In a surprising move, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has recently stepped up as an evangelist for hansik, or Korean food, even though his sprawling energy-to-chip business has no food subsidiary. Last month, he hosted a banquet at a fancy hansik restaurant in New York to invite a dozen UN ambassadors and introduced them Korean cuisine and its unique ingredients. He even appeared in a TV show as a main host to discuss ways to nurture K-food as a potent industry that appeals to the global audience

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chip maker, has denied any plans to reduce production of memory chips, amid widespread fear of an economic slowdown and falling chip prices. “We have no plan to do so for now,” Han Jin-man, senior vice president of Samsung’s memory chip business division, told reporters at a tech forum on Wednesday in San Jose, California, in response to a question about potential production reduction plans. Han’s remarks come as Sam

LG Energy Solution said Wednesday it has launched two in-house ventures, called KooRoo and AVEL, allowing its employees more independence and flexibility to spur innovation in its battery business ecosystem. KooRoo is a battery as a service (BaaS) company that offers services based on data generated throughout the whole life cycle of batteries. Their first project is a battery pack replacement service for two-wheeled vehicles like an electric bicycle. AVEL is an energy as a service (EaaS) compan

Samsung Electronics unveiled a five-year road map for its contract chipmaking business Monday, saying it would start producing chips using the 2-nanometer technology in 2025 and the 1.4-nanometer technology in 2027. The new plan came after the South Korean tech giant became the first chipmaker to produce chips on the 3nm production process, the most sophisticated chipmaking technology in the market, in June. Chips with smaller nanometer ratings are more powerful, as they can fit in more transist

SoftBank Group Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son arrived in Seoul on Saturday to meet business leaders, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, on a possible deal involving UK chip designer Arm. His visit comes after the Samsung chief hinted at their planned meeting late last month upon arrival from a business trip to the UK, where Arm is based. In the next day, Son also confirmed the meeting, saying he planned to discuss a strategic alliance with Samsung on Arm. Their possible meet-up r

The Korea Enterprises Federation held a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming at a Seoul hotel on Thursday to discuss ways to further bolster economic ties between the two countries. KEF Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik and other business leaders representing major companies, including Hanwha, Doosan and Hyundai Motor, took part in the annual meeting that was launched in 2020. “Celebrating the 30th anniversary of their bilateral ties this year, South Korea and China are crucial par

Samsung Electronics’ smart home platform SmartThings has hit the 10 million mark in connecting devices and home appliances around the world as of Sept. 12, the South Korean tech giant said Wednesday. Launched in 2018, the app aims to connect small and larger appliances from refrigerators and washing machines to air purifier and dishwashers via smartphones. More recently, Samsung is increasingly teaming up with other brands to bolster connectivity. The number of connected devices has double

SK Group on Monday launched the Ulsan Forum, a regional communication channel where SK companies, experts, academics and the local community talk about the future growth direction of the city and the provincial economy. The launch comes as SK Innovation marked the 60th anniversary of its Ulsan CLX, the nation’s first oil refinery built in the industrial city, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, back in 1962. Succeeding the annual Icheon Forum launched in 2017 in Icheon, Gyeonggi Provin

Noting growing uncertainties surrounding the escalating US-China rivalry, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said Wednesday that his priority at the moment is bracing for business survival itself, not seeking profits or efficiency. “The most urgent task is finding the way of survival under any circumstances,” the tycoon said at a press conference in Washington, where he was visiting to inspect local operations. “Rather than focusing on maximizing profits or efficiency like in the p

A guide dog walks with a trainer during a press event at Samsung Guide Dog School in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance held the event to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the program, a pet project of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Dogs for eight people were assigned to people after being trained for years. (Samsung Electronics)

SK Group on Wednesday announced new plans to invest 67 trillion won ($48 billion) in provincial areas, including a cutting-edge semiconductor plant, for the next five years as part of efforts to expand production facilities at home and facilitate local economies. Earlier this year, the nation’s second-largest conglomerate had pledged to invest a combined 247 trillion won by 2026, with 179 trillion won of them being poured at home. The new announcement is part of the domestic investment pla

BERLIN -- At this year’s IFA trade show in Berlin, the world’s top two TV makers -- Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics -- both stressed that they will focus on upgrading the user experience and not the hardware itself. The South Korean tech rivals said they aimed to meet different consumer demands, especially those of younger generations, by offering more diverse products like a rotating TV for horizontal viewing or a bendable TV for gamers. Their emphasis on user experience is a

BERLIN – Samsung Electronics will focus on upgrading foldable phones and enhancing their user experience for now, despite their extensive study on diverse smartphone form factors such as rollable and slide types, according to a senior executive who oversees research and development for mobile devices. “Technically, we are studying all form factors. But now our top priority is upgrading the current foldable phones,” Choi Won-joon, executive vice president and R＆D head of the mo

BERLIN – LG Electronics, the dominant No. 1 firm in the OLED TV market, said Saturday it aims to further widen its gap with rivals by offering a more diversified product lineup that meets different consumer demands. According to market tracker Omdia, Europe is the largest OLED TV market, making up more than 50 percent of global shipments. In the region, LG’s market share was a whopping 65.8 percent in the first half of this year, followed by Sony with 17 percent and Philips with 11

BERLIN – Samsung Electronics co-CEO Han Jong-hee on Thursday hinted that the South Korean tech giant will unveil a new sustainable growth strategy soon, possibly its delayed decision to join the RE100 global initiative. “We will announce a clearer goal that is also achievable,” he said at a press conference in Berlin held on the sidelines of the IFA trade show that kicks off Friday. The RE100 initiative sets a 2050 target for using 100 percent renewable electricity. Samsung's

BERLIN – Samsung Electronics is betting big on its SmartThings smart home platform, declaring that a connected home is now a reality that creates new value for users. “This year will mark the beginning of mass adoption of SmartThings,” said Han Jong-hee, Samsung's co-CEO who oversees the smartphone and home appliance businesses at a press conference held on the sidelines of the IFA trade show that kicks off in Berlin on Friday. The SmartThings platform aims to connect not ju

BERLIN/SEOUL – LG Electronics on Thursday debuted the world’s first refrigerator that changes color at the touch of a smartphone button ahead of the IFA trade show that kicks off Friday in Berlin. The chameleon four-door fridge MoodUp is a newest addition to LG’s high-end Objet Collection. The self-illuminating doors use light sources from light-emitting diodes. Users can choose one among some 170,000 color combinations, based on the 22 color options for top doors and 19 choi

BERLIN -- IFA, Europe’s biggest tech show, is being held in person again after two years of pandemic disruptions, with South Korean tech rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics among the largest exhibitors. The annual gathering will kick off in Berlin on Friday for a five-day run. After years of virtual business meetings and product launches, there may be skepticism about attending a giant face-to-face business event in this enduring pandemic era. But the IFA is ready to host more

LG Energy Solution said Monday it is building a new 5.1 trillion won ($4.4 billion) electric vehicle battery plant in the US in a joint venture partnership with Japanese auto giant Honda -- the first of its kind signed between a Korean battery maker and a Japanese carmaker. The world’s second-largest EV battery maker held a signing ceremony of the new deal in Seoul later in the day, with LG Energy Solution CEO Kwon Young-soo and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe in attendance. The plant, with an

South Korean tech rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are heading to Berlin this week to show off their latest home appliances, including flagship TVs, during the IFA trade show that kicks off Friday (local time). Keen interest is being paid to whether Samsung will showcase its latest OLED TVs during the annual gathering. After a nearly nine-year hiatus, Samsung started rolling out OLED TVs early this year, but no high-profile promotional event has been held, raising speculation abou