Kakao CEO apologizes for SM stock manipulation allegations

Kakao CEO Hong Eun-taek apologized Thursday over a recent controversy surrounding alleged stock manipulation in connection with the tech giant’s acquisition of K-pop agency SM Entertainment. “We apologize for causing concern to Kakao shareholders with the negative news that occurred during the process of taking over SM Entertainment's management rights," the CEO said at the company’s third-quarter earnings conference. “We are faithfully (talking) to the investig

Nov. 9, 2023

AI in your pocket: Samsung Galaxy S to feature real-time phone call translator

Samsung Electronics’ flagship Galaxy S smartphones will offer a real-time translation function for phone calls, the tech giant said Thursday. The surprise announcement comes a day after it unveiled Samsung Gauss, its own generative AI model, which will make its commercial debut on the upcoming Galaxy S phones in 2024, possibly the Galaxy S24 series. With a vision to open a “new era of AI” for mobile devices, Samsung said it will be introducing Galaxy AI for its smartphones to

Nov. 9, 2023

[From the scene] Naver opens massive data center to boost AI, cloud push

SEJONG -- South Korean internet giant Naver opened its second data center in the city of Sejong on Monday, speeding up its big push to secure supremacy in the burgeoning artificial intelligence and cloud markets. Naver invited a group of reporters to its new data center, which it calls Gak Sejong, for the opening ceremony. The first of its kind, Gak Chuncheon, was set up in Gangwon Province in 2013. Located on a 294,000-square-meter site, Gak Sejong is one of the five biggest data centers in A

Nov. 8, 2023

Samsung Electronics unveils own generative AI, Samsung Gauss

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday debuted its own generative artificial intelligence model, dubbed Samsung Gauss, renewing competition with its archrival Apple and other tech giants in the burgeoning AI market. The world’s largest smartphone maker by shipments also hinted that the new AI chatbot will power its upcoming Galaxy smartphone, possibly the Galaxy S24 in 2024. "We will continue to support and collaborate with the industry and academia on generative AI research," said Kim

Nov. 8, 2023

Samsung CEO highlights AI safety research

Samsung Electronics co-CEO Kyung Kye-hyun, who oversees the tech giant's chips business, called on experts to conduct more in-depth research on the safety, trustworthiness and sustainability of artificial intelligence in line with rapid advancements in technology. “The spotlight has recently shifted toward generative AI technology, as it provides us the potential to unlock new solutions and address long-standing challenges. But the need for in-depth research on the safety, trustworthi

Nov. 7, 2023

LX Holdings CEO promoted to president

LX Holdings Chief Executive Officer and Vice President Roh Jin-seo has been promoted to president in a regular personnel reshuffle, the business group announced Tuesday. A close confidante of the group’s chairman Koo Bon-joon, Roh served as the chief strategy officer in the holdings company before he took on the CEO position last March. “Roh led the growth of the group by coming up with strategies to strengthen business competitiveness and reorganizing the business portfolio. He also

Nov. 7, 2023

[Photo News] Expo bus in Paris

LG Group is launching 2,030 buses, dubbed Busan Expo Bus, in Paris to promote the South Korean port city’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The conglomerate will ramp up the promotional activities in the French capital until Nov. 28, when the host city of the upcoming expo is to be decided in a vote during the 173rd General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions. (LG Group)

Nov. 7, 2023

Samsung family to sell stakes worth W2.6tr to pay tax

Family members of Samsung Group, South Korea’s biggest conglomerate, are selling stakes worth some 2.57 trillion won ($1.97 billion) to pay their inheritance tax bill, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. Hong Ra-hee, the widow of the late former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, and her two daughters, Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun, signed a trust contract with Hana Bank to dispose of stakes worth about 2.57 trillion won combined, on Oct. 31. The Samsung heirs began their five-year

Nov. 6, 2023

[From the Scene] Samsung bets big on package substrates for future chips

SEJONG -- With the increasing demand for next-generation semiconductors globally, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronic parts manufacturing affiliate of Samsung Electronics, has been seeking to take the lead in the chip package substrate market. On Thursday, Samsung invited a group of reporters to its manufacturing site in Sejong, where a new plant for chip package substrates, the fifth of its kind there, is being built to be completed by May next year. "For next-generation chip packages

Nov. 5, 2023

Naver touts AI progress as earnings hit record high

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon on Friday expressed her satisfaction with the company’s business results regarding its upgraded, hyperscale generative artificial intelligence model, HyperClova X, unveiled in August. “Based on what we’ve observed and experienced so far, we seem to be having better results than we expected," Choi said when asked about the level of the IT giant’s hyperscale AI-based business when compared to her prior expectations, during the company’s ea

