[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics mobile chief Koh Dong-jin, who has been spearheading the unit since December 2014, may be feeling the pain of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle the most. On Oct. 13, he pledged that he “would at any cost find the exact cause (of the faulty Galaxy Note 7) to restore trust of consumers so that they can use Samsung products without any safety concerns.”Admitting that he was frustrated as were others over the past weeks due to the Note 7 crisis, he apologized and expressed

[THE INVESTOR]  Just like the number 7 is considered a lucky number in many regions, the number 8 is an auspicious number in Chinese culture. It is because of its pronunciation, “ba”, which sounds like the Chinese word for prosperity, “fa”, and its shape represents a perfect balance. But for Samsung Electronics, the “ba” could mean bad luck. The year 2017 was supposed to be the best timing for the Korean tech giant to pour marketing resources in the all-important Chinese market along with the pl

[THE INVESTOR] In a bid to make up for snowballing profit losses due to the sales suspension of its Galaxy Note 7 handset, Samsung Electronics is increasing production of the flagship Galaxy S7 and lower-end smartphone models. “Samsung is planning to put more focus on the Galaxy S7 by ramping up production of the handset,” said an industry source who wanted to be unnamed, adding that the increased production is to minimize the anticipated profit drop for the rest of the year following the sales

[THE INVESTOR] Amid the ongoing Galaxy Note 7 crisis of its local rival Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics saw its shares rise 3.14 percent to 52,500 won (US$47.1) in early morning trading on Oct. 11.Samsung announced on Oct. 11 that it would temporarily stop selling the latest flagship smartphone at home and abroad amid the ballooning controversy surrounding the fire-prone Note 7.The decision sent Samsung’s shares down by 6.43 percent to 1,572,000 won in early morning trading.(theinvestor@hera

[THE INVESTOR]  No one anticipated events would unravel this way for Samsung Electronics and its flagship Galaxy Note 7. Expectations were quite high on the top-notch product, and the South Korean tech giant believed it would be able to claim the top spot in the premium smartphone sector this year, outpacing its archrival Apple. Soon after the release of the Note 7 in August, however, Samsung Electronics had to eat humble pie as it was inundated with reports of fires and explosions of the handse

[THE INVESTOR]  Local stock brokerage NH Investment and Securities forecast that the opportunity cost of the possible sales suspension of the Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 could reach 700 billion won (US$630 million).The investment firm added Samsung would have to put focus on quality tests for the smartphone.“Although the recall issue of the Note 7 will continue in the rest of the year, the firm’s semiconductor and display businesses will be able to improve its earnings,” said Lee Se-cheol

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics’ shares rose to a high of 51,200 won on Oct. 10, up 5.79 percent, reflecting high expectations for its latest high-end V20 smartphone. The stock closed up 5.17 percent at 50,900 won on Monday. Having long struggled in the uphill battle against its local rival Samsung Electronics and Apple, LG released the V20, fitted with a dual-lens camera, a secondary display, and a removable battery, on Sept. 29 in Seoul Amid the ongoing battery crisis involving Samsung’s Galaxy

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics said on Oct. 10 that it is now adjusting the production volume of its Galaxy Note 7 “in order to conduct detailed inspections and improve quality control.”The announcement came on the heels of news reports that Samsung has reportedly halted the operation of its manufacturing facilities for the bigger-screen Note phone in Korea and Vietnam.Over the weekend, US telecom carriers including AT&T and T-Mobile have halted the phone sales amid the ongoing battery fiasc

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has put a temporary halt on the production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone as the explosive battery issue is spiraling out of control. An official from Samsung’s partner firm was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying that Samsung has temporarily stopped rolling out the Note 7.The official added that the latest decision affects its facilities in Vietnam, Samsung’s manufacturing base for global markets. Samsung Electronics mobile chief Koh Dong-jin apologizes at

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant Samsung Electronics may have to proceed with another round of recall for its combustible Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in the wake of what appears to be a replacement Note 7 caught on fire on a plane, according to news reports on Oct. 7.The combustion of the handset having taken place on a Southwest Airlines flight bound for Baltimore from Louisville raised concerns over the safety of the replacement Note 7, which Samsung guaranteed was “safe.”The US Consumer Product Safety

