[THE INVESTOR] A top Korean hacker who has been working at Samsung SDS over the past year is likely to leave for Google, Chosun Ilbo, a local newspaper, reported on Sept. 27. The 23-year-old Lee Jeong-hoon is considered one of the best white hat hackers, or ethical hackers, in Korea. A team led by him won a social engineering contest at the Defcon security conference held in Las Vegas last year. It was the first time that an Asian team has won the world’s biggest hacking competition. He then joi

[THE INVESTOR]  South Korea’s No. 1 mobile game developer Netmarble Games said on Sept. 26 it will apply for a regulatory review on Sept. 30 before its planned stock debut on the main bourse KOSPI in the coming months. When the company passes the review session that usually takes 45 days, industry watchers predict, its initial public offering could be made in January next year. The market value is priced at about 10 trillion won (US$9 billion). The company has long gauged a stock debut in Korea

[THE INVESTOR] Swedish carmaker Volvo said on Sept. 26 that it will be selling about 5,200 vehicles this year in Korea, a record figure since its entry into the market. Volvo Korea CEO Lee Yoon-mo unveiled the rosy sales outlook during a launch event for the new S90, the carmaker’s flagship sedan, on the day in Incheon. “The XC90, launched in March, is enjoying popularity, selling some 750 units. With the launch of our flagship S90 sedan, we aim to sell about 5,200 vehicles this year,” he told r

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics’ sluggish smartphone sales are dragging down growth potential of other parts sister firms, including LG Display and LG Innotek, NICE Investors Service, one of the nation’s three credit rating agencies, said in a recent report. According to the agency, LG Electronics made up the largest 59 percent of LG Group’s electronics-related revenue, followed by LG Display (33 percent), LG Innotek (7 percent) and LG Siltron (1 percent). “The earnings of electronics and parts bu

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Bioepis is seeking regulatory approval to sell its biosimilar drug referencing AbbVie’s top-selling rheumatoid drug Humira in South Korea. According to industry sources on Sept. 26, the biopharma development unit of Samsung Group has recently submitted its application to the Korean authorities for the sales approval of its Humira biosimilar, called SB5. Sources said the final approval could be granted in the first half of next year. A researcher works at a lab of Samsung B

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean regulators are scrutinizing new imported vehicles, especially those running on diesel engines, more closely after the revelation that Volkswagen and Audi cheated on emissions and noise level tests. The certification process used to take about 10 days but it is taking months in the aftermath of Volkswagen’s emissions-rigging scandal that led to a sales ban on some 80 models in August. It took 11 months for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to get regulatory approval for the la

[THE INVESTOR] The National Pension Service, the nation’s largest institutional investor, said on Sept. 23 it has reduced stakes in firms linked to Oxy Reckitt Benckiser’s toxic humidifier disinfectants that have caused more than 100 deaths in South Korea. The five firms include four retailers – E-mart, GS Retail, Lotte Shopping and AK Holdings -- and SK Chemical, the material supplier. Local civic groups boycotting Oxy’s products and their sales through retailers globally have urged the state-r

[THE INVESTOR] Keen attention is being paid to Samsung Electronics’ planned release of its third-quarter earnings guidance that will be issued on Oct. 7 amid a massive recall of the latest Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. As of Sept. 20, local analysts forecast the company’s operating profit in the July-September period at about 7.7 trillion won (US$7 billion), a plunge from an estimated 8.2 trillion won a month ago before the recall decision. Industry watchers say the figure could decline further to 7

[THE INVESTOR] A senior executive at Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business division has been jailed for attempting to transfer classified technology documents to China. The 51-year-old who was in charge of quality control at the company’s logic chip unit was caught in July when he was leaving the company with some copied documents containing technology data on mobile application processors. After months-long investigations, police found the executive was attempting to leak the documents to

[THE INVESTOR] Oracle, the world’s largest database management software provider, is considering setting up a data center in Korea with aims to secure a firm footing in the nation’s soaring cloud service market. “We will confirm the plan and start related investment within the year,” said Oracle Korea CEO Kim Hyung-rae. Oracle operates 19 data centers globally, including four in Asia. It aims to build an additional three new centers, including one in Korea, next year. “We are looking at other ca