Articles by Son Ji-hyoung
Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
Lawmakers float bill to triple tax benefits for chipmakers
South Korean lawmakers are poised to propose a new bill aimed at providing domestic chipmakers with more extensive tax benefits in return for facility investment, a step toward its own version of the US-passed CHIPS Act to be effective Thursday. The new bill, unveiled Tuesday by a group of lawmakers led by independent lawmaker Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, is designed to triple the tax incentives for chipmakers, an apparent move to encourage more investment from semiconductor players. At least 20 perce
Technology Aug. 2, 2022
-
SK hynix completes Key Foundry acquisition
South Korean chipmaker SK hynix said Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of domestic contract-based chip manufacturer Key Foundry The announcement came nine months after SK hynix signed a 575.8 billion won ($440.3 million) deal in October to acquire the entire stake of the 200-millimeter wafer foundry company based in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, from local private equity firms Alchemist Capital Partners and Gravity Private Equity. SK hynix added that it has won the antitru
Technology Aug. 2, 2022
-
SK hynix to mass-produce CXL memory chips from 2023
South Korean memory chip maker SK hynix said Monday it has sampled the first memory product under the compute express link memory interface, a concept considered a game-changer in the electronics industry that is facing memory storage bottleneck. The announcement heralds SK hynix‘s long-awaited move to enter the market and roll out expandable CXL memory products for servers by 2023, according to the world’s second-largest DRAM chip maker. CXL is a newly-emerging semiconductor stand
Industry Aug. 1, 2022
-
SK Geo Centric, Tokuyama to build plant for wafer washing agent
South Korean petrochemical firm SK Geo Centric has started construction on a facility to produce semiconductor wafer surface washing material with Tokyo-based chemical firm Tokuyama in Ulsan, a city some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, the company announced Monday. SK Geo Centric aims to produce some 30,000 tons of semiconductor-grade high-purity isopropyl alcohol each year through a 50:50 joint venture with Tokuyama called Stac beginning in 2024. Isopropyl alcohol is the material used to c
Industry Aug. 1, 2022
-
SK On to attract $2b loan to back 3rd battery plant in Europe
South Korean lithium-ion battery cell maker SK On announced Thursday that it plans to attract a combined $2 billion loan to ramp up its push for a new battery plant in Europe. The green financing will come from seven commercial banks with three export credit agencies -- Korea Trade Insurance Corp., Export-Import Bank of Korea and Allianz Trade (formerly known as Euler Hermes) -- supporting loans, loan guarantees and insurance. The borrowing will go to SK On‘s third European battery plant
Industry July 28, 2022
-
Samsung’s profit surges 12% in Q2 on server demand, premium phone sales
Samsung Electronics logged an operating profit of 14.1 trillion won ($10.77 billion) during the second quarter, up 12.2 percent from the previous year despite rising material prices and recession fears that are weakening consumer demands, the company said Thursday. The South Korean tech giant’s quarterly revenue from April to June came to 77.2 trillion won, up 21.3 percent from a year prior, slightly beating the market consensus of 77 trillion won. The quarterly sales figure was the seco
Technology July 28, 2022
-
Samsung to help local logic chip designers save prototype costs
Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor chip foundry business looks to help select smaller chip design houses to create prototypes and validate the pre-production concepts of their own chips. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Samsung will offer multi-project wafer shuttle services to five fabless companies -- DeepX, GLS, SKAi Chips, Semibrain and Raontech -- with the government partially subsidizing the program. The five startups were chosen after a monthlong selection process.
Industry July 27, 2022
-
LG Chem to supply cathode active materials to GM for 8 years
South Korean battery material firm LG Chem announced Wednesday plans to supply at least 950,000 tons of cathode active materials used for electric vehicles to General Motors over the next eight years, which would be enough for some 5 million units. Under the long-term supply agreement, LG Chem will supply cathode materials of nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum -- which represent about 40 percent of the cost of a battery cell -- starting the second half of 2022 through 2030. According to
Industry July 27, 2022
-
Chinese envoy warns Korea against ‘interference’ in chip supply chain
The Chinese Ambassador to South Korea urged a Korean lawmaker who leads a parliamentary semiconductor committee to exclude “external interference” in chip supply chains and for closer bilateral cooperation in chips, according to the Chinese embassy in Seoul. “China is willing to work with South Korea under the principle of a fair and just market, eliminate external interference, strengthen cooperation in semiconductors and other fields, and jointly maintain the stability of th
Industry July 26, 2022
-
LG Energy Solution to set up 1st Korean battery recycling plant in China
LG Energy Solution said Tuesday it looks to set up its first South Korean-Chinese joint battery cell recycling facilities in China for stable supply of key battery materials from battery manufacturing scraps and used batteries. LG Energy Solution, Korea’s largest lithium-ion battery manufacturer by production capacity, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to launch a joint venture for the new recycling plant by the end of this year, according to its releas
Industry July 26, 2022
-
Samsung beats TSMC in advanced smartphone chipset foundry market
Samsung Electronics’ contract-based chip manufacturing operations have surpassed Taiwan-based foundry rival TSMC in terms of smartphone chipset shipments on advanced nodes in the first quarter, data showed Sunday. Samsung captured some 60 percent of market share in the leading nodes of 5-nanometer or more sophisticated manufacturing process for chipsets going to smartphones from application processors to system-on-chips in the first quarter, according to data by market intelligence Count
Technology July 17, 2022
-
Seoul pressured to join chip alliance against China
The growing call on South Korea to participate in the United States-led chip alliance across East Asia is putting the semiconductor powerhouse, home to Samsung and SK hynix, again in a strategic dilemma. Sitting in the crosshairs of US-China economic warfare, Korea is being pressured to choose a side by joining the new semiconductor alliance of the US, Taiwan and Japan, with Korea making up the fourth in the so-called “Chip 4.” Alternatively, Korea might choose not to join them, con
Technology July 14, 2022
-
Samsung samples world’s fastest GDDR6 memory using EUV tech
Chip-to-smartphone giant Samsung Electronics said Thursday it has unveiled the industry’s fastest GDDR6-standard memory chips for next-generation graphics cards, using the cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet photolithography process. The newest third-generation 10 nanometer-class GDDR6 DRAM is designed to deliver 30 percent faster processing speeds than its predecessor, as they feature 24 gigabits-per-second data transfer rate per pin. The predecessor, featuring speeds of 18 Gbps, has been m
Technology July 14, 2022
-
US Treasury Secretary's Seoul visit raises expectation on currency swap
United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is poised to hold talks with South Korea‘s key financial policymakers, raising market expectations of a possible currency swap amid the growing strength of the US dollar against the local currency. Her two-day visit to Korea on July 19-20 will take place immediately after the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, scheduled from Friday to Saturday. During her visit, the secretary will also visit L
Industry July 13, 2022
-
SK Innovation invests $20m in Fulcrum BioEnergy
South Korean chemical firm SK Innovation said Wednesday it has made a $20 million equity investment in US renewable fuels firm Fulcrum BioEnergy. Fulcrum has commercialized a process to produce synthetic oil for transportation by gasifying household waste. With the fresh capital, Fulcrum is expected to reach Asian markets, including Korea, under an exclusive licensing agreement with SK Innovation. Fulcrum began its initial operations of its inaugural biorefinery, the Sierra BioFuels Plant l
Industry July 13, 2022
Most Popular
-
1
Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
-
2
Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
-
3
S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
-
4
[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
-
5
Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
-
6
Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
-
7
Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
-
8
[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
-
9
Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
-
10
Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket