Articles by Son Ji-hyoung
Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
Eurocell to build $800m battery plant in Netherlands
A next-generation secondary battery joint venture backed by South Korean manufacturers including Eurocell has been in talks with the Netherlands authorities to pick the nation as the site for its first European gigafactory, according to the company Thursday. The Anglo-Korean joint venture Eurocell EMEA, based in Birmingham, the United Kingdom, is expected to build the new facility in two phases following a total of $800 million investment by 2025. “With rapid expansion plans in Europe,
Technology Aug. 18, 2022
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LX Semicon eyes Kospi listing
South Korean chip design house LX Semicon is seeking shareholder approval for a delisting from the stock market’s Kosdaq development board and a listing on the main board Kospi, filings showed Thursday. LX Semicon, a chipmaker dedicated to display driver integrated circuits for TVs and mobile phones, is scheduled to hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting on Sept. 23 at its headquarters in Daejeon. The listing change earned board approval Wednesday, 13 years after the listing on the Ko
Technology Aug. 18, 2022
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Merck to acquire Mecaro’s chemical biz for 110m euros
German electronics technology firm Merck announced Wednesday that it has signed a deal to acquire the semiconductor-grade industrial gas and chemical operation of Korea-based listed company Mecaro for 110 million euros ($111.9 million). The transaction will involve business assets dedicated to chemical precursors used in thin film deposition for semiconductors, as well as some 100 employees. Mecaro is expected to split off the chemical business for the deal. The cash deal is expected to be clo
Industry Aug. 17, 2022
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Ex-Kakao CEOs highest paid executives in H1
Yeo Min-soo and Joh Su-yong, who stepped down from top seats of mobile internet giant Kakao Corp. earlier this year, were highest paid executives in South Korea in the first half of this year, filings showed Wednesday. Joh was disclosed to have been compensated 36.15 billion won ($27.59 million), while Yeo was paid 33.22 billion won, by the company dedicated to mobile messengers, gaming and entertainment, during the January-June period in 2022, according to filings submitted with the Financial
Industry Aug. 17, 2022
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Full-fledged succession looms after pardon for Samsung's Lee Jae-yong
Samsung is envisioning a change in governance structure as a presidential pardon has virtually normalized de facto leader Lee Jae-yong’s control over the nation’s largest conglomerate. Lee Chan-hee, chief of Samsung’s independent compliance oversight committee, told the press before the committee’s regular meeting Tuesday that it is “working to address the corporate governance issue” of Samsung, while declining to elaborate further on the proceedings. &ldqu
Technology Aug. 16, 2022
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Samsung unveils world’s largest gaming monitor
Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday that it has launched the world’s largest curved gaming monitor -- at 55 inches -- that wraps around users’ field of view to bring their gaming experience to the next level. “A curved monitor gives users a fully immersive experience if viewed from the distance of 80 centimeters, as a flat monitor would cover less of a user‘s peripheral vision,” Chung Kang-il, vice president of visual display at Samsung Electronics, said at a pre
Technology Aug. 16, 2022
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Pardon clears way for Lee to fill Samsung’s leadership void, spur investment
President Yoon Suk-yeol’s decision to grant a special pardon on Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong on Friday is expected to speed up his return to leadership of Korea’s largest family-controlled chaebol and the world’s largest memory chipmaker. Set to be granted on Aug. 15 Liberation Day, the clemency will lift the employment restriction placed on him that was effective until 2027. This would open the door for the 54-year-old third-generation chaebol chief to be promoted to the chairma
Technology Aug. 12, 2022
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By 2025, half of Samsung’s premium phone shipment will be foldables
Samsung Electronics mobile head, Roh Tae-moon, said the South Korean tech giant looks to target wider audiences with its Galaxy foldable phones in a bid to address the sluggish growth of its premium smartphones and macroeconomic headwinds, in a press conference held Wednesday, in New York. As the clamshell-type Galaxy Z Flip and book-type Galaxy Z Fold evolve, the combined shipments of two models by the world’s largest foldable phone maker will outsize that of other Galaxy premium smartp
Technology Aug. 11, 2022
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[Newsmaker] Samsung foldables to get chipset upgrade
Samsung Electronics, a chips-to-smartphones company, said Wednesday it plans to roll out its clamshell Galaxy Z Flip 4 and foldable Galaxy Z Fold 4 on Aug. 26 in South Korea, the United States and Europe. Both the Z Flip 4, a more affordable version of the Samsung premium phone that would deploy foldable form factors, and the Z Fold 4, a workspace-dedicated tabletlike device, will boast enhanced camera features and chipsets that power them. The Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 will deploy a new mobile ch
Technology Aug. 10, 2022
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Samsung suffers heavier taxes, cost per hire than TSMC: think tank
The heavier burden of corporate taxes and cost per hire are weighing on South Korean chipmaking giants like Samsung Electronics, indicating the unfavorable conditions leave them behind competitors like Taiwan-based TSMC amid intensifying semiconductor competition worldwide, according to a local think tank Wednesday. Korea sets the maximum rate of the corporate tax at 25 percent -- imposed on taxable income of large business entities like Samsung -- as a result of a tax hike by 3 percentage poi
Technology Aug. 10, 2022
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Korea’s trade deficit with China to persist: KCCI
South Korea’s trade deficit with China is likely to persist for the time being, unless Korea strives to achieve supply chain independence from China, according to a report by lobby group Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. The growing reliance on China over key materials used for Korean semiconductor or battery manufacturing signals Seoul‘s need to upgrade its free trade agreement terms with China as cost attractiveness of Chinese goods will continue to deteriorate Ko
Industry Aug. 9, 2022
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Korean battery makers keep close tabs on US Inflation Reduction Act
South Korean lithium-ion battery cell makers are expected to be beneficiaries once the Inflation Reduction Act comes into force in the United States, as the bill is likely to induce US electric vehicle makers to cut their reliance on Chinese battery components. But at the same time, Korean battery makers are now pressured to preemptively diversify their import sources of key materials out of China, as the new US bill is apparently aimed at countering China’s influence on the EV supply cha
Technology Aug. 9, 2022
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Hanwha chairman's wife dies at 61
Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn’s wife, Suh Yung-min, died at 61 at a hospital in the United States on Sunday, as she was suffering from cancer, the group said Tuesday. Suh is survived by Kim, who leads South Korea‘s seventh-largest conglomerate dedicated to chemicals, renewable energy and finance, and their three sons, Dong-kwan, Dong-won and Dong-sun. Suh, who studied pharmaceuticals at Seoul National University, was the daughter of five-term lawmaker Suh Chung-hwa, who fo
Industry Aug. 9, 2022
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Seoul weighs ‘Chip 4’ alliance as ties with China hang in balance
South Korea is poised to join a working-level meeting of government officials involving major chipmaking nations along with the United States, Taiwan and Japan, amid mounting concerns over China’s retaliation. Seoul has had to tread carefully around Beijing, as memory chip giants such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fear that its chipmaking base in China might be affected by Seoul‘s decision to join the so-called “Chip 4” alliance. President Yook Suk-yeol told repo
Technology Aug. 8, 2022
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[Market Eye] SK hynix’s W122tr chip cluster project hits snag over water dispute
SK hynix’s 121.7 trillion won ($93.8 billion) plan to set up a semiconductor manufacturing cluster is facing an unexpected hurdle as the South Korean chipmaking giant is being denied a request for water usage from a city adjacent to the cluster’s location in Greater Seoul. The city of Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, is demanding greater compensation in exchange for letting SK hynix build underground pipes needed to transport massive amounts of water crucial for producing next-generation
Technology Aug. 7, 2022
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