[THE INVESTOR] The chief of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business division expects NAND flash memory chips with 100 layers of cells stacked inside to rollout in the global market soon.“Samsung, which rolled out the 24-layer V-NAND in August 2013, for the first time in the world, will start to mass-produce the 64-layer V-NAND chip by the end of this year. I believe the 1 terabit NAND flash will soon hit the market, and that means a chipmaker can stack up 100 layers of cells inside a chip,”

[THE INVSETOR] South Korea’s telecom and media watchdog has fined Woowa Bros, the operator of mobile food delivery app Baedal Minjok, for mismanaging user data.The Korea Communications Commission said on Aug. 11 that it levied a 15-million-won (US$13,660) fine on the company, for failing to encrypt user data on its system for the app.The regulator also imposed a fine of 10 million won to 15 million won on nine companies for failing to implement proper protection measures for user data.The punish

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is mulling to double the memory capacity of its latest Galaxy Note 7, which comes in a 64 gigabyte memory option only, for Chinese consumers who prefer smartphones with large memory space.Samsung Galaxy Note 7“We are considering rolling out a 128GB model of the Galaxy Note 7 in China to compete with Chinese smartphone makers who are increasingly appealing with their large memory space,” said Samsung’s mobile business chief Koh Dong-jin during a media event for

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is teaming up with local banks and other financial institutions to offer mobile banking services using iris recognition for user authentication. “Shinhan Bank, Worri Bank, and KEB Hana Bank will roll out mobile banking services compatible with Samsung Pass from Aug. 19,” Koh Dong-jin, the chief of Samsung Electronics’ mobile communications business, said in a media event for the Galaxy Note 7 in Seoul on Aug. 11.A Samsung Electronics executive introduces the ir

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s largest mobile messenger firm Kakao said in its regulatory filing on Aug. 11 that its operating profit in the April-June period increased 133 percent on-year to 26.6 billion won (US$24.20 million).The second-quarter revenue came in at 376.5 billion won in the same period, up 66.2 percent from a year earlier.In the regulatory filing, the company unveiled the sales of each of its three business categories – content platform, ad platform, and miscellaneous. Its content

[THE INVESTOR] Online game developer NCSoft posted 86.1 billion won ($78.4 million) in operating profit in the April-June period, up 28 percent from a year earlier, the company said in its regulatory filing.The firm’s revenue in the second quarter came in at 240.5 billion won, up 11 percent from a year ago.(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean mobile messenger operator Kakao said on Aug. 11 that it posted an operating profit of 26.6 billion won (US$24.2 million) in the April-June period, up 133 percent from a year earlier.Its sales in the second quarter this year came in at 376.5 billion won, up 66 percent from a year earlier.(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)　

[THE INVESTOR] Mobile game developer Nexon GT’s operating profit more than halved in the April-June period, compared with the same period last year, according to the firm on Aug. 10.The company, a subsidiary of Tokyo-headquartered game developer Nexon, logged 2.2 billion won ($2 million) in operating income in the second quarter, down from 4.5 billion won the firm posted a year earlier.Its revenue came in at 13.4 billion won down in the second quarter from 14.1 billion won in the same period las

[THE INVESTOR] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Aug. 10 that it has postponed a meeting among ministries and government agencies to discuss Google’s request to utilize geographic data of South Korea overseas.The ministries and agencies including the National Geographic Information Institute, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Ministry of National Defense were slated to gather on Aug. 12 for the meeting to review Google’s request to store the map data

[THE INVESTOR] Mobile game firm Gamevil said Aug. 10 that it posted an operating profit of 2.2 billion won ($2 million), up 845 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier.Its revenue came in at 43.2 billion won, up 16 percent compared to the same period last year. The combined revenue of the first two quarters stood at a record 84 billion, up 15 percent from a year earlier.Its affiliate Com2uS also posted solid earnings growth in the second quarter this year with its operating income s

