SK hynix Inc., South Korea's second-largest chipmaker, is in talks with German auto parts giant Robert Bosch GmbH over a long-term supply of automotive memory semiconductors, industry sources said Wednesday. SK hynix, the world's No. 2 DRAM vendor, is reportedly seeking to supply automotive DRAM chips to Bosch for at least 10 years, the sources said. The company declined to comment on the issue. If the two sides reach an agreement, SK hynix will get its first long-term contract in the area

SK hynix Inc., South Korea's second-largest chipmaker, said Wednesday it has reached a settlement with US-based Netlist Inc. over memory technology patents. The two sides agreed to a patent cross license covering chip technologies of both companies. Under the deal, SK hynix will gain access to Netlist's portfolio of US and foreign patents. Netlist will receive a royalty from SK hynix, a cross license to SK hynix's patent portfolio and supply of its memory and storage products. Industry obse

LG Electronics Inc. on Wednesday introduced its new solar modules that boast high efficiency as the South Korean tech giant aims to expand its presence in the clean energy sector. LG said its NeON H series solar modules will hit the shelves later this month starting in countries like South Korea, the United States, Germany and Australia. The latest solar modules use N-type bifacial solar cells that are used in premium solar products, according to LG. It also applied half-cut technology that l

Naver Corp., South Korea's top internet portal operator, said Wednesday it has made a strategic investment of $150 million in Indonesian media giant Emtek to strengthen its foothold in the Southeast Asian market. Emtek operates broadcast channels, as well as the over-the-top service Vidio, overseeing media content production and distribution. Through the investment, the two companies aim to collaborate and find new business opportunities, such as in webcomics and cloud technology, in Indonesia

LG Electronics Inc. on Wednesday expected its best-ever quarterly performance in the first quarter as its home appliance and TV sales apparently basked in pent-up demand amid the pandemic. In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech firm projected its operating profit at 1.51 trillion won ($1.3 billion) for the first three months of 2021, up 39.2 percent from a year earlier. Its first-quarter operating income estimate beat the market consensus of 1.27 trillion won in the survey on seven b

　South Korea’s two major automotive light-emitting diode makers saw their revenues increase last year despite an overall market slump amid the pandemic, a report showed. 　Seoul Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics maintained their status as the world’s fifth- and seventh-largest automotive LED suppliers, respectively, in 2020, but their market shares and sales grew, according to market researcher TrendForce. 　Seoul Semiconductor’s revenue jumped 3.2 percent to $130 mil

Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has suspended a domestic plant that produces the Ioniq 5 all-electric model due to a chip shortage. Hyundai said it will halt the operation of the No. 1 plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, which also produces the Kona subcompact SUV, due to lack of parts from April 7-14, a company spokesman said.  The weeklong suspension comes amid lack of semiconductor parts used in the Kona's front vehicle camera system and a problem in Hyundai Mobis

In an earnings surprise, Samsung Electronics is believed to have recorded an operating profit of 9.3 trillion won ($8.3 billion) in the first three months of 2021, according to early estimates released Wednesday. According to the company’s Q1 earnings guidance, its revenue is projected to reach 65 trillion won. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue and operating profit would represent increases of 17.48 percent and 44.19 percent, respectively. The operating profit growth fa

Preparing to bid adieu to its 26-year-old mobile device business, LG Electronics is mulling over what to do with its overseas phone plants, with outright closure being considered as one possible option, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Closure could mean hundreds of employees losing their jobs within a few months. LG’s head office in Seoul, when announcing the handset business exit on Monday, said it planned to “convert” the overseas facilities and use them for o

From Studio Ghibli composer, Blackpink’s Jisoo to the CEO himself, Korean game companies deploy high-profile figures for marketing

A researcher from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology holds out a perovskite solar cell, which it says boasts the world’s highest efficiency rate, Tuesday.  Co-developed by UNIST, the Korea Institute of Energy Research and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, the next-generation solar cell can convert solar energy into usable energy at a rate of 25.6 percent.  The previous record holder was the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, whi

South Korean electronics components maker LG Innotek said Tuesday it has launched an artificial intelligence-based patent search and analysis system that can handle a task 900 times faster than human. According to the affiliate of LG Group, the system can process 50,000 pieces of patent data in four hours, which would otherwise require five workers to work eight hours a day for 100 days. “This is possible thanks to the AI-powered automatic sentence recognition model co-developed with

South Korean telecom companies want to move beyond traditional businesses

Starbucks Korea has vowed to stop the use of disposable cups by 2025. As part of its long-term sustainability “Better Together” project, the coffeehouse chain said Tuesday it will roll out reusable cups at all stores across the country and replace single-use cups completely in the next four years. The new eco-friendly cups will be rolled out first at a select few shops during the second half of this year. The reusable cups come with a deposit that will be returned to customers when

FSC, KDB tilt toward ‘allowing more time’ before initiating court receivership