SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top wireless carrier, said Wednesday its second-quarter net income rose 84 percent on-year thanks to gains in its equity ties with its chip-making affiliate SK hynix Inc. and growth in 5G users. Net income stood at 795.7 billion won ($689.2 million) in the April-June period on a consolidated basis, compared with 432.3 billion won a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. Operating income rose 10.8 percent to 396.6 billion won over the same period, while sa

Samsung‘s presence in processor, foundry markets remains weak, but is expected to spur investments with its chief back at the helm

SK Bioscience has been given the green light to proceed with a late stage clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, heightening expectations for a homegrown vaccine becoming available next year. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Tuesday that it has given approval to the SK Group company’s plan for the final-stage Phase 3 study of GBP510, based on interim data from the company’s phase 1clinical trial. Developed in collaboration with the University of Washingt

Two days into online vaccine bookings for those aged 18-49, South Korea has experienced no major errors and system crashes so far, unlike previous sessions for other age groups. According to government officials, the main reason behind the smoother operation is a reduction of traffic. The country has divided the eligible population into 10 groups, depending on the last digit of their birth date, and allows them to book their vaccine slots only on a designated day that matches their number.

LX International, formerly LG International, said Tuesday that its official homepage was among the winners of this year’s Red Dot Award in the brand and communication design category. The trading arm of LX Group said it had been recognized for the excellent user experience on its corporate homepage, which seeks to embody three concepts: trendy, interactive and innovative. The company conducted a survey of businesses partners, shareholders and job seekers before coming up with its user

Korea Aerospace Industries said Tuesday it has signed a 49.7 billion-won ($43.2 million) deal with the Public Procurement Service to supply two Surion helicopters to the Korea Coast Guard. According to the nation’s sole aircraft manufacturer, the two units of KUH-1CG, a police version of the multi-role utility helicopter Surion, will be delivered to the Korea Coast Guard by July 2024. “The contract includes Osprey 30, a new radar that can detect 1,000 targets simultaneously. Th

Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi has scheduled a livestream event on Tuesday night to unveil its new flagship smartphone Mi Mix 4, just one day before Samsung’s annual Unpacked event, in an attempt to steal the spotlight from the South Korean electronics giant. Industry watchers say the timing of the Mi Mix 4 launch, an under-display camera model, is an open challenge to Samsung, whose soon-to-be unveiled foldable phone also happens to be a UDC model. A UDC smartphone refers to a mode

Samsung Electronics Co. further expanded its dominance in the domestic smartphone market in the second quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday, as its rivals struggled to gain presence. Samsung logged a share of 73 percent in the South Korean smartphone market in the April-June period, up 6 percentage points from a year earlier, according to data from market researcher Counterpoint Research. Its second-quarter market share was also 6 percentage points larger than a quarter earlier. Apple

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Tuesday its second-quarter net income rose 77.4 percent from a year earlier on the back of robust growth of 5G network subscribers as well as its media content businesses. Net income for the April-June period stood at 370.8 billion won ($322.9 million) on a consolidated basis, compared with 209.1 billion won the same period the previous year, according to a company statement. Operating income reached 475.8 billion won, up 38.5 percent over the cited

Shinsegae Department Store will open a second branch in Daejeon on Aug. 27.  At 284,224 square meters, it is to be the brand’s third-largest store in South Korea. The new location, called Shinsegae Art & Science, will consist of a department store and the 193-story Shinsegae Expo Tower, furnished with an aquarium, science exhibition spaces, a multiplex cinema and an indoor sports theme park. The tower will also feature a five-star hotel called “Onoma.” It is to be

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday unveiled its new wearable processor built on 5-nanometer (nm) process as the South Korean tech giant tries to beef up its presence in the wearable device market. The Exynos W920 is the industry's first wearable processor made with advanced 5nm extreme ultraviolet lithography technology, boasting enhanced performance and power efficiency, according to Samsung. It is expected to be used in Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Watch 4 smartwatch that will come with a new u

LG Electronics Inc. on Tuesday said it will expand its streaming service on smart TVs as the tech giant tries to increase its presence amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. The South Korean company said LG Channels will be launched in an additional 11 European countries, including Switzerland and the Netherlands, within this year. LG Channels, LG's free content streaming service set up in 2015, is currently available in 14 countries providing some 1,600 channels, but that will be expand

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Tuesday it will offer Spotify to its mobile users for up to six months in a move expected to expand the music streaming service's presence in the country. The telecom operator said subscribers to its 4G LTE and 5G network plans will have free access to Spotify Premium, which costs 10,900 won ($9.5) a month here, for three to six months, depending on the price of their plans. The move virtually applies to all of LG Uplus' around 15 mil

Samsung Electronics Co. was the world's fourth-largest vendor of Android 5G smartphones in the second quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday, as Chinese makers aggressively expanded their presence. Samsung had a market share of 16.5 percent in the April-June period after shipping 15.6 million units of 5G smartphones powered by the Android operating system, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics. China's Xiaomi led the market with a share of 25.7 percent after its shipments soa

　South Korea’s wine imports more than doubled to touch a new high in the first half of the year as more people enjoyed drinking at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Asia’s fourth-largest economy imported $236.9 million worth of wine in the January-June period, up 110 percent from a year earlier, according to data by the Korea Customs Service. 　It represents the highest first-half tally and accounts for 86 percent of wine imports for all of 2020. 　Imports for