[THE INVESTOR] Even though organic light-emitting diode has a long history, it fell short of taking the throne held by liquid-crystal display in the smartphone sector for years. LCDs, which boast a high level of brightness and picture contrast, have remained mainstream as it has been preferred by many smartphone makers so far, especially Apple, despite the wooing of OLED makers, such as Samsung Display.Now things are likely to change as Apple is expected to switch to OLED and the wave of change

[THE INVESTOR]   CJ E&M, a leading media content creator in South Korea, has posted 14.1 billion won ($12.70 million) in operating profit in the Aril-June period, down from 17.8 billion won during the same period last year, the company said in its regulatory filing on Aug. 9.It logged 357.3 billion won in revenue, up 19.4 percent from a year earlier.The company said it was able to record stable profits despite sluggish TV ad and movie markets by focusing on creating competitive TV shows.The firm

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is preparing to roll out two variants of its new smartwatch, tentatively named the Gear S3 Classic and the Frontier, during the upcoming IFA electronics trade show in September in Germany. According to industry sources on Aug. 9, both models are expected to come with the signature round watch face with a rotating bezel that allows users to navigate the menu. They will be compatible with mobile payment solution Samsung Pay, supporting both magnetic secure transm

[THE INVESTOR] Google’s recent attempts to carry South Korea’s geographical information outside the nation is mired in controversy.Those who oppose Google’s use and storage of the Korean map data overseas argue that sensitive security data, including locations of military facilities, would be exposed to external threats and Google wants to get a free ride by accessing the data for which the government and Korean firms spent trillions of won to develop. Google, on the other hand, claims that such

[THE INVESTOR] A preinstalled app on Samsung Electronics’ flagship phablet Galaxy Note 7 is facing flak from consumers and the main opposition party who argue that its sole purpose is government propaganda.Samsung recently included Government 3.0 in its list of preinstalled apps on the Galaxy Note 7. When users activate a new USIM chip with the smartphone, they are asked to install a batch of apps on the phone.This is the first time that an app developed by the Korean government has been include

[THE INVESTOR] Global top semiconductor companies will increase their capital expenditure in the second half of 2016 amid stiffer competition with Chinese rivals. According to market research firm IC Insights, Korea’sSamsung Electronics is expected to increase its capex to US$7.6 trillion in the latter half of the year, up 120 percent compared to the first half. TSMC of Taiwan is anticipated to invest around $6.6 billion in capex, up 92 percent from the first half while Intel of the US will like

[THE INVESTOR] Korea's internet giant Naver is expected to have maintained a sturdy profit growth in the April-June period thanks to its robust online advertising business, according to market reports. The Pangyo-headquartered Internet firm will likely post 270 billion won (US$237.50 million) operating profit in the second quarter, up 50 percent from the same period in 2015, while its revenue will increase to 983 billion won, up from 937.3 billion won in the first quarter, according to research

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom has seen its share price jump to 232,000 won (US$204) on July 26, a record high since March 2 when the firm’s stock price came in at 234,000 won.Despite the failed merger and acquisition deal between its subsidiary SK Broadband, which offers IPTV services, and cable TV network operator CJ HelloVision, the stock price is on the rise since July 21.SK Telecom’s head office in Seoul. / SK TelecomThe Fair Trade Commission, the nation’s an

[THE INVESTOR] Korean tech heavyweights, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Naver, will release their second-quarter earnings this week. Ahead of its much-hyped Galaxy Note 7 launch on Aug. 2, Samsung is scheduled to release its April-June earnings on July 28. Its cross-town rival LG will release its earnings report on July 29. Samsung Group's head office in Seocho-dong, southern SeoulAccording to their earnings guidance announced earlier this month, Samsung is estimated to post 8

[THE INVESTOR] Some major suppliers of the nation’s top two electronics giants -- Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics -- are expected to face restructuring pressure amid increasing risks of financial crunch across industries. The Financial Supervisory Service, the state financial regulator, and creditor banks have reviewed the financial status of companies with loans of more than 50 billion won (US$44 million) since April. Samsung Electronics’ air conditioner assembly plant in Gwangju / Samsu