Samsung Electronics could be moving to introduce an ultrahigh-definition LCD TV using quantum dot technology later this year, said a source familiar with the matter.This comes as the performance of Korea’s largest TV manufacturer and its display affiliate’s next-generation OLED panels and TVs has lagged behind those of their rivals LG Electronics and LG Display.“Samsung Electronics aims to produce UHD QD LCD TVs in small quantities in the fourth quarter of this year,” the source said.“It may hav

South Korea’s exports of information-communication technology products climbed to a new high in the first six months of the year on growing shipments to China and Southeast Asian countries, the government said Wednesday.In the six months ending on June 30, outbound shipments of ICT products came to $83.83 billion, up 3.2 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The country’s trade surplus in the ICT sector shrank slightly to $41.68 billion a

The fate of mobile phone maker Pantech hangs in the balance as its creditor-led debt restructuring program shows no signs of improvement and the country’s three telecom giants resist joining in the recovery efforts.SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus were given extra time to consider a proposal by Pantech’s creditors led by the state-run Korea Development Bank. But judging by their comments to the press, they continue to appear uninterested in turning the 180 billion won ($178 million) that Pantech owes

Nexon Korea, the country’s biggest online PC game maker, said Tuesday that it would launch more than a dozen games for mobile devices and platforms in the second half of this year in an effort to revitalize its mobile gaming business.In a media event under the theme of “Nexon Smart On” in Seoul, Chung Sang-won, vice president of Nexon Korea, said that although the company is a relative latecomer in mobile games, it seeks to make a leap with 13 games it produced with the company’s partners and su

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the importance of further expanding the two countries’ strategic partnership that could boost business exchanges and investments via trade.In a meeting with some 500 business leaders and executives from both sides at a forum in Seoul Friday, the Chinese president stressed that China and Korea should “grow side by side through close collaboration.”President Park Geun-hye (front, seventh from right) poses with her Chi

South Korea and China agreed to conclude their bilateral free trade negotiations by the end of this year, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.The bodies also agreed that Korea would be able to set up an offshore renminbi trading center in Seoul, enabling clearance and settlement of trade between the two countries in Chinese currency, while Korean institutional investors have been given an 80 billion yuan quota to use Chinese money for mainland equity purchases.This series of deals came after President P

Bilateral economic relations between South Korea and China are expected to further strengthen as the two countries will aim to solidify and bolster their ties to boost trade when President Park Geun-hye and President Xi Jinping meet for a summit in Seoul on Thursday.The two sides will engage in talks on a number of economic agenda both countries want to rapidly resolve and implement, according to local industry sources. Korea and China are expected recommit to narrowing their differences over ta

LG Chem said Wednesday that it will build a joint venture plant in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China, to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles by the end of next year.Officials from South Korea’s largest EV battery maker and Nanjing signed an agreement in Seoul, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Korea.LG Chem will establish the JV plant with two investment companies from Nanjing ― Nanjing Zijin Technology Incubation Special Park Construction Development and Nanj

Microsoft said it is scrambling Outlook email messages in transit to thwart spying by governments and others.Toughened encryption at Outlook and Microsoft OneDrive online “cloud” data storage service came less than a month after the technology titan got low marks in a Google ranking of such defenses against online snooping.“We are in the midst of a comprehensive engineering effort to strengthen encryption across our networks and services,” Microsoft vice president of trustworthy computing securi

Google said that it has bought Songza, a free online streaming music service that recommends tunes based on what people might be in the mood to hear.The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but unconfirmed online reports valued the deal at around $15 million.“We’re thrilled to announce that we’re becoming part of Google,” Songza announced on its website.“We can’t think of a better company to join in our quest to provide the perfect soundtrack for everything you do.”Songza added that n

SACHEON, South Gyeongsang Province ― On the country’s southern coastal tip lies a facility as big as three soccer fields in which Korea Aerospace Industries’ engineers are busily producing its flagship aircraft and helicopters to meet their delivery deadlines.KAI makes FA-50 fighter jets, supersonic trainer T-50s, which the light attacker was based on, and the Surion utility helicopter. Now it seeks to expand its portfolio to accommodate the defense needs of Korea’s armed forces, as well as thos

