Major South Korean petrochemical companies such as Hyosung Chemical and Lotte Chemical are enjoying an unexpected sales boost, as the pandemic has driven up demand for polypropylene, a raw material for mask filters and syringes. “Winter season is typically an off-season for the petrochemical industry. However, thanks to the pandemic, favorable market conditions continue for the petrochemical industry, even better than its usual peak season,” said SK Securities analyst Sohn Ji-woo.

Samsung Electronics continued its strong performance in the fourth quarter last year, the company said in its regulatory filing Friday. Samsung Electronics estimated its Q4 operating profit at 9 trillion won ($8.2 billion), up 26.7 percent on-year. The company’s operating profit for the whole of last year is estimated at 35.9 trillion won accordingly, an increase of 29.4 percent from 27.7 trillion won in 2019. Compared with a quarter earlier, when the firm delivered an earnings surpris

Samsung Electronics’ wholly owned auto parts subsidiary Harman on Thursday unveiled new digital cockpit concepts that can turn a car into a gaming station, a concert hall or a studio office. At Harman ExPLORE 2021, held Thursday, the company introduced three new digital cockpits that offer customized in-vehicle experiences to drivers -- Gaming Intense Max, Drive-Live Concert and Creator Studio. “We believe cars should be for living, not just driving. We’re transforming the

LG Electronics Inc. on Friday unveiled its upgraded smart TV platform that will be used for its 2021 TV models as the South Korean tech company eyes to improve its software capabilities. LG, the world's second-largest TV maker, said the webOS 6.0 will run on its 2021 TV sets including OLED, QNED Mini LED and NanoCell TVs, and will feature enhanced voice controls and user-friendly interface. The latest smart TV system will have a new design of a home screen that will allow users to easily acces

Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday unveiled a new laptop that runs on Google's Chrome operating system (OS) as the South Korean giant eyes to respond to the increasing popularity of distance learning amid the pandemic. Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook 2 is the industry's first Chrome OS-powered laptop with QLED display. The 2-in-1 notebook comes with a 13.3-inch QLED full HD display with a touch screen. The latest laptop also features "Smart AMP" sound, which runs up to 178 percent louder

South Korea's small-sized construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat Co. said Friday that it has bought a stake in US radar maker Ainstein. Doosan Bobcat did not reveal the vale of the deal, or how much stake it bought in the US company, citing a confidentiality agreement with the US firm. The stake purchase is a preemptive move to dominate the unmanned small-sized construction equipment market, which has been growing at a rapid pace, Doosan Bobcat said. Ainstein, based in Kansas, offers a fu

LG Electronics Inc. on Friday said it has signed a partnership with South Korea's top internet portal operator Naver Corp. to enter the remote learning service business amid the pandemic. Under the deal, the two sides will develop a notebook dedicated to Naver's online education platform Whale Space. Tentatively named "Whalebook," it will be a cloud-optimized laptop powered Whale operating system (OS). The two tech firms also agreed to seek further business opportunities that can uti

Video streaming services in South Korea are headed for heated competition this year as local media companies and global giants alike splurge on original content to take a solid position in the booming local market. Earlier this week, local media giant CJ ENM Co. said it is partnering with production company JTBC Studios to operate its over-the-top (OTT) service Tving. CJ ENM said the new joint venture will invest 400 billion won ($365.3 million) in production costs over the next three years in

Hyundai Motor Group confirmed Friday that it was in negotiations with Apple to manufacture an Apple Car. “The negotiations are in the early stages, but nothing has been decided, including whether Hyundai Motor will supply auto parts or manufacture the whole car,” a Hyundai Motor official said. Apple is said to be in talks with automakers, including Hyundai, to avoid the costs of developing battery technology and establishing production facilities. Hyundai Motor and sister comp

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it will unveil a new mobile application processor (AP) next week that is expected to be used in the company's upcoming flagship smartphone. The South Korean tech giant confirmed its new Exynos chipset will be introduced at the Exynos On 2021 event on Tuesday, saying that the product "redefines the standard for premium mobile experiences." Industry observers believe Samsung's high-end Exynos 2100 processor will be introduced at the event. The latest

　South Korea’s wine imports soared to a record high in 2020 as more people enjoyed drinking and partying at home due to the coronavirus outbreak, government data showed. 　South Korea imported $239 million worth of wine in the January-November period last year, much higher than the $204 million for all of 2019, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. 　If the December numbers are included, last year's value of wine imports will far exceed the previous year’s tally. (Y

Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday forecast solid fourth-quarter earnings as its cash cow chip business apparently stayed afloat in the face of the weakness of the US dollar and the resurgence of novel coronavirus infections to cover mediocre performance in its mobile business. In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech giant estimated its operating profit at 9 trillion won ($8.2 billion) for the October-December period in 2020, up 25.7 percent from a year ago. The fourth-quarter operating

South Korea's three battery makers have been on a roll as investors swoop on them amid growing optimism for their future growth, industry sources said Friday. LG Chem Ltd, the parent of LG Energy Solution Ltd.; Samsung SDI Co; and SK Innovation Co. finished at record highs on the Seoul bourse Thursday amid expectations that eco-friendly policies across the global will increase demand for electric vehicles, powering their growth down the road. LG Energy Solution, which spun off from LG Chem in

The combined market cap of the top 100 South Korean companies reached a record high of 1,745 trillion won ($1.6 trillion) this year, up 77.5 percent from 983 trillion won in 2016, data showed Thursday. According to a report by local corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute, the combined market cap of local firms as of Jan. 1 jumped 43.1 percent on-year, or 526 trillion won. The corresponding figures were those observed on the first day of each year at the bourse operator Korea Exchange. Samsun

SK Telecom has relocated its artificial intelligence service division under the company’s main business that operates mobile networks and information technology solutions, in a gesture to add full momentum to digital innovation, the company said Thursday. “The latest corporate reshuffle has reflected SKT CEO Park Jung-ho’s will to marry AI technology with the company‘s all mobile network services and solutions,” SKT explained. The AI service division -- AI&CO