[THE INVESTOR] SK hynix said on July 26 plans to elevate its production capacity of 3-D NAND flash chips, used for long-term storage in smartphones and computers, to some 30,000 units by the end of this year. “We will focus on producing 36-layer (NAND) chips in the third quarter and beef up production of 48-layer chips from the fourth quarter,” the company said during a conference call. The world’s second-largest memory chipmaker after Samsung Electronics posted a second-quarter operating profit

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s top two electronics parts makers -- Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek -- are betting big on surging demand for dual-camera smartphones. The parts units of Samsung and LG have been somewhat struggling in recent months amid cost-cutting pressure from smartphone manufacturers in a saturated market. But as their clients are focusing more on premium features especially on cameras, their dual-camera module business are recently gaining a fresh momentum. LG G5 that f

[THE INVESTOR] The binding bid for ING Life Insurance, launched by the nation’s largest private equity fund MBK Partners, will start early next month, industry sources said July 25. Morgan Stanley, the lead manager for the sale, has closed the preliminary bidding for the fifth largest life insurance firm in Korea, and will carry out the bidding for what is said to be the largest M&A deal in the first half of this year. One of the three Chinese companies, Hong Kong-based investment manager JD Cap

[THE INVESTOR] Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in Seoul is an unusually large restaurant, especially for the upscale Cheongdam-dong area of Seoul. Step inside, past the mahogany reception desk and the main dining hall seems to spread out endlessly, with countless tables covered in white tablecloths. Overhead, private dining rooms line the second floor. Peter Zwiener, head of Wolfgang’s Steakhouse / Wolfgang‘s Steakhouse“Our Seoul branch is about twice the size of some of our other restaurants,” said Peter

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean retailers are capitalizing on the explosive popularity of Nintendo’s augmented-reality mobile game “Pokémon Go” with new products and services targeting local Pokémon game enthusiasts and fans.From a sudden rise in consumer spending at select Pokémon-appearing cities in Korea to the launch of Pokémon-inspired hotels, tour packages and goods, the smash-hit game appears to be leaving a notable imprint on the local retail sector.“Pokémon Go,” produced jointly by Nintendo

[THE INVESTOR] JEJUDO ISLAND  ㅡ  To eke out a breakthrough in the current economic stalemate, Korean businesses and the country as a whole need to make bold choices about the future, embracing the risk of failure, Chang Ha-joon, the world-renowned Korean economist said. “The industries that form the backbone of Korea’s economy now came to be as such in the ’70s, ’80s or ’90s at the latest. While those industries are now facing difficulties, challenged by latecomers, Korea has failed to make the

[THE INVESTOR] LG Display, the display-making unit of LG Group, has almost doubled production of its 65-inch organic light-emitting diode panels in the second quarter as more TV manufacturers are adopting the larger OLED display. According to UBI Research, a local research firm specialized in OLED, the company shipped a combined140,000 OLED panels in the April-June period. Of them, the 65-inch panel made up 28,000 units, doubling from some 14,000 units in the first quarter. The increased shipmen

[THE INVESTOR] Many start-ups want to be like Samsung. Ironically enough, Samsung wants to be like a start-up. And for the past few years, the nation’s largest conglomerate has been working hard to go back to basics.  Some liken it to a patient lying on an operating table: Some of its affiliates are being removed like dead tissue, while others are being stitched back together, at times after receiving several blood transfusions. The head surgeon is Samsung Group vice chairman and heir Lee Jae-yo