Samsung Electronics Co. said Saturday it has resumed the sales of the controversial Galaxy Note 7 phablet in South Korea, roughly a month after it suspended sales due to defected battery problems that posed safety concerns.South Korea's No. 1 tech giant started to receive pre-orders for the latest phablet, a cross between a smartphone and tablet PC, on Wednesday, selling some 16,000 units on the first day. Industry watchers said Samsung is set to sell around 20,000 units daily starting Saturday.

Foreign smartphone-makers are speeding up their expansion in the Korean market long dominated by local brands Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. A string of foreign smartphone brands Apple, Huawei, Sony and Blackberry have recently unveiled or plan to roll out their new devices here. “Korea is a good test-bed for new smartphones because of its fast Internet speed and tech-savvy consumers,” said Chung Hei-sang, a senior researcher at Korea Economic Research Institute. “The law to restrict ph

LG Innotek, a parts-making unit of LG Group, won a patent suit against Japanese electric motor-maker Nidec Corporation, the company said Thursday. The ruling came after the Korean parts-maker filed a lawsuit against Nidec in January of last year, alleging the Japanese firm infringed its patents related to optical disk drive. The suit was filed at the Beijing Intellectual Property Court where their production facilities are located. The patents that the Japanese firm allegedly infringed are techn

BUSAN -- A General Motors executive has said diversity will dominate the new automobile industry in terms of power train types and competitors, as boundaries are increasingly blurred. Daniel Nicholson, vice president of GM’s Global Propulsion Systems, said although GM is in a leading position in electrification, he doesn’t think one power train will lead the future auto industry.“Eco-friendly cars -- electric and hybrid -- and internal combustion will peacefully coexist for a significant period

SK Group is speeding up its business reshuffle through merger and acquisition deals after Chairman Chey Tae-won returned to the management position a year ago after a three-year hiatus. Most recently, its trading arm SK Networks was reportedly chosen as the preferred bidder to buy local home appliance vendor Tongyang Magic. The deal is expected to create synergies by linking SK Networks’ rental business and Tongyang Magic‘s home appliances. “If confirmed, the deal can create synergies within the

South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG are likely to see contracted earnings in the third quarter due to sluggish smartphone sales, market analysts said Monday. Local financial data provider FnGuide recently set the market consensus for Samsung Electronics’ operating profit for the July-September period at 7.6 trillion won ($6.8 billion). The figure is a more than 8 percent fall from the same period last year and 1 trillion won below market expectations before reports of the Galaxy

A farmer who was hit by a police water cannon during a protest last fall died Sunday.Baek Nam-gi, 69, had been in coma since the water cannon knocked him down during the demonstration on Nov. 14 last year.Seoul National University Hospital pronounced Baek dead of acute renal failure at 2:15 p.m. Baek's family members and civic activists were by his side.Critics have argued Baek was fatally injured because of police's excessive crackdown on the protest.Supporters of the late farmer held a press c

Prosecutors said Sunday they plan to reapply for a warrant to arrest a former head of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) facing bribery charges, a day after a Seoul court rejected the initial request.Prosecutors said they will seek to formally arrest Kang Man-soo on charges of bribery and breach of trust. The 71-year-old is accused of receiving large kickbacks from Hansung Enterprise Co., a local seafood maker, since 2008. He was the country's finance minister from 2008 to 2009 under the

More than half of Galaxy Note 7 owners in South Korea have swapped their used phablets for new ones, six days after Samsung Electronics Co. began a replacement program as part of a global recall over battery problems, industry officials said Sunday. The number of Note 7 owners who have received replacements exceeded 200,000 as of Saturday, the officials said. About 429,000 Note 7s were said to have been sold in South Korea.Only 5 percent of Note 7 owners are said to have received a full refund,

Having proved his competence as a CEO at LG Display and chemical firm LG Chem’s battery business over the course of 10 years, Kwon Young-soo is aiming for similar success as chief executive of network carrier LG Uplus.The story of Kwon and Apple chief Tim Cook planting two apple trees together at LG Display’s manufacturing complex in 2010 to celebrate the partnership between the two companies shows his ability to establish amicable relationships with global business partners - a trait needed for

