LG Electronics is expanding its lucrative premium appliances in emerging nations. The Korean tech giant’s home appliance unit’s record-breaking operating profits in the first quarter were mainly driven by strong sales of its premium appliances in North America. Sales generated in the market last year accounted for around 30 percent of the company’s total sales. Shipment of the firm’s organic light-emitting diode TVs also doubled in the US market during the period.  LG Electronics’ premium brand

The US International Trade Commission began investigating whether the US smartphone maker Blu infringed standard patents of LG Electronics’ Long Term Evolution, according to the independent federal agency. Blu, established in 2009, is the sixth-largest handset maker in the North American market, selling low-end phones worth below $300. The firm sold around 5.2 million units last year -- a 68 percent growth from the previous year. LG Electronics is the third-largest handset maker in the US, with

Samsung Electronics is predicted to become the world’s largest chipmaker in the coming quarter, displacing Intel, which has retained the top spot for the past 24 years. Intel has been the world’s top semiconductor manufacturer since 1993, when it introduced its Pentium-branded processors, which sent sales of personal computers soaring to new heights. However, the recent trends of a continued rise in prices and demand for memory chips are driving Samsung, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, to

China’s top three smartphone makers, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, are catching up with the market shares of Samsung and Apple, based on their affordable prices and premium stylings, according to a US research firm. According to the latest report published by IDC, the combined smartphone shipments by the three Chinese firms increased by 15.5 million units on-year to 77.9 million units in the first quarter. During the same period, Samsung and Apple remained essentially flat with shipments reaching 79.2

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it had posted 9.9 trillion won ($8.7 billion) in operating income in the first quarter, recording a nearly 50 percent on-year jump. The tech giant is forecast to post a record-breaking 12 trillion won in the next quarter due to strong sales of chips and smartphones, analysts said. Samsung said it posted 50 trillion won in sales, a 1.5 percent on-year increase, in the first three months of the year. The operating profit was the largest since 10 trillion won marke

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it would not create a holding company, rejecting demands from activist hedge fund Elliott Management to reshape its corporate structure.“After conducting a comprehensive review with external advisers, the company’s board of directors has decided not to convert to a holding company structure,” Samsung said. The company said the review found that a holding company structure would not strengthen the competitiveness of the company’s businesses and could potentially

LG Display said Wednesday it posted record-breaking profits in the first quarter of the year due to the growing demand for large-size televisions and high-end devices. The Korean display maker said it posted 7 trillion won ($6.2 billion) in sales and 1.02 trillion won in operating profits, 17.9 percent and 2,498 percent increases, respectively, year-on-year. “The record-breaking operating profits were driven by the growing demand for lucrative products such as large-size ultra-high-definition te

Samsung Electronics’ facial recognition technology requires more than four years to be solely used for mobile payment, a source from Samsung and industry watchers predicted on Monday. Facial recognition is considered the next-generation biometric technology as it is more convenient than an iris scanner or fingerprint. It can be certified by simply looking at the smartphone instead of positioning your eyes in a small section of the screen or moving your finger around trying to locate the scanner.

In a swift move seen to quell doubts over its latest smartphone quality, Samsung Electronics confirmed Friday that it will be upgrading the Galaxy S8 software criticized by some for having red-tinted screens.“Because there are some complaints about the red-tinted screens, we decided to upgrade the software next week for all Galaxy S8 clients,” a Samsung spokesperson told The Korea Herald. The tech giant sent an announcement to all of its Samsung Service Centers, saying, “There will be an additio

Samsung Electronics began preorders of its Galaxy S8 smartphone in India on Thursday, with the aim of reclaiming the top spot in the nation’s premium smartphone market. The Korean tech giant said it had begun preorders of its flagship smartphones, setting the price of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus at 57,900 rupees ($895) and 64,900 rupees ($1,004), respectively. Its official launch will be on May 5.Samsung holds a press conference for the Galaxy S8 in India (Samsung Electronics)“In order to k

