South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics is continuing to help various communities hit by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, with its latest donation worth $4 million going to nonprofit organizations in the United States, according to the company on Wednesday. The donation was announced through its Samsung America newsroom homepage, which highlighted Samsung’s commitment to the local communities in the countries where it does business. According to the announcement, Samsung has pr

A series of fires in electric vehicles in China recently has raised concerns over the batteries they are equipped with. According to local media reports, three Aion S sedans -- Chinese automaker GAC’s first pure EV model -- went up in flames on May 18, Aug. 12 and Aug. 23. Though GAC hasn’t disclosed an official cause for the cases, the most recent fire reportedly started from batteries manufactured by China’s leading battery maker CATL. GAC’s Aion S sedans are pow

Hanwha General Chemical is preparing to go public by April 2021 with its value estimated between 4 trillion won ($3.3 billion) and 5 trillion won. The initial public offering is expected to facilitate Hanwha Group’s succession process. According to Hanwha and industry sources Tuesday, the chemical unit of Hanwha Group is thinking of going public either on Korea’s main bourse, Kospi, or on the US Nasdaq. After selecting an underwriter next month, it is expected to begin the IPO pr

South Korean chemical giant LG Chem’s brand value has surpassed the 4 trillion won mark ($3.3 billion) for the first time, according to a recent report. Based on the Brand Finance Chemicals 25 2020 report, LG Chem’s brand value is estimated at $3.5 billion or 4.1 trillion won, about a 10 percent growth from $3.2 billion last year, allowing the company to maintain its position in fourth place for a second year running. “As a chemical company representing Korea, LG Chem aims

A Hyundai Steel social contribution project is finding ways to repurpose coffee waste and create jobs along the way. When someone brews a cup of coffee, only 0.2 percent of the coffee grounds ends up in the final product. The other 99.8 percent is discarded as waste. According to Hyundai Steel, about 150,000 tons of coffee waste are either buried or incinerated in South Korea. To find new uses for used coffee grounds, the steelmaker teamed with the Korea Productivity Center and Korea Green

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that its 2020 smart TV lineup has been certified by the Royal National Institute of Blind People in the United Kingdom. The organization offers a platform design and app services that increase access to TV for people with impaired vision. The RNIB has granted Samsung its Tried and Tested Accreditation for the smart TVs launched this year. It is the first time it has granted accreditation to a TV maker. The institute awards accreditation to products, webs

Celltrion will carry out another clinical phase 1 trial of its COVID-19 antibody treatment CT-P59 in South Korea, this time targeting confirmed patients showing mild symptoms, the company said Wednesday. A day ahead of this announcement, the company’s Senior Managing Director Kwon Ki-sung said at the Bio Incheon Global Conference held in Songdo, Incheon, that the previously ongoing clinical phase 1 trial of CT-P59 in healthy people has wrapped up with confirmation of the drug’s safe

A video clip showing a potentially new dual screen smartphone model by LG Electronics is going viral online. According to a post made on technology blog Android Authority Wednesday, a near-final version of the temporarily-named “LG Wing” phone was spotted in action. The video shows that the Wing’s secondary screen can be rotated, making a T-shape formation. In the clip, navigation was running on the full-screen main display without a notch, while the second screen sho

Throngs of leading businesses join relay campaign amid COVID-19 pandemic

Rise of rivals, US antidumping probe and internal disputes weigh down key industry

Foreign manufacturers of laptops saw their sales surge drastically in the second quarter, according to market researcher IDC. They concentrated more on on-line marketing and benefited from a surge in e-commerce sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic, IDC said. Lenovo, for instance, sold 92,325 units between April and June, up over 70 percent from 53,556 in the first quarter. Korean firms, meanwhile, saw slight drops. Samsung’s sales reaching 259,754 units from 308,388 in the first quarter

Samsung Electronics Co. was the top global smartphone manufacturer in the second quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday, although its production declined due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Samsung led the industry in terms of smartphone production with 55 million units in the April-June period, accounting for 19.2 percent the total market share, according to market researcher TrendForce. The South Korean tech titan, however, was the only brand among the top six that suffered produ

JAKARTA (AFP) -- South Korea's LG Electronics has temporarily shut a factory near Indonesia's capital after some 200 employees contracted coronavirus, the company and a local official said Tuesday. The Cibitung plant, which makes televisions and digital sign parts, will shut for nine days after about a third of its 600 employees tested positive. LG would "come up with disinfection measures for the entire property for the safety and health of its employees", it said in a statement.

Singapore’s antitrust watchdog has approved the merger of the world’s two largest shipbuilders, Hyundai Heavy Industries confirmed Tuesday. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore concluded the screening process by saying in a notice that “there is no disagreement about the approval of a tie-up between Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.” KSOE is a subholding company of HHI group’s shipbui

Korean Air has sold its in-flight catering and duty-free business to private equity fund Hahn & Co. for 990 billion won ($758 million) as part of its efforts to secure liquidity. The decision was approved by the board of directors on Tuesday, with plans to acquire 20 percent stocks of what would become a newly established corporation to secure the supply chain. The move is the latest in a series of efforts to secure funds to keep the airline afloat as the pandemic is predicted to prolong.