Foreign students who attended the 2016 Global Friendship Tour hosted by Hyundai Motor pose at the auditorium of Inha University on Friday. Hyundai Motor provided 400 foreign students studying in Korea with opportunities to experience Korean culture through the tour. (Hyundai Motor)

South Korea’s battery and chemical company LG Chem said Sunday it set a goal of reaching 7 trillion won ($6.3 billion) in sales for electric vehicle batteries by 2020. The battery-maker also plans to start the construction of its EV plant in Poland this year, marking its third global presence after the US and China. “We aim to become the No. 1 electric car battery-maker by 2018 in terms of market position, technology and profitability by leading the EV market poised to grow,” said Lee Woong-beom

JEJU CITY, Jejudo -- German auto giant BMW invited the press on Friday to get behind the wheel of its flagship model 750Li xDrive on Jejudo, a resort island off the southern coast of South Korea, to mark its 100th anniversary. The new gasoline model, which delivers maximum 450 horsepower with a 66.3 kilogram-meter torque, offered peppy acceleration, breaking the stereotype that the feel of a large sedan is slow and heavy. It offered comfort driving below 3,000 revolutions per minute.The highligh

South Korean prosecutors are seeking to end the months-long investigation into Lotte Group by summoning the group chairman after the Korean Thanksgiving holiday. The group’s owner family has been accused of a range of illegal activities including tax evasion, embezzlement and slush fund creation.“We will summon the chairman Shin for questioning right after the Chuseok holiday,” the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said, adding, “the date may be confirmed during the holiday period.”Pros

A number of South Korean businesses were forced to halt their production and assembly lines for safety inspections Tuesday, one day after a powerful quake rocked the country.Nearly a dozen major industrial facilities, including a power plant, had their operations halted after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake jolted the nation, according to the commerce ministry.The quake was the strongest ever to be recorded on the Korean Peninsula, the Korea Meteorological Administration has said.The nation’s largest

LG Electronics confirmed Monday that it has no plan to roll out its new premium smartphone V20 in Europe for the time being. “We have no plan to roll out V20 in Europe for the time being because there is less demand for smartphones with big screens in the region compared to Korea or North America,” Seoul-based LG Electronics’ spokesperson told The Korea Herald.However, he cautiously added, “The plan may still be changed in the future,” citing that the previous model V10 was also launched in Euro

Hydrogen fuel-cell cars may eventually become a common sight on Korean roads as the government and the nation’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor are making efforts to spread usage of the new eco-friendly vehicles. Hyundai Motor said Monday it would launch taxi and car-sharing businesses with its hydrogen powered cars in the nation, a move which came a month after the government set up a control tower to boost the growth of eco-friendly cars.  (Yonhap)The automaker said it plans to start its pilot

Hanjin Shipping still faces financial challenges even after its container ship safely began unloading at the US port, industry watchers said Sunday. Hanjin Shipping’s container ship Hanjin Greece was able to dock at the Port of Long Beach on Saturday after the US bankruptcy court granted the company provisional protection from creditors in the United States. Still, market watchers said the cash-strapped shipping company needs an estimated 170 billion won ($150 million) to complete the unloading.

Renault Samsung’s latest rollout SM6 diesel is ready to repeat the popularity of its gasoline model unveiled early this year. During a test drive last week, the new diesel model offered a stable driving experience at speeds of more than 100 kilometers per hour. The vehicle got 15.5 kilometers per liter on a 900-kilometer round-trip between Seoul and Tongyeong, located on the nation’s southern coast. It is slightly lower than its official fuel efficiency of 17 kilometers per liter apparently as t

Samsung Electronics is urging consumers worldwide to stop using Galaxy Note 7 smartphones immediately and exchange them as soon as possible, as more reports of the phones catching fire emerged even after the company’s global recall.The call from the South Korean company, the world’s largest smartphone maker, comes after US. authorities urged users to switch the Galaxy Note 7 off and not to use or charge it during a flight. Several airlines around the world asked travelers not switch on the jumbo