The chief of South Korean conglomerate SK Group on Wednesday departed for Japan, fanning speculation that the consortium that includes its affiliate SK hynix Inc. is in the process of finalizing a deal to take over Toshiba Corp.'s memory business, a company official said.Earlier this month, Japanese Toshiba's board of directors decided to sell its chipmaking unit to the consortium, which also includes Bain Capital and the Development Bank of Japan, as well as Apple Inc. and Dell Inc.Toshiba has

South Korean battery makers, such as LG Chem Ltd., showcased their latest battery products at a local trade fair Wednesday, with visitors having a chance to peek into the latest technologies being developed in the burgeoning sector.At the InterBattery 2017, which runs through Friday in Seoul, LG Chem rolled out "Free Form" batteries, which can be easily customized into various products, such as IT and wearable devices. (Yonhap)The country's top chemical firm also showcased round batteries that c

Samsung Electronics has started to mass produce a premium memory product for cars, rapidly expanding into the automobile industry, the company announced Tuesday. The South Korean memory chip giant said it would provide the industry’s first 128 gigabyte embedded universal flash storage solution for vehicles, which will enable connections between cars and mobile devices, providing advanced data transfer speeds and robust data reliability. Consisting of 128 GB and 64 GB versions, the new eUFS solut

BUSAN -- South Korean telecommunications firm KT has launched a control tower in Busan that manages internet cables laid thousands of feet underwater, which are often called submarine communication cables.KT is one of multiple global network operators in charge of managing underwater cables that connect seven nations, including the US, China and Japan. Of the entire 130-kilometer submarine cables currently up and running around the globe, the KT-backed cables account for 12 percent, or equivalen

BUSAN — In the real world, only the big bosses get a personal secretary to manage their schedule and set up meetings at the most suitable time. But a new digital scheduling assistant may change that with just an email. Meet Kono, a new artificially intelligent scheduling bot developed by South Korean tech startup Konolabs. The smart bot syncs with calendar apps built into smartphones like Google Calendar, and is powered by an AI engine equipped with machine learning and natural language processi

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix is on track to becoming a global NAND flash memory powerhouse, as it is part of an international consortium that is on course to take over Japanese tech giant Toshiba’s memory chip business unit.Toshiba’s memory chip unit is the second-largest NAND flash memory manufacturer in the world after Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics, while the chip manufacturing unit of SK Group comes fifth in the sector.The Japanese tech firm, which has been suffering a financial cr

South Korea’s SK Telecom is seeking to become a global leader in 5G network technologies by preparing to become the first industry player to commercialize the ultrafast network by 2019.　SKT recently topped the list of “most promising” 5G network operators worldwide by UK-based market research firm Juniper Research for its forward trialing of 5G-enabling core technologies including millimeter waves, multiple-input multiple-output, or MIMO, transmission as well as network splicing. The Korean tele

From cloud computing to biopharmaceuticals, telecom giant expands into new fields of future

Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy smartphones topped the list of brand value in South Korea for the seventh consecutive year as of the third quarter of 2017, a survey showed Tuesday.Galaxy got 940.98 points out of a possible 1,000 points in the "Top Index" by South Korean market research firms Brandstock. The Samsung brand has retained the top spot since July-September of 2011.  (Yonhap)Naver, South Korea's biggest Internet portal, closely trailed at 931.9 points.Brandstock attributed Naver's str

South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics is moving to increase its investments in vehicle components and energy businesses to equip itself with future growth engines.LG Electronics first launched its vehicle components division in July 2013 and it has posted sales growth for nine consecutive quarters. Starting last year, the vehicle components unit has been supplying a total of 11 auto parts and systems, including electric drive motors, power invertor modules, battery cells and high power d

Huawei to debut Kirin 970 chip to take on Samsung, Apple

Company aims to add AI, big data to beauty appliances

BUSAN -- ITU Telecom World 2017, one of the largest UN-backed information and communication technology events, kicked off in Korea’s southern port city of Busan on Monday.Hundreds of ministers, government officials, and business leaders from ITU’s 193 member states packed the auditorium of Bexco, an exhibition center and the main event venue for the conference, to celebrate the opening of the quadrennial event.The conference, which is being held under the theme “Better Sooner,” gives participant

LG Electronics’ high-end home electronics and appliances brand, LG Signature, is cementing its position as a premium brand in the global market, with its solid sales providing a continued boost to its business. With the motto of providing the best performance, refined beauty and innovative use, the LG Signature family currently consists of four product categories: organic light-emitting diode TVs, washing machines, refrigerators and air purifiers. Participants look at LG organic light-emitting d

LG’s mobile business outlook upbeat, AI tech to expand, connect with other appliances