[Herald Interview] Lithium-metal batteries will save Li-ion industry: SolidEnergy Systems CTO

As lithium-ion batteries near their full potential, new challengers are preparing a coup d‘état with their next-generation technologies. If successful, the coup would render conventional lithium-ion batteries obsolete overnight and subvert decades-long industrial order led by Asian battery firms. Are the days of lithium-ion battery manufacturers coming to an end? SolidEnergy Systems, a Singapore-based battery developer, is one of the most threatening contenders, with its lith

July 29, 2021

Effectiveness of parental control apps thrown into doubt

A growing number of clashes between parents and their children revolve around the use of parental control apps that filter out obscene content on online platforms, but there are concerns these apps may not even be working. The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic is forcing students to study from home through smartphone apps, prompting parents to apply filtering apps to block harmful online content. Parental control apps can be installed on computers and mobile devices, with a comprehensive list of

July 28, 2021

Korean firms in Southeast Asia ask for vaccine help

South Korean companies operating in virus-stricken Southeast Asian countries have asked for the government’s help in procuring COVID-19 vaccines for its workers there, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday. They also called for relaxed quarantine requirements on inbound business travel to Korea at a recent online meeting with ministry officials. The meeting was organized as a number of Southeast Asian countries are reporting explosive surges in infections driven by

July 28, 2021

[Management in Korea] Breaking the mental health taboo in South Korea

Management in Korea is a regular column written by the members of Egon Zehnder Seoul, touching on various aspects of Korean enterprises and business leaders and offering management tips. -- Ed. The suicide of a Naver employee in May reignited concerns over workplace harassment and bullying in South Korea. In this incident, an employee wrote in his suicide note that he was physically and verbally abused by an executive in the company, and emails and records of the company’s internal messagi

July 28, 2021

iPhones likely to be sold at LG stores

iPhones could be made available for purchase at LG Best Shops across South Korea as early as next month, after LG Electronics cleared a key hurdle – opposition from small phone distributors. The Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership, a private consensus-based body promoting shared growth between big and small businesses, said Wednesday that LG Electronics has reached a new agreement with the Korea Mobile Distribution Association, representing the phone distributors, regarding its i

July 28, 2021

Global chip shortage continues, affecting a range of sectors

The prolonged global semiconductor shortage is having a sweeping impact on a wide range of sectors ranging from cars and computers to smartphones and gaming devices. South Korea, home to major chipmakers and tech players, is keen to soften the effect, but the outlook remains mixed, experts said. Last week, German automakers Daimler and BMW were forced to temporarily slow down or halt assembly lines, citing the global semiconductor drought. Automakers elsewhere faced similar disruptions caused

July 27, 2021

Samsung Biologics posts all-time high earnings in Q2

Samsung Biologics, a biopharmaceutical unit of South Korea‘s top conglomerate Samsung Group, posted all-time high earnings for the second quarter, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The company’s sales in the April-June period reached 412.2 billion won ($357.1 million), up 34 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit soared 106 percent on-year to reach 166.8 billion won during the same period. Samsung Biologics said the improved earnings were backed by new contra

July 27, 2021

Vaccine rollouts for major factories begin

Factory workers at Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, SK hynix and other major manufacturers in South Korea began getting their vaccine shots on Tuesday, the health authorities said. They are part of the 303,159 workers from 43 large companies that operate large production facilities here and have in-house clinics, covered by the country’s first factory vaccine rollout program, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The shots to be injected have changed from Mod

July 27, 2021

SK hynix's Q2 sales surpass W10tr

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory provider, surpassed the 10 trillion-won ($8.69 billion) mark in quarterly sales for the first time in three years amid a continuing chip boom. According to the chipmaker’s earnings announcement Tuesday, the company recorded 10.3 trillion won in sales in the April-June period, up 20 percent from the same period last year, owing to the improved conditions in the memory market since early this year. The chipmaker last breached the 10 trill

July 27, 2021

Samsung's mobile chief vows to widen foldable phone market

Samsung Electronics will take the lead in widening the foldable smartphone market by offering more refined and durable products this year, the company‘s executive in charge of the mobile phone business said Tuesday. Roh Tae-moon, president of Samsung Mobile, pledged to provide improved foldable devices at the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event slated for Aug. 11 through a message posted on the company’s newsroom homepage. “The upcoming Galaxy Z Fold combines the very be

