SK chief challenges non-indictment over W100b spending claim

SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won has sought a review of prosecutors’ decision not to indict a lawyer representing his estranged wife, Roh Soh-young, over claims that Chey spent more than 100 billion won ($74 million) on his partner, Kim Hee-young. Chey’s legal representatives said Tuesday that they had filed a prosecutorial appeal against the Sept. 9 non-indictment decision involving attorney Lee Sang-won. They accused Lee of inflating the figure by combining unrelated transactions, including money p

2026-09-15 14:18:07:00

LG takes industrial AI from answers to action

LG AI Research unveiled a suite of industry-specific systems Monday, accelerating its push to build artificial intelligence that does more than answer questions — it predicts problems, makes decisions and takes action. At its AI Talk Concert 2026 in Seoul, the research institute introduced specialized models that can detect factory defects before they occur, accelerate the discovery of new materials and produce explainable financial forecasts. It also laid out plans for autonomous laboratories a

2026-09-14 14:13:49:00

Why Kepco wants five years of chipmakers’ power bills upfront

Electricity is the lifeblood of the artificial intelligence era. In South Korea, however, the utility responsible for delivering it is carrying more than 200 trillion won ($148 billion) in debt as the country prepares to build power-hungry semiconductor clusters. Korea Electric Power Corp. needs roughly 100 trillion won to expand the grid. To help finance that work, the state-run utility has asked Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to pay five years of electricity bills upfront — a combined 25 tri

2026-09-13 10:07:05:00

LG, NPS bring AI into pension fund management

LG AI Research said Friday it is teaming up with the National Pension Service to develop AI tools for pension fund management, beginning with a service designed to analyze currency movements. The two signed an agreement at LG AI Research's headquarters in Seoul to combine the company's artificial intelligence technology with the pension fund's investment expertise and improve investment research and decision-making. “AI is reshaping the paradigm across industries,” Kang Chang-nam, managing direc

2026-09-11 18:51:05:00

Samsung welcomes Apple to the fold with playful jabs

Samsung Electronics greeted Apple’s long-awaited entry into foldable smartphones with a playful publicity campaign highlighting the Korean company’s seven-year head start in the category. Minutes after Apple unveiled its $1,999 iPhone Duo on Wednesday, Samsung’s US mobile account posted a series of tongue-in-cheek messages on X. “Let us know when you’re done reheating our leftovers,” one read. Another declared: “So far, so same.” Samsung also teased Apple for introducing the foldable late in its

2026-09-11 15:09:26:00

Galaxy Watch keeps a close eye on your heart

Samsung Electronics is expanding its heart-health services, combining Galaxy Watch sensors with the Samsung Health app to monitor blood pressure, electrocardiograms, irregular heart rhythms and broader indicators including sleep, physical activity, vascular stress and body composition. The company unveiled the enhanced features at a media briefing in Seoul on Wednesday, ahead of World Heart Day on Sept. 29. Samsung said the aim is to help users detect subtle changes through continuous monitoring

2026-09-09 14:46:53:00

S&P sees more SK hynix buybacks, warns of higher dividend bar

SK hynix could announce another share buyback of up to 40 trillion won ($28 billion) in the fourth quarter, as the AI memory boom fuels record shareholder returns from Korea’s two largest chipmakers, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. “We think that there will be more buybacks that will get announced in Q4,” Mohammad Hassan, S&P’s head of Asia-Pacific equities dividend forecasting, said in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Thursday. “It would be on the lower end of maybe 2

2026-09-08 15:13:49:00

From lab coats to limelight: Grabity puts its researchers at the fore

The scientists behind Grabity, the hair-loss shampoo brand that has gained traction in South Korea and overseas with its polyphenol-based technology, have stepped out of their labs and into an unusual second job: modeling for their own products. On buses and product packaging, researchers Yang Han-yeol, Kim Eun-u and Ju Helen pose alongside Lee Hae-shin, a KAIST distinguished professor of chemistry and the founder of Polyphenol Factory, the startup behind Grabity. "We are not professional models

2026-09-07 13:49:18:00

LG Electronics targets actuators, B2B appliances as next growth engines

LG Electronics is positioning robotic actuators — the joints that drive robots — as a next-generation growth engine, with the company nearing what could be its first major order from a global technology giant. Baek Seung-tae, head of LG Electronics' home appliance business, said the company has developed actuators that are more efficient, lighter and cost-competitive than rival products, and it is preparing for mass production, Saturday. "We are pursuing orders from several big technology compan

2026-09-06 13:43:41:00

Build in US or pay: Trump revives chip tariff threat

Build chips in America or pay to sell them there. US President Donald Trump's administration has revived its push for targeted semiconductor tariffs, raising pressure on Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to expand US production or face duties on chips made overseas. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said companies manufacturing in the US would receive tariff relief, while those relying on foreign production should expect to pay. “What you’re going to see is targeted, thoughtful tariff policy that

2026-09-03 14:47:34:00