South Korean telecommunications giant KT said Thursday it plans to spend a combined 27 trillion won ($21.5 billion) in the field of network infrastructure, artificial intelligence and cloud computing over the next five years until 2026. KT, Korea‘s largest telecommunications firm by revenue as of 2021, also pledged to hire 28,000 employees during the same period. The 12 trillion won package will be used for AI, cloud computing and media contents. KT will hone AI-powered products such a

Merck Korea, the local subsidiary of the German science and technology giant, said Thursday that it has completed expansion work of its local production plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. In October 2020, the company announced plans to invest 20 million euros ($21 million) into expanding facilities at the plant to produce key materials for organic light-emitting diode displays that had been imported from Germany. “We can now quickly respond to customer requests and demands in Asia

SK hynix said Thursday it has started mass production of HBM3, the world’s best-performing DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, product, with the first batch being supplied to US chip giant Nvidia. Referring to high-bandwidth memory, the latest development vertically interconnects multiple DRAM chips, drastically increasing data processing speed compared to traditional DRAM chips. The latest HBM3 DRAM is the fourth generation of its HBM product. SK hynix, the world’s second-lar

Petrochemicals-to-battery materials company LG Chem has become the third most valuable chemical brand in the world, up a notch from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday. LG Chem’s brand value, estimated at $4.3 billion, followed that of Germany-based BASF and Saudi Arabia-based Sabic, according to London-headquartered consulting firm Brand Finance. LG Chem’s brand valuation rose over 19 percent compared to the estimate of the previous year. This is the highest point LG Chem has

Samsung chief’s two-week trip coincides with 29th anniversary of “New Management” declared in Frankfurt by his late father

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is poised to embark on a two-week trip to Europe on Tuesday, highlighting the South Korean chip-to-consumer electronics giant’s need for a breakthrough. Also under the spotlight is whether the largest conglomerate in Korea would be looking to secure a new growth driver in Europe, coupled with Samsung‘s fresh investment pledge announced earlier in May. The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday approved Lee’s absence from the t

Tilda, a virtual artist powered by the artificial intelligence engine of South Korean conglomerate LG, has showcased 30 upcycled clothing designs on World Environment Day that fell on Sunday, according to the company Monday. The collection on the metaverse comprising 13 jackets, 14 trousers and three hats, dubbed the “Digital Upcycling Project,” was designed to highlight using digital waste to reduce carbon footprint. In its first solo fashion collection, Tilda combined digital w

South Korean real estate platform Rsquare said Thursday it has collected over 65,000 pieces of commercial real estate data in Singapore, officially launching its business in the major Asia-Pacific hub. The company has compiled both quantitative and qualitative data on office buildings, hotels, distribution centers, factories and other commercial buildings in Singapore’s principal districts. “Just like in South Korea and Vietnam, our employees went on foot, visited office buildings

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it is teaming up with internet giant Naver to set up the nation’s first-ever private 5G network. The private wireless 5G network, designed to support secure and data-intensive communications of a specific entity within a specific area, will be deployed in Naver’s second headquarters building, called Naver 1784, in the tech hub Bundang district of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The private network, alongside automated logistics technology by Hyundai

The latest open remarks by US tech giant Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon has reignited speculation that the firm would purchase a stake in SoftBank-backed chip designer Arm through a consortium with global chipmaking rivals including South Korean firm SK hynix. This highlights the growing cash pile-up of South Korea-based memory chip designer and manufacturer SK hynix, coupled with its parent SK Group’s 142.2 trillion won ($114.6 billion) spending pledge in semiconductors over the nex

Insider says new system is like panopticon prison; Kakao has no plan to withdraw policy

All Kakao employees will be required to work remotely for at least four days a week from July as part of a new "metaverse work" system, the IT giant said Monday. During the testing period of the new working system, which will begin from July 1, employees are to work from outside the office for four days a week. For the remaining day, employees will have to meet offline but the meeting does not have to take place at the company office, a Kakao official said. All work-related items wil

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and de facto leader Lee Jae-yong met Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, the company said Monday, raising expectations over a possible collaboration amid an intensifying race for next-generation chip technology. The heads of the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 companies in the chip industry by revenue held a meeting during Gelsinger‘s visit to Seoul. He flew to Korea after attending the 2022 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Samsung’s $82.3 billion rev

Tech giant Naver said Monday that it has officially launched an artificial intelligence-based call service for older people who live alone. The service, Clova AI Contact Center Solution, is operated by the company’s AI technology Hyperclova, which calls and checks up on users about their eating habits, sleeping patterns and potential health problems. The AI has adopted high-quality voice synthesis and voice recognition engines to allow for seamless conversation with users, as if they ar

Samsung Display, the display making arm of Samsung Electronics, is poised to fully shut down its unprofitable liquid crystal display panel business for televisions in June, after over 30 years of operation. “(Samsung Display) will terminate its supply of LCD panels in June,” an industry source said Monday. The company has been manufacturing its lower-end panels in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. The long-awaited move came as LCD TV panel prices have been on a constant decl