July 27, 2021

Samsung to launch industry's first Mini LED curved gaming monitor

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday its new curved gaming monitor with Mini LED display will be launched this week. The Odyssey Neo G9 will hit the shelves in South Korea on Thursday with a price of 2.4 million won ($2,085). It will be globally available by Aug. 9, according to the tech giant. The latest product is the industry's first curved gaming monitor with Mini LED display, Samsung said. It uses the Quantum Mini LED light source that is 1/40 the height of a conventional LED, which is al

July 27, 2021

Korean companies jump onto NFT bandwagon

A growing number of South Korean companies are rushing to join the fledgling digital blockchain market based on nonfungible tokens, as artists, museums and diverse digital asset holders are exploring the potential of the new segment. 　 An NFT, a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, is gaining popularity as a way for people and companies to use the blockchain technology to buy and sell the ownership of digital assets, ranging from works of art to games and videos. Korean companies with a

July 26, 2021

Celltrion pushes for COVID-19 treatment against delta variant

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion has submitted for global review the results of an animal study which it said suggested the efficacy of its COVID-19 treatment Regkirona against the delta variant, the firm said Monday. It also added that its US partner tasked with developing an inhaled version of the monoclonal antibody treatment also known as CT-P59 or regdanvimab has secured a $7 million funding from the US Army Medical Research & Development Command. According to the compan

July 26, 2021

Government spending less on research equipment

South Korean government spending on research equipment and facilities declined during the five years ending in 2019, but the country spent more on research and development during the same time frame, a report said Sunday. According to the paper by the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning based on 2019 data, the government spent 678.5 billion won ($588.97 million) on research hardware in 2019, down from 930.2 billion won in 2017 and 971.1 billion won in 2015. Over the 2015-201

July 25, 2021

[Weekender] Electric personalities: New breed of influencers

Not content with stopping at fast-food tills, toll booths and bank tellers, tech is coming for influencers’ jobs, too. A new wave of artificial intelligence-created digital characters has leapt across the uncanny valley -- the chasm in appeal for renderings that are unsettlingly, but not convincingly lifelike -- and risen to the fore of the marketing world, in some cases clinching deals worth millions of dollars. Korean companies have developed their own virtual influencers, but they a

July 24, 2021

Merck launches cost-effective, eco-friendly solvent for chip production

German material technology company Merck said Friday it has developed a new lineup of green solvents for use in photolithographic processes in semiconductor manufacturing. The new solvent lineup is called AZ 910 Remover, which according to the firm is N-methylpyrrolidone-free solvent designed for faster dissolution of photoresist patterns in a cost-effective and greener way with its outstanding resist-dissolution performance. Semiconductor production facilities traditionally use negative

July 23, 2021

Samsung sees sales of air conditioners double amid heatwave

Samsung Electronics said Friday its sales of air conditioners have more than doubled so far this month, compared to a year ago, due to the sweltering heat. From July 1 to 22, the company saw its sales of air conditioners spike more than twice from the same period in 2020, the company said. Sales of Bespoke Wind-free Gallery, the company’s highest-end air conditioner, have jumped more than 95 percent in July compared to a year earlier. To further drive sales, Samsung is offering up to

July 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] August critical month for Samsung and its leader

Expectations are high that Samsung Electronics, which for months deliberated on a new, $17 billion US investment plan, may finally be ready to make an official announcement in August. According to industry sources on Friday, Samsung is accelerating the internal process for concluding its plan to construct a new chip fabrication line for foundry in the US. Some news reports said Thursday that the City of Austin in Texas, where the South Korean firm already has a chip plant up and running, is

July 23, 2021

Naver posts all-time high quarterly earnings in Q2

South Korea‘s top internet portal operator Naver reached all-time highs in the second quarter this year, backed by improved performances of the company’s new businesses. According to Naver, the company’s sales in the April-June period reached 1.66 trillion won ($1.44 billion), increasing 30.4 percent from 1.2 trillion won from a year earlier. In the second quarter last year, Naver’s sales totaled around 1.9 trillion won, but 680 billion won of the total sales was from

July 22, 2021

Merck starts mass production of OLED material for smartphones

Merck, the cutting-edge material developer from Germany, said Thursday the company has started mass production of hole transport materials for organic light-emitting diode displays used in smartphones. Better known as HTM, the material is applied to common layers of OLED panels, and helps improve the efficiency and lifespan of panels, the company said. Merck, which has been supplying the material for Korea’s largest OLED panel maker LG Display for large-size displays, will expand its

July 22, 2021