Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its new flagship smartphone line has been officially launched globally as the South Korean tech giant hopes its latest handsets can drive the company's mobile business amid fierce challenges from its rivals. Sales of the Galaxy S21 series have started in 60 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Britain and India, according to Samsung. The new mobile devices will be available in 130 countries by the end of February. The Galaxy S21 series, which

SK hynix, the world’s second-biggest memory provider, reported Friday an 84 percent on-year growth in its annual operating profit in 2020. The chipmaker posted 31.9 trillion won ($28.6 billion) in revenue and 5.01 trillion won in operating profit in 2020, up 18 percent and 85 percent from a year earlier, respectively. Its net income of 2020 stood at 4.76 trillion won, while the operating margin was 16 percent, and net margin was 15 percent. “Due to the global pandemic and the in

South Korean mobile carriers are launching unmanned stores and expanding their online retail platforms as the COVID-19 pandemic limits in-person contact and accelerates the use of virtual services. KT Corp. said Thursday it launched its first unmanned store equipped with digital kiosks for customers to buy phones and switch data plans all on their own. The store, located in the southeastern city of Daegu, is run by employees during the day and operates unmanned at night, allowing virus-wary cu

Samsung Electronics Co. has successfully completed its first 5G standalone (SA) trial with Deutsche Telekom AG, according to the company, as the South Korean tech giant tries to expand its presence in the European 5G telecommunications market. Samsung and Deutsche Telekom, Europe's leading telecom service operator, conducted their first 5G SA trial in Pilsen, the Czech Republic, verifying performance of 5G SA multi-user, multiple-input, multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technologies, Samsung said late

Major telecommunications firms in South Korea are speeding up asset sales as part of their strategies to seek new growth opportunities in the non-telecommunications market. SK Telecom, the industry’s largest in terms of mobile subscription, announced Tuesday its sale of professional baseball team SK Wyverns to Shinsegae Group’s supermarket chain E-Mart. The deal, estimated at 135 billion won, includes a 100 percent stake in the baseball team as well as the team’s property h

KT Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Wednesday it has started testing standalone 5G on its commercial network in its latest push for 5G technology. Currently, South Korean mobile carriers operate the non-standalone version of the latest generation network, requiring support from the previous 4G LTE network. The standalone version has benefits as it solely uses the 5G network, leading to decreased latency and improved battery life for devices, according to KT. While local mobi

A total of 101 products from South Korean companies were awarded at this year’s CES, taking 26 percent of the honors up for grabs, according to the Korea International Trade Association, Tuesday. In the most coveted Best of Innovation Awards, which recognized 27 items, seven local products took home prizes, up from six a year earlier. By category, South Korea grabbed 13 awards for health and wellness products, six for smart home solutions and five for sustainability. “CES 2021

South Korea will increase the coverage of the next-generation mobile networks, dubbed as 5G, to 85 cities across the country this year, from the current seven major cities, the Ministry of Science and ICT said. The ministry’s plan, unveiled Tuesday, also include an expanded support for local firms to transition to the ultra-fast networks, investments in research and development of mobile edge computing, a key component in driving the commercial use of 5G in areas such as virtual reality

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, in another message from prison, asked the company’s executives and employees to carry on with planned investments. Samsung’s three CEOs -- Kim Ki-nam, Koh Dong-jin and Kim Hyun-suk -- wrote on the company’s intranet, Samsung Knox, on behalf of Lee, conveying the heir’s message to the employees. “To my Samsung family, I regret that I have caused worries because of my shortcomings,” Lee said. “Samsung fac

LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, released a new air conditioner with upgraded design and hygiene features Tuesday as the company aims to increase sales amid the pandemic. The LG Whisen Tower comes with the company's new design for standing air conditioners that highlights minimal aesthetics after combining characteristics from its luxury brand LG SIGNATURE and its customizable home appliance line LG Objet Collection. It is LG's first standing air conditioner in

Samsung Display Co., a major display maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it has developed a low-power consumption organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel for smartphones. The affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co. said the latest OLED display reduces power consumption up to 16 percent compared with its previous smartphone panels. The new OLED panel is already being used in Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra smartphone unveiled earlier this month, it added. OLED displays do not require a separate light

Kakao, the company behind Korea’s most popular messaging app KakaoTalk, announced Monday the launch of Kakao Entertainment following the merger of its two subsidiaries Kakao M and Kakao Page. The process of binding mobile-based web comic platform Kakao Page and entertainment firm Kakao M is set to be completed by March 1. The largest scale reorganization at Kakao, the deal is subject to a final approval at a board meeting on Tuesday. Kakao Page currently holds intellectual property ri

After Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong decided not to appeal last week’s court ruling, his absence from the country’s top conglomerate was finalized. With Lee in jail, the conglomerate won’t be able to pull off new sizable investments, market observers said. According to lawyer Lee In-jae on Monday, the Samsung heir expressed his will to respect the court ruling that sentenced him to two and half years in prison in a retrial of the former president‘s brib

LG Electronics, a household name in home appliances, is preparing for the future of homes by investing in robotics and artificial intelligence technology. The company, which has so far launched more than 10 kinds of robots, is seeking more innovation opportunities with global partners and experts to raise competitiveness in the field. CLOi robots At the 2021 CES, LG Electronics garnered attention with its CLOi UV-C robot, which can move around and sanitize indoor spaces with ultraviolet

4th-generation leader Koo Kwang-mo speeds up group-level restructuring of business portfolio, ditching money-losing smartphones, investing more in automotive parts and AI