Samsung focuses on expanding from smartphones to smart home, automobiles, medicine, and entertainment

Chiefs of SK, GS and Hyundai Motor meet China’s state councilor, seeking ties

South Korean retail giants Lotte and Shinsegae are likely to vie for acquiring 100 percent of Ministop Korea, the fourth-largest convenience store chain here in terms of the number of locations. According to Japan’s Aeon Group, the largest shareholder of Ministop Korea, it had received bid proposals from Lotte, Shinsegae and Seoul-based Glenwood Private Equity as of Tuesday.  Ministop Korea (Yonhap)A preferred bidder is to be decided in a week, according to Nomura Securities, which was chosen as

Encouraged by its expanding battery cells business, analysts here are raising their estimates of the value of SK Innovation amid a series of new orders and investment plans by the firm.SK Innovation(Yonhap)SK Innovation, the owner of South Korea’s biggest refiner, SK Energy, is expected to see its corporate value in 2022 increase by 14 trillion won from the current level, according analyst Lee Do-yeon of Korea Investment and Securities Co. Added to the current value, the figure in four years cou

Kakao’s smart speaker Kakao Mini can now read out loud KakaoTalk messages sent to your phone -- a feature that users have long been calling for.Kakao said Tuesday that Kakao Mini has been updated to include the new function. Users can go to the settings on the Kakao Mini configuration app to activate the feature.The new function is made available through a combination of natural language processing and voice recognition engines developed by Kakao, the company said. Messages from one-on-one chatr

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. posted improved sales in China in the January-October period after a diplomatic row over a U.S. missile defense system last year, the companies said Tuesday. From January to October, Hyundai sold 631,171 vehicles in China, up 11 percent from 569,356 units a year earlier. Kia's sales rose 9.1 percent to 278,382 autos from 255,182 during the same period, the carmakers' sales data showed. The corporate headquarters of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Mo

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to adopt a full-screen display for the upcoming flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone that will come with a "punch hole" at the top for the camera, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, including popular tech blogger Evan Blass, Samsung's Galaxy S10 smartphone is anticipated to come with the new feature for its front-facing selfie shooter. This is an upgrade from some of the "intrusive" notch-design handsets sold in the market at present.  (Yonhap)T

 Mobile payments at South Korean convenience stores have more than doubled this year thanks to the greater use of smartphones and the expansion of mobile settlement services, a market player said Tuesday.South Korea's top convenience store chain CU said the number of so-called easy mobile payments at its outlets soared 121.5 percent on-year in the first 10 months of the year. (Yonhap)Convenience chain operators in Asia's fourth-largest economy adopted the easy mobile payment system in 2011, but

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) - Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn was reportedly under arrest in Tokyo on Monday, as his firm accused him of “significant acts of misconduct” and said it would seek to oust him.　Japan's public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets said Ghosn had been arrested after being questioned by Japanese prosecutors for various improprieties including underreporting his income.　“The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office arrested Nissan chairman Ghosn on suspicion of violation of the F

Hyundai’s own racing team ranked second in WRC

Koh Dong-jin, CEO of Samsung Electronics’ smartphone business, is making all-out efforts to seek a breakthrough in the company with the introduction of the 10th edition of the Galaxy and the world’s first commercial foldable smartphone. 　Koh recently said in a corporate message to executives and employees of the information technology and mobile communications division of Samsung that he felt “sorry about the currently struggling status of the Samsung smartphone business and will do my best to o

A regional program of the Boao Forum, referred to as Asia’s Davos conference, kicked off Monday in Seoul, bringing more than 800 political and business leaders from China and South Korea together to discuss the future of Asia. The first event held in Asia outside of China was jointly organized by the Federation of Korean Industries, once an influential business lobby group here. Eyes are on not only the significance of the event, but also on whether it could be a chance for the FKI to rebuild it

The Korea International Trade Association hosted a meeting Monday between US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris and executives from major Korean conglomerates doing business in the US, in an effort to boost trade.KITA CEO Kim Young-ju (left) and executives from Korean conglomerates meet with US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris (right) and other representatives from the US Embassy, in an effort to boost trade between the two nations, in Seoul on Monday. (KITA)The meeting held in Seoul w

Korea Gas Corp. aims to take the lead in the global market with its liquefied natural gas business on the back of its stable business at home. Liquefied natural gas is widely considered a “clean” fuel because dust, sulfur and nitrogen are removed in the liquefaction process, therefore lower levels of pollutants are emitted when it burns. It also presents a lower risk of explosion even if it leaks, as the gas tends to dissipate in the air. Korea Gas Corp. holds a ceremony to mark the beginning of

South Korea’s leading mobile carrier KT said Monday it has opened a smart farm with cutting-edge information and communications technology in the United Arab Emirates, marking the company’s first ICT export to the Middle East region. The KT smart farm, about 600 square meters in size, is located in the Emirate of Sharjah, the third-largest region after Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It was established in cooperation with the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, which offers rehabilitation and education