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant Samsung Electronics on Oct. 7 released its third-quarter earnings guidance that beat analyst estimates following a large-scale recall of its latest Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. The company predicted its July-September period operating profit could reach 7.8 trillion won (US$7 billion), up 5.5 percent from a year ago. Local analysts had estimated it at about 7.4 trillion won on average, according to FN Guide, a local fund tracker. Revenue, however, was down 5.19 percent to

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant Samsung Electronics gave what seems to be a positive response to hedge fund Elliott Management’s latest request to separate itself into two units. “Elliott is one of Samsung Electronics’ shareholders, and we will carefully consider a shareholder’s request,” a company official said.Although Samsung did not clarify whether it would accept the demand and proceed with the split-off scheme, its answer to the activist hedge fund is thought to be a pretty mild response. Elliot

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant Samsung Electronics has found itself dragged back into a new round of controversy for its Galaxy Note 7 as a series of alleged explosion cases involving the replaced smartphone have taken place in recent weeks.An overheated Samsung handset emitted smoke, prompting passengers and flight crew to evacuate a Southwest Airlines plane in Louisville, which was at the time preparing to depart for Baltimore, according to news reports on Oct. 6.A total of 75 passengers and crew w

[THE INVESTOR] Internet giant Google has unveiled a range of new hardware and software products, including a smartphone, a smart speaker and a virtual reality headset -- an apparent move to flex its muscles in the hardware sector. The newly unveiled products, many of which will be in direct competition with traditional hardware behemoths including Samsung Electronics and Apple, will likely pose a great risk to the conventional market players and allow Google to have digital devices closely conne

[THE INVESTOR] Despite its years-long push for organic light-emitting diode, a self-illuminating display material, LG Display, a large-sized OLED display powerhouse, has little footing in this segment for mobile devices.Its underperformance in the mobile sector is said to be due to its under-par technical capability and formidable dominance of its rival Samsung Display.In a bid to turn things around, LG Display is ratcheting up its efforts to increase its presence in the mobile OLED display indu

[THE INVESTOR]  Tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, both of which suffered a major setback in their mobile business in the July-September period, are scheduled to announce their earnings report on Oct. 7.Samsung is expected to spend 1.2 trillion won (US$1.08 billion) to make up for the costs associated with the ongoing recall of the combustible Galaxy Note 7. A market consensus for Samsung’s operating profit stands at 7.62 trillion won, up 3 percent from a year earlier, while the

[THE INVESTOR] Naver had long struggled to find new growth momentum as the firm, often dubbed the internet emperor in Korea, failed to catch up with the changing landscape of the information technology industry since the advent of the smartphone.On the other hand, Kakao, the operator of internet portal Daum and mobile messenger KakaoTalk in Korea, has been the biggest beneficiary of the smartphone as its mobile messenger has taken the throne in the domestic market. Just a few months ago, Kakao s

[THE INVESTOR]  Samsung Electronics said on Sept. 30 that it is considering to roll out measures to handle the explosions of some of its top-loading washing machines, sold in the US and Canada.Samsung said that “it is in discussion with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to come up with support measures for consumers who have been affected by washing machine models involved in the recent safety issue.”The US watchdog has warned consumers of some of Samsung’s top-load washing machines th

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean internet giant Naver, which has recently come into the limelight of the global market with the high-profile stock debut of its Japanese affiliate LINE, is setting its sights on the untapped European market. Naver and LINE said on Sept. 30 they will invest a combined 100 million euros (US$112 million) in K-Fund 1, a startup accelerator fund that will be operated by Korelya Captal, a venture capital firm established by Fleur Pellerin, the Korean-born French former minis

[THE INVESTOR] IT solutions developer Samsung SDS said on Sept. 30 that it has decided to split off its US branch’s IT services unit as part of its business restructuring efforts.The company said in a regulatory filing that it received approval from the board on Sept. 29 for the split-off plan, which Samsung SDS said is worth US$8.8 million.With the anticipated separation, scheduled on Oct. 31, Samsung SDS America will be divided into two companies -- one for IT services and the other for logist