LG Innotek said Tuesday it has developed a cutting-edge direct-heating camera module designed for autonomous vehicles, which can quickly remove frost and snow from the lens. The latest module is an optimized version of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems cameras, equipped with a heater to promote safe autonomous driving, especially during extremely cold weather conditions. An increasing number of automakers consider direct-heating cameras essential products for ensuring safe driving, as obstr

Technology Feb. 20, 2024

A labor union comprising workers of four Samsung Group affiliates was officially launched Monday, as employees seek ways to break away from the unreasonable relationship between workers and management. Samsung Group United Union, representing Samsung Electronics' Device Experience division, Samsung Display, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and Samsung Biologics, held an inauguration ceremony earlier in the day in Seoul. “Our purpose is to establish independence in the relations be

Industry Feb. 19, 2024

Samsung Display is on the verge of facing its second-ever labor strike, as unionized workers and the company failed to reach an agreement in wage talks and collective negotiation. The unionists held a fifth round of talks over wages and collective bargaining agreements on Thursday with the display maker's management, but the company showed “no willingness” for a negotiation, the union chief told The Korea Herald on Friday. “From the first round of negotiations that began i

Industry Feb. 16, 2024

Samsung Electronics Chair and Samsung Group leader Lee Jae-yong on Friday visited the group’s biotech arm in Incheon, calling on executives and staff members to set higher goals after the unit posted all-time high earnings last year. At Samsung Biologics’ biopharmaceutical campus in the Songdo Industrial Cluster in Incheon, the chair inspected the construction site of its fifth plant with a capacity of 180,000 liters, slated to go online in April 2025, and was briefed by executives

Industry Feb. 16, 2024

SK Networks unveiled its vision to transform into an artificial intelligence-centered business investment firm on Friday and mapped out a plan to triple its operating income to 700 billion won ($524 million) by the end of 2026. “Based on the innovative foundation of our business model, we will continue to create and grow the happiness of various stakeholders by promoting 'AI democratization,’ ensuring universal access to the benefits of AI technology by fostering a civilization

Industry Feb. 16, 2024

Sapeon, a fabless startup backed by South Korean telecom-to-chip conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it would develop a new semiconductor optimized for on-device artificial intelligence as the market has been witnessing significant growth in recent years. The company said it was selected to get support to develop prototypes for commercializing AI chips with edge AI, IoT and embedded computing firm Advantech Korea under the project dubbed Compass, run by the state-run government research institu

Technology Feb. 16, 2024

Kakao said Thursday it logged all-time high annual sales in 2023 due to increased profitability from its mobile messenger, KakaoTalk. The IT giant reported 8.11 trillion won ($6.08 billion) in sales last year, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier. It marks the first time for the company surpassing the 8 trillion won mark in annual sales. Annual net profit, however, fell 13.5 percent on-year to 501.9 billion won and it shifted to a net loss of 1.5 trillion won, from a net profit of 1.07 trillion w

Technology Feb. 15, 2024

Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies is reportedly preparing to launch the world’s first triple-foldable smartphone within the second quarter, aiming to challenge the dominance of Samsung Electronics in the global foldable phone market. Huawei has reportedly begun the development of a triple-foldable phone, which includes three display panels alongside two sets of hinge technologies. The device will likely sport an S- or Z-shaped form factor, according to news reports on Wednesday. The

Technology Feb. 14, 2024

US tech giant Apple saw its domestic market share exceed 25 percent for the first time in 2023, slightly narrowing the gap with its archrival Samsung Electronics, despite the global economic downturn and decreased demand, a report showed Tuesday. Apple’s share rose 3 percentage points on-year to reach 25 percent in Korea last year, according to the data by market research firm Counterpoint Research, while maintaining the No. 2 spot in the Korean smartphone market. Samsung kept the No. 1

Technology Feb. 13, 2024

  Samsung Electronics said Tuesday its California-based research and development unit has partnered with Princeton University to lead innovation in the sixth-generation telecommunications networking system. Samsung Research America has become a founding member of the corporate affiliates program launched by Princeton University, dubbed the NextG Initiative Corporate Affiliates Program, to lead 6G research and development, the tech giant said. The NextG program aims to bring up technologic

Technology Feb. 13, 2024

Skepticism has grown over the platform act, as the nation’s antitrust watchdog hints at a thorough review of the most contentious aspect of the bill: the preliminary designation of “monopolistic” online platform operators. The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday announced its decision to review the proposed act to explore whether there is an alternative to the ex ante designation that would have similar effects with less impact on the digital services market, before making a fur

Technology Feb. 12, 2024

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong last week renewed his will to continue bold investments despite business uncertainties upon his visit to the construction site of a new 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion) battery plant in Malaysia. According to the tech giant on Monday, the Samsung chief on Friday visited the Malaysian city of Seremban where Samsung SDI, the battery-making arm of Samsung Group, is building its second plant with its completion set for 2025. Samsung SDI aims to bolster its re

Industry Feb. 12, 2024

South Korea's antitrust regulator on Wednesday said it would review its proposed act aimed at regulating monopolistic practices by major online platform players before making a further legislation push, as opposition voices grow. “We’re communicating extensively with the (related) industries here and abroad and stakeholders to legislate the platform act. … Rather than making the bill public shortly, it was deemed desirable to further collect opinions from the industry and

Technology Feb. 7, 2024

Stage X, a consortium comprising Kakao affiliate Stage Five and other unidentified companies, selected as the new operator of the 28 gigahertz band of the fifth-generation network in South Korea, said on Wednesday it would launch a nationwide telecommunications service in the first half of 2025. “We aim to become a new deep-tech telecom company that innovates technology and services,” Seo Sang-won, representative of Stage X, said in a press briefing in Seoul, after the consortium b

Technology Feb. 7, 2024

SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, on Tuesday announced that it would increase its proportion of materials accounted for by recycled materials to over 30 percent by 2030. The target, as part of the company’s carbon neutrality goal, is the first of its kind set by a semiconductor maker. Under the plans, the company aims to first increase recycled material usage to 25 percent by 2025. The company said the target is a part of its plans to implement its carbon neutral

Technology Feb. 6, 2024