Top three telecom CEOs, SK chief head to Barcelona next week

Sapeon, a fabless startup backed by South Korean telecom-to-chip conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it would develop a new semiconductor optimized for on-device artificial intelligence as the market has been witnessing significant growth in recent years. The company said it was selected to get support to develop prototypes for commercializing AI chips with edge AI, IoT and embedded computing firm Advantech Korea under the project dubbed Compass, run by the state-run government research institu

Kakao said Thursday it logged all-time high annual sales in 2023 due to increased profitability from its mobile messenger, KakaoTalk. The IT giant reported 8.11 trillion won ($6.08 billion) in sales last year, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier. It marks the first time for the company surpassing the 8 trillion won mark in annual sales. Annual net profit, however, fell 13.5 percent on-year to 501.9 billion won and it shifted to a net loss of 1.5 trillion won, from a net profit of 1.07 trillion w

A tense faceoff between shareholders and Samsung C&T management is expected, as five foreign activist funds have teamed up to demand the Korean firm return its profit to shareholders through dividends and a share buyback program that would amount to some 1.2 trillion won ($900 million). In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Samsung C&T reported it has submitted the proposal made by the five activist funds, which includes City of London Investment, for a vote at the upcoming regular shareholders me

Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies is reportedly preparing to launch the world’s first triple-foldable smartphone within the second quarter, aiming to challenge the dominance of Samsung Electronics in the global foldable phone market. Huawei has reportedly begun the development of a triple-foldable phone, which includes three display panels alongside two sets of hinge technologies. The device will likely sport an S- or Z-shaped form factor, according to news reports on Wednesday. The

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is expected to travel to Germany next week, joining an economic delegation as the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, according to industry sources, Tuesday. Chey will be traveling to Berlin on Feb. 19 to take part in various business forums and gatherings, where business and government officials from Korea and Germany are expected to discuss strengthening collaborative efforts. Chey is also expected to travel to Barcelona, Spain, to attend a globa

US tech giant Apple saw its domestic market share exceed 25 percent for the first time in 2023, slightly narrowing the gap with its archrival Samsung Electronics, despite the global economic downturn and decreased demand, a report showed Tuesday. Apple’s share rose 3 percentage points on-year to reach 25 percent in Korea last year, according to the data by market research firm Counterpoint Research, while maintaining the No. 2 spot in the Korean smartphone market. Samsung kept the No. 1

  Samsung Electronics said Tuesday its California-based research and development unit has partnered with Princeton University to lead innovation in the sixth-generation telecommunications networking system. Samsung Research America has become a founding member of the corporate affiliates program launched by Princeton University, dubbed the NextG Initiative Corporate Affiliates Program, to lead 6G research and development, the tech giant said. The NextG program aims to bring up technologic

Confusion ensues over preliminary designation of ‘monopolistic’ platform operators

Korean instant noodle boom puts decades-old industry dilemma under renewed spotlight

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong last week renewed his will to continue bold investments despite business uncertainties upon his visit to the construction site of a new 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion) battery plant in Malaysia. According to the tech giant on Monday, the Samsung chief on Friday visited the Malaysian city of Seremban where Samsung SDI, the battery-making arm of Samsung Group, is building its second plant with its completion set for 2025. Samsung SDI aims to bolster its re

The top 10 percent of content creators accounted for 76 percent of all creators’ total income in 2022, according to data released Thursday. The National Tax Service data, obtained and released by Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea, put the number of people who reported income as individual media creators at 39,366 in 2022 and their total aggregated income at 1.14 trillion won ($859 million). The data showed that the majority of the income is concentrated among some highl

As the legal charges have been cleared for Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong in a recent ruling, anticipation is growing that the tech giant will now go in search for mega mergers and acquisitions to secure future growth engines at full throttle. The Seoul Central District Court this week acquitted Lee of charges including stock manipulation linked to the merger of two of Samsung affiliates in 2015. In Korean business culture, legal risks surrounding a company's leader are often per

KT Corp., South Korea's major mobile carrier, said Thursday it shifted to a net loss in the fourth quarter from a profit a year earlier due to an increase in operating costs. The company said in a regulatory filing it logged a net loss of 41.7 billion won ($31.4 million) in the last three months of 2023 on a consolidated basis, swinging from a profit of 242.7 billion won a year earlier. Operating income for the October-December period rose 75.4 percent on-year to 265.6 billion won, and sale

South Korea's antitrust regulator on Wednesday said it would review its proposed act aimed at regulating monopolistic practices by major online platform players before making a further legislation push, as opposition voices grow. “We’re communicating extensively with the (related) industries here and abroad and stakeholders to legislate the platform act. … Rather than making the bill public shortly, it was deemed desirable to further collect opinions from the industry and