LG Electronics Inc. on Wednesday announced the global launch of its 2020 TV lineup, led by 14 new OLED models with upgraded artificial intelligence (AI) features, to expand its presence in the premium TV market. LG said its CX series 4K OLED AI ThinQ TVs will be available this month in South Korea and the United States, followed by markets in other regions. The 55-and 65-inch CX models will go on sale in South Korea on Wednesday, while the 77-inch version will be launched next month, it a

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., South Korea's largest power equipment maker, said Wednesday it is considering asking idle workers to take paid leave as part of efforts to cut costs amid dwindling orders. Doosan Heavy said idle workers can receive 70 percent of their basic monthly wage for up to three months. The planned paid leave is subject to endorsement of Doosan Heavy's labor union. Doosan Heavy said it had 6,700 employees at the end of December, though it did not give det

Companies go to video interviews, YouTube for recruitment

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to release its 5G smartphones in more than 40 countries this year, a company official Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant seeks to further expand its global presence amid the rise of the next-generation mobile service. Samsung's 5G smartphones were sold in 22 countries last year, but the number of countries that the world's largest smartphone maker will sell its 5G mobile devices may double this year as many mobile carriers around the globe prepare to start

HDC Hyundai Development Co., a midsized construction company, said Wednesday its takeover of Asiana Airlines Inc. is going as planned despite the spreading coronavirus outbreak. In December, the HDC-Mirae Asset Daewoo consortium signed a deal to acquire a 30.77 percent Asiana stake from Kumho Industrial Co., a construction unit of Kumho Asiana Group, as well as new shares to be issued and the airline's six affiliates, for 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion). "There have been growing concern

Gender gap in employment remains wide

Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday the spread of the coronavirus in South Korea is credit negative for its rated transportation companies amid declining traffic volumes. The extent of the virus' adverse impact on the transportation industry will depend on the duration of disruptions and evolving public sentiment, Moody's said in a statement. "Given the spread of the coronavirus, people in Korea will be less likely to commute and go out for social and business gatherings, thereby

Four out of 10 companies in South Korea are willing to allow their employees to work from home on hopes of containing the coronavirus outbreak, a poll showed Wednesday. The South Korean government has urged local communities to take part in social distancing, a series of tactics designed to keep people from gathering in large crowds, including working from home and avoiding in-person meetings. A survey released by the online job portal Saramin showed about 40.5 percent of the 1,089 local firm

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's leading mobile carrier, said Wednesday it has established a digital health care joint venture with a local private equity fund (PEF) after spinning off its health care business unit. Invites Healthcare Co. will aim to drive growth of the health care industry using its advanced information and communication technology (ICT), according to SK Telecom. Newlake Alliance Management, a local private equity firm, will serve as the largest shareholder of the joint venture

 Samsung Electronics Co. was the third-largest vendor of wearable devices last year, a market report showed Wednesday, amid soaring global demand for wearables. Samsung shipped 30.9 million units of wearable devices last year, more than doubling from a year earlier, according to the latest report from market tracker International Data Corp. (IDC). The South Korean tech giant took a 9.2 percent share in the global wearables market in 2019, up 2.3 percentage points from a year earlier, I

The number of passengers on flights between South Korea and Japan nosedived this month, as the two countries enforced entry restrictions over the coronavirus spread. As of Monday morning, Japan suspended its visa-waiver program for Korean citizens, on top of asking arriving passengers to stay at designated facilities for two weeks. In response, Korea also suspended its 90-day visa-free entry program for Japanese. Incheon International Airport Corp. estimated that 318 passengers traveled on th

South Korean tech firms said Tuesday they are gearing up for the commercialization of 5G services in Japan with plans to roll out latest smartphone models as SoftBank Telecom is set to launch operations this month. Samsung Electronics is likely to launch the Galaxy S20 lineup, introducing 5G phones for the first time in Japan. SoftBank will be the first Japanese mobile carrier to launch 5G services on March 27, with other Japanese carriers like NTT and KDDI are also planning to launch soon.

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's national flag carrier, has offered a voluntary leave program to its employees, sources here said Tuesday, as the company suffers a sharp drop in travel demand amid growing angst over the novel coronavirus. Korean Air's flight attendants who have worked for the company for at least two years can take up to three months of voluntary leave starting this month, according to sources. This is the second time that the air carrier has offered such a program to its

Hyosung ITX, an information technology affiliate of Hyosung, will strengthen its shareholder return policy by increasing dividends and buying treasury shares, the firm said on Tuesday. The company said it would implement a quarterly dividend system -- from the current one-time dividend per year -- starting this year and increase dividend payments by 30 percent. It also plans to increase shareholder value by purchasing its treasury shares and encouraging the electronic voting system. Hyosung

The number of passengers using Incheon International Airport in the first week of March dropped by 80 percent on-year, the lowest since 2003, according to the airport operator Tuesday. Incheon International Airport Corp. said that from March 1-8 the number of passengers who transited South Korea’s gateway airport came at 298,307, less than one-fifth of 1,536,594 last year.  During the first week of March, an average number of passengers using Incheon airport was around 37,000.