[THE INVESTOR] Global pharmaceutical and chemical enterprise Merck will establish a nonprofit company, the Merck Family Foundation, to expand its charitable work, the Germany-based company said this week. The Merck Family Foundation will conduct charitable work such as promoting public health care and education, providing emergency aid in a community. To be involved in international development cooperation as a further goal, the global pharmaceutical company is also working out research projects

The nation’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. expects a profit from its navigation app Kakao Navi later this year, through marketing collaboration with local companies.Kakao Navi was launched in February after the company bought popular navigation service Kimgisa last year in a major merger deal. “We are in talks with several companies to better promote the app (and are) aiming to unveil it in the second half,” Kakao’s official told The Korea Herald. The new Landmark Service will enable

NAMU releases wearable turtleneck tracker “Alex” on June 17, highly popular in Korea and abroad

[THE INVESTOR] Pantech, one of top three mobile phone manufacturers in Korea, showcased its new smartphone IM-100 on June 22 at its R&D center in Seoul, unveiling its ambition to recover lost ground.IM-100 -- pronounced as “I am back” with the number pronounced “back” in Korean -– will begin sales starting next week. Pursuing minimal design, the company excluded its logo on the new mobile phone, which comes in two options: white or black. The 7-millimeter-thick mobile phone incorporates a wheel

[THE INVESTOR] SK Telecom is expanding its online-to-offline business in China in collaboration with a Korean start-up and local firms, the mobile operator said on June 22.The company signed a letter of intent on June 21 in China with Korean start-up 12CM and three Chinese firms -- Duolabao, BlueFocus, Heima Live -- to establish a joint venture. 12CM is highly evaluated in the O2O industry in Korea having invented Smart Stamp, which is widely used in coffee shops and restaurants, that has replac

[THE INVESTOR] Desperate to find new future growth engines, Samsung Electronics is betting big on the Internet of Things, a network technology which connects objects with humans.The electronics giant has announced a package of plans to grow the business for the connected technology at the Internet of Things Policy Dialogue, an industry conference held at the head office of the US daily Washington Post in Washington on June 21.Kwon Oh-hyun, Samsung Electronics’ vice chairman delivers a speech und

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics’ new Note phablet, tentatively called “Galaxy Note 7,” is expected to have a curved screen, indicating the Korean tech giant’s commitment to a dual-edge curved display for its Galaxy smartphones. 　According to local daily Munwha Ilbo, Samsung is not considering launching a flat screen version of the Note phone.  The Galaxy Note 7 will be unveiled at an unpacked event held in New York in August. It will become the first Note phone with a curved screen. 　Citing i

[THE INVESTOR] Hanwha Techwin has started to create synergy with other defense affiliates of Hanwha Group, a year after the firm was merged into Korea’s 10th largest family-controlled conglomerate, a local brokerage firm said. “Defense business was the matrix of Hanwha Group,” said Kim Ji-san, analyst at Kiwoon Securities while maintaining the price target of 56,000 won and a rating of “overweight.” He said Hanwha Techwin will enjoy more positive effects following its merger into the group which

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung SDS, the software services unit of Samsung Group, said on June 21 it has decided against buying back its own shares or paying an interim dividend after considering requests from some minority shareholders. “We have discussed the issues together with outside experts. We have agreed that it would be better to use our cash reserve to improve our corporate value through measures such as M&As rather than stake buyback or interim dividend,” the company said in a statement. The c

[THE INVESTOR] Chinese TV makers armed with price competitiveness are a growing threat to Korean electronics giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.Chinese electronics firms, such as LeTV, which is also a streaming services firm, has recently rolled out 65-inch 4K TVs with a price tag of around $900 in the Chinese market, according to IHS, a market research firm.A model poses with Samsung Electronics’ super ultra-high definition TV. (Samsung Electronics)They are around three times cheaper

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s competitiveness in advanced manufacturing sector has declined over the past years, due mainly to sluggish performance in semiconductor and mobile industry, according to a report by Hyundai Economic Research Institute released on June 21. From 2010 to 2014, added value in Korea’s advanced manufacturing industry -- which includes aerospace, semiconductor, IT and pharmaceutical, among others -- declined by 4.7 percent. Japan is the only other major country that dropped, by 9.

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has announced that it would shift its focus to NAND flash memory from DRAM as the global DRAM market is reeling from record low prices.“The tech giant told investors (at the firm’s investor relations session) that it would scale down the investment in its DRAM business compared to last year,” reported online news outlet the Financial News, quoting a market analyst who participated in the meeting as saying.The tech giant held IR sessions in New York City and Bos

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's top tech firm, released the updated version of its budget tablet series, the Galaxy Tab A, on Tuesday, saying it guarantees a better connection with entertainment.The Android-based "2016 Galaxy Tab A" features a 10.1-inch full HD-level display, a 1.6 GHz octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a microSD card slot for up to 200GB of removable storage. It has a 7.300 mAh battery.The tablet is equipped with an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing

[THE INVESTOR] The Chinese government has decided to suspend consumer subsidies for electric vehicles using batteries produced by two Korean companies Samsung SDI and LG Chem. 　The decision is expected to become a huge blow to the Korean duo that has poured considerable resources into the Chinese market in recent years, including building new battery-making plants.  According to news reports on June 20, the Chinese government announced a total of 31 companies subject to EV subsidies but Samsung

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s media regulator is planning to set up an independent organization to improve the TV license fee system of KBS, a state-run broadcaster, which will likely include a measure to charge smartphone users.The Korea Communications Commission will form an independent group dedicated to assessing the financial structure of state-run broadcaster KBS and improving the broadcasting firm’s TV license fee system, according to a briefing reported to the National Assembly on Monday. The g