LG Chem posted record-breaking sales for the first quarter of this year. LG Chem said Wednesday that it posted 796.9 billion won ($698 million) in operating profit, a 74 percent rise on-year. It also posted 6.4 trillion won in sales, a 33 percent increase, for the same period. The battery firm said the strong earnings were brought about by the record-breaking operating revenue in its basic material business, the turnaround in its information electronics materials and profit increases in its life

The global OLED market for smartphones, currently dominated by Samsung, is about to get a little more crowded with LG Display recently throwing its hat into the ring.LG Display has started supplying its organic light-emitting diode products to Chinese handset makers and is gauging potential partnerships with Apple and Google, according to news reports and industry sources.“LG Display confirmed the supply of OLED panels to Xiaomi and it is in talks with other Chinese handset makers for further su

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S8 is facing complaints from some customers who say the display panels of their new phones have a reddish tint. The problem may be caused by the color balance of organic light-emitting diode panels, according to industry watchers. Some customers who preordered the Galaxy S8 wrote on online communities that their new phones have a reddish screen that did not improve even after correcting color display settings. (Yonhap)One user said, “After I read articles that there a

The Galaxy S5 remains the most popular Samsung device in the US, and 76 percent of S5 owners would prefer to purchase Samsung again, according to a report from consumer insight firm Kantar Worldpanel. This may be good news for Samsung’s new flagship smartphone Galaxy S8, considering the two- or three-year smartphone upgrade cycle.  Galaxy S5 (GSM Arena)According to a latest report released by Kantar Worldpanel, the Galaxy S5 that was unveiled in February 2014 remained the most popular Samsung de

North Korea's military said Friday it will take the "toughest counteraction" against the United States, with tensions rising over the North's aggression. "Our toughest counteraction against the U.S. and its vassal forces will be taken in such a merciless manner as not to allow the aggressors to survive," the North's military said, according to the official KCNA news agency. North Korea's military "will as ever courageously counter those who encroach upon the dignity and sovereignty of the DPRK (

A state-run main creditor of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and the National Pension Service (NPS), the biggest bondholder of the troubled shipbuilder, are struggling Friday to find common ground on debt rescheduling measures for the shipyard. The NPS had been scheduled to hold a meeting to decide on whether to agree on the latest rescue plan for Daewoo Shipbuilding, but the meeting has not been held so far. Still, officials from the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the NPS are eng

Samsung Electronics appointed Terry Halvorsen, a former US military information technology expert, as a global enterprise adviser to Shin Jong-kyun, the tech giant‘s CEO, the company said Friday.Halvorsen built his career in the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy over more than 35 years and will focus on Samsung’s global business-to-business mobile business, particularly on security issues over quickly developing connected devices. He will serve as an executive vice president at Sa

Despite the positive elements of unmanned services for making life more convenient and saving time, concerns are also rising over the technology-backed services replacing jobs and causing security concerns.Seoul National University has been operating unmanned security systems by reducing the number of security guards.The college has installed surveillance cameras and sensors at 25 buildings designed to raise the alarm only in case of an emergency. Currently it has 180 guards, but they are expect

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has expressed his confidence in acquiring Toshiba’s chip unit, implying that the group‘s chipmaking unit would take a different approach when the real race begins.“The bidding for Toshibia currently being carried out is not binding. The (bidding) price has no significant meaning,” he told reporters after a lecture Thursday at a local university in Seoul.”When (the process with) binding begins, things will change differently.“SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (Yonhap)T

Calls for an overhaul of the tax system are growing in South Korea, as global companies recently faced allegations that they used legal loopholes to minimize their tax payments.The need for a revision of current taxation rules has constantly been discussed here. The latest debate was sparked after Oracle was reportedly ordered to pay 314 billion won ($278 million) in fines for alleged tax evasion earlier this week. On Wednesday, Google came under fire upon news reports that its Google Play here