Nov. 3, 2023

Samsung files complaint in US against BOE for allegedly leaking trade secrets

Samsung Display has filed a complaint against BOE Technology and seven of its affiliates to the United States’ International Trade Commission, claiming the Chinese display makers violated trade secret regulations, an ITC document revealed on Friday. According to the document from the ITC, Samsung Display filed the complaint on Oct. 31, accusing the Chinese rival of violating a US Tariff Act in the US' importation and sales of organic light-emitting diode display modules and compon

Nov. 3, 2023

Yoon hosts private banquet with chaebol chiefs

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol invited the chiefs of the country's top conglomerates -- Samsung Electronics, SK Group and LG Group -- to a private banquet Tuesday to discuss pending issues, according to industry sources on Thursday. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo were reportedly invited to the meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair, leader of

Nov. 2, 2023

[Herald Interview] Merck seeks growth with Korean chipmakers

The global semiconductor industry is struggling to make ends meet amid sluggish demand and price decreases, but German technology firm Merck sees Korea, the home of the world's two largest memory chip producers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, still an attractive destination for business. “The leading players in the industry that are investing the most amount in new capacity, our Korean customers are at the top of that list. Making sure that we are continuing to engage with the leadi

Nov. 2, 2023

[Photo News] Last push for 2030 Expo

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it has put up a total of 14 billboards to promote Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris. The tech giant will be carrying out promotional activities in the French capital until Nov. 28, when the host city of the upcoming expo is to be decided in a vote during the 173rd General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions. (Samsung Electronics)

Nov. 2, 2023

Samsung marks 54th anniversary, highlights unrivaled leadership in technology

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee underscored the importance of maintaining industry leadership in technology as the company celebrated its 54th anniversary on Wednesday. Samsung, one of the world's leading smartphone makers and the world’s largest memory chip producer, held the annual event at its headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, with some 400 executives and employees in attendance. "Technology and product quality are the real competitive factors that we should

Nov. 1, 2023

KT unveils large language model Mi:dm for corporate customization

South Korean telecommunications giant KT Corp. on Tuesday unveiled Mi:dm, a customizable large language model aimed at corporate clients looking to develop their own advanced AI services in the booming field of generative AI technologies. The name Mi:dm is based on the word "mideum," which means "belief" in Korean. Unlike generic models such as OpenAI's GPT, KT posits that Mi:dm allows companies to incorporate their own specialized datasets to produce tailor-made AI prod

Oct. 31, 2023

Samsung reduces chip losses in Q3, eyes rebound

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it reduced its deficit in the memory chip business in the July-September period while posting better-than-expected profits in mobile and display businesses. Samsung's device solutions division in charge of the company’s semiconductor business marked losses of 3.75 trillion won ($2.78 billion) for the division's third consecutive quarter of losses. So far this year, its chip losses have amounted to 12.7 trillion won, the company said in its third-q

Oct. 31, 2023

[Gadget Review] iPhone 15 Pro is lighter and more versatile but lacks 'wow' factor

Apple’s latest flagship smartphone series -- the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max -- debuted in Korea earlier this month with higher price tags than elsewhere. The new phones are priced from 1.25 million won to 1.90 million ($926.20-$1,407.80) here. Compared to their prices sold in the US, Japan and China, the Korean prices are almost 10 to 20 percent higher. But Apple’s pricing policy seems to have little impact on Koreans’ love for iPhones. Accor

Oct. 31, 2023

Court rules against Meta over penalty on illegal user info sharing

Meta Platforms Ireland Inc. has lost a legal battle to defy the South Korean data protection watchdog's decision to slap a fine for providing users' personal information to other operators without consent, officials said Monday. In November 2020, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) fined Meta, formerly known as Facebook Inc., 7.8 billion won ($5.78 million) after its probe found that the personal information of at least 3.3 million out of 18 million Facebook users in

Oct. 30, 2023

S. Korea's homegrown spacecraft to moon project on track: science ministry

South Korea's science ministry said Monday its project to develop a homegrown spacecraft to the moon has passed through a preliminary feasibility study and will officially begin next year. With the passage of the 530 billion won ($392.9 million)-project, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to develop a 1.8-ton spacecraft to land on the moon in 2032 as part of the country's plan to begin exploring lunar resources under its ambitious road map for a "future space economy." The

Oct. 30, 2023