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have locked horns over wearables, this time after the U.S. release of the two tech giants’ new smartwatches, powered by Google’s new operating system.LG Electronics, which offered a glimpse of its first smartwatch earlier this year, introduced the G Watch at Google’s annual conference on Wednesday.The G Watch, running on Google’s Android Wear, features an “Always-On” 1.65 inch display, which keeps the screen on for 24 hours, and a built-in 400mAh battery.Al

LG Innotek said Thursday that it has built its first overseas automotive electronic parts plant in San Juan del Rio, Mexico.The 34,000-square-meter plant ― equivalent in size to five soccer fields ― will commence production of its automotive motors for dual clutch transmission systems beginning in August this year.Its 600 local employees will then expand manufacturing of other motors for antilock brake and electric power steering systems, with the aim of securing an annual production capacity of

LG Electronics’ latest smartphone, the G3, has been gaining sales momentum and consumer attention from what industry watchers describe as its display quality and user-friendly interfaces, outshining its rival, the Samsung GalaxyS5.The phone’s simple and high-resolution imaging features are mainly attributable to LG Innotek’s camera module, along with LG Display’s Quad HD LCD panel.LG Innotek, the world’s leading camera module developer, deployed its 13-megapixel module, a complementary metal-oxi

CrucialTec, a listed South Korean tech company, said Wednesday that the company and its software affiliate CrucialSoft have developed an algorithm for small area-type fingerprint sensing modules.The algorithm, named “Fermion,” is expected to pave the way for mobile device makers to embed “ultra-small” biometric trackpad touch modules for fingerprint data processing and authentication, the company said.CrucialTec’s latest development would enable the production of thinner and smaller BTP sensors

Cisco Systems, the U.S. network equipment giant, said that Samsung Electronics would be its “natural partner” to develop and deploy a network enabling connections to multiple cloud computing systems such as public and private enterprise clouds.The two companies, which have a patent cross-licensing agreement, have not yet gotten into the details of Cisco’s so-called Intercloud for its customers and partners.But Robert Lloyd, president of Cisco’s development and sales, said Korea’s global tech man

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister-nominee Choi Kyung-hwan stands at a crossroads as he will soon have to make tough decisions and policy recommendations for President Park Geun-hye to revitalize the economy, which has become sluggish following the ferry disaster in April.A slew of economic tasks await the incoming deputy prime minister after his parliamentary confirmation hearing, and among sensitive issues he will have to address are taxes and loan-related regulations for the housing m

LG CNS, one of South Korea’s leading IT solutions companies, said Wednesday that it has started to provide a comprehensive analytic service using social network data in China with its partner SAS China.This marks the first time for the Korean IT firm to make inroads into China’s big data sector, which is still nascent but holds potential as the world’s second largest economy saw an annual 50 percent growth in social network services. LG CNS employees pose as the company introduces its “Smart SMA

Chinas Alibaba said Wednesday it will absorb mobile browser developer UCWeb, calling it the “biggest” merger in the country’s Internet industry, as the e-commerce giant continues a deal binge before listing.Alibaba has stepped up acquisitions to expand beyond its traditional online shopping business ahead of a planned US listing that could raise around $15 billion, putting it on par with Facebook’s $16 billion IPO in 2012.This marks the third deal by Alibaba in a week. On Tuesday, the company un

Samsung Group said Tuesday that chairman Lee Kun-hee’s health is improving, but he remains unconscious.He was able to move his hands and feet a little, and open his eyes for seven to eight hours, a group spokeswoman said, citing Samsung Medical Center’s official announcement regarding the chairman’s progress.“The chairman is recovering, but it is difficult to say that he has gained consciousness,” she said.Lee Kun-heeThe 72-year-old Samsung boss has been in the hospital for a month since he had