "We expect a strong partnership with TSMC to help accelerate our efforts for open co

Industry April 19, 2024

SK hynix Chief Executive Officer Kwak Noh-jung underscored the importance of cooperation between South Korea and the US, warning that it is "dangerous" to concentrate semiconductor supply chains in any one region, during his visit to Washington. Speaking at the “Chips for America: Execute for Global Success” forum on Wednesday, Kwak also noted that SK hynix is working to develop highly advanced technologies to meet the growing needs in the artificial intelligence market. Th

Industry April 18, 2024

Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chip maker by revenue, has developed the industry's fastest LPDDR5X memory chip optimized for on-device artificial intelligence applications, the company said Wednesday. The new Low Power Double Data Rate 5X manifests the highest performance of up to 10.7 gigabits-per-second and is the smallest in size among existing products leveraging the 12-nanometer-class process technology, the company said. The speed is equal to sending about 20 4-gigab

Industry April 17, 2024