South Korean businesses are increasingly selling assets in a bid to secure liquidity by hoarding cash amid high uncertainty triggered by the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to industry sources Friday. Hyundai Steel, a steelmaking affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, has decided to sell one of its corporate buildings in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul. The building in Jamwon-dong, an affluent neighborhood in the area, has been used for the company’s sales operations. “It is hard t

Companies that fail to shift their paradigms in terms of safety will fall behind others in the long run, said an executive at SK Innovation, a leading oil refinery and battery maker in South Korea on Friday. Yoo Jae-young, head of safety, health and environment division at the company, said in an internal interview that SK Innovation has turned the latest coronavirus outbreak into an opportunity that has enhanced its workplace environment monitoring system. “The company has stepped up

Samsung Electronics has requested an external compliance monitoring committee to defer the timing of its heir’s public apology to next month, according to the committee Thursday. The committee led by former Chief Justice Kim Ji-hyung last month had urged Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to apologize to the public on the group’s past scheme to succeed leadership from Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The letter was sent to seven Samsung affiliates governed by Lee, offering 30 days of consid

LG Electronics on Thursday unveiled a render image of its upcoming flagship smartphone that is expected to be more focused on design, after more than a monthlong delay in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The released image highlights the design of the rear triple camera module that evokes the image of falling raindrops. The company has nicknamed it as “raindrop” camera, and will be released next month in South Korea. The main camera sits slightly above the surface while

South Korea has secured flexible displays that are durable enough for partial commercialization. But the current level of technologies can improve durability and expand diversity in display types by applying new cutting-edge materials, according to a top academic expert. “The weakness of up-to-date flexible displays is the lacking of durability and variety,” said Han Chang-soo, professor of mechanical engineering at Korea University, in a recent email interview with The Korea Hera

The world’s two biggest smartphone makers Samsung Electronics and Apple are working on new products with the aim of meeting initially set launch schedules, despite rumors that tech companies are delaying plans amid the global coronavirus pandemic. According to industry sources on Wednesday, Samsung has begun to prepare for the launch event for its Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 planned for August. Samsung was lucky to hold a flashy event to unveil its Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Z

Artificial intelligence has a great chance to prove its worth in the ongoing global war against the novel coronavirus. From garnering data about the pandemic to analyzing transmission patterns, providing information about prevention and diagnosing contamination, a variety of AI programs are being used to contain the virus spread and related treatments. IBM, the world’s leading cloud platform and computing business, is mobilizing its AI and supercomputing capabilities to support govern

South Korean lithium-ion battery maker LG Chem’s leader on Monday highlighted the company’s efforts to preserve cash and reestablish a contingency plan to tackle the “new abnormal,” amid the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic. While the “new normal” time has been endeavored since the 2008 global financial crisis, the coronavirus pandemic has ushered in an era of “new abnormal,” Shin said citing futurists and economists warning of econ

For many South Koreans, it feels like spring hasn’t arrived yet. Thanks to the novel coronavirus, school closures and social distancing mean many of us spend most of our time indoors. But many parts of the country are already in color, with seasonal flowers coming into bloom about a month earlier than usual. In Seoul, yellow forsythia bushes are usually one of the first signs of spring.   One of the popular places for spring festivals in the city is Eungbongsan in Seongdeong-

LG Electronics has decided to drop plans to highlight its flagship smartphone brand G Series as part of efforts to turn around its struggling mobile device business, according to industry sources Friday. The company has reportedly decided to ditch the brand name for premium, mass-market models, according to sources. Instead it will start giving separate names for each model. The decision was made public at a meeting between the company and mobile carriers in South Korea. Since launched

South Korea’s biggest companies Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have decided to lower the pay raise for employees this year, according to industry sources Friday. Samsung’s management and representatives of the employees have agreed on a 2.5 percent increase in base salary. However, depending on personal performance evaluation, the rate will vary. Samsung granted a pay raise of 3.5 percent in 2018 and 2019. The lower increase this year reflects growing uncertainties in

South Korean firms are shutting down more facilities across the world given the coronavirus spread, according to industry sources Friday. Samsung Electronics has reportedly decided to shut down its home appliance factory in Campinas, Brazil, following the closure of its smartphone plant in Manaus in the country earlier this week. The Campinas facility will be closed for two weeks from Monday through April 12. The shutdown of the Manus plant will also be extended to April 12. LG Electronics

LG Corp. CEO Koo Kwang-mo, leader of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, said Friday he will focus on risk management amid the global coronavirus pandemic. At the company’s annual shareholders meeting held at its headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, Koo highlighted that LG Group will need to be unshaken by the current risks and rather focus on prioritizing customer value. “Amid the persisting uncertainties triggered by the global coronavirus spread in the busine

LG Display said Thursday it aims to complete its new organic light-emitting diode panel manufacturing plant in Guangzhou, China, soon and has deployed 290 engineers from here. The engineers flew on a chartered Korean Air flight after getting entry permission from Chinese authorities. They will stay at a quarantine facility prepared by the company for a certain period of time. All of them have tested negative for COVID-19. LG Display had planned to start operating the Guangzhou fab within

Many industrial facilities and retail shops run by South Korean businesses across the globe are suspending operations as governments are ordering weekslong lockdowns amid the growing coronavirus spread, according to industry sources Wednesday. Korea’s biggest steel provider Posco has decided to close its processing centers in Italy, Malaysia and the Philippines following government directives. Posco-ITPC, a stainless steel processing center located near Verona, northeastern Italy -- w

Affiliates of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will send a total of 430 engineers to Vietnam in order to support their plants’ operations there, as the Vietnamese government has decided to exempt Korean staff from its two-week quarantine policy, according to industry sources Tuesday. Samsung Display will dispatch 180 engineers via a chartered flight from Asiana Airlines to Bac Ninh in northern Vietnam on Saturday, a source said. The engineers will stay in a quarantine facility e

Samsung Electronics is shutting down one of its factories in Brazil as the novel coronavirus is rapidly spreading across the Latin American country, according to the company on Tuesday. Samsung is closing the smartphone and home appliance manufacturing facilities in Manaus in the north of Brazil from Tuesday through Sunday in support of the Brazilian government’s efforts to contain the virus spread, the company said. Another factory in Campinas, in the state of Sao Paulo, is running a

As the Indian government has decided to close all nonessential services across the country until the end of March amid the coronavirus scare, South Korea’s largest companies will temporarily shut their plants operating in India, according to the firms on Monday. Samsung Electronics will halt the production of its smartphone production facility in Noida, about 25 kilometers southeast of New Delhi, from Monday through Wednesday in line with the Indian government’s order. The Samsu

With the Galaxy Z Flip, my past month was full of curiosity: how will the next-generation flip phone change my mobile life? In short, using Z Flip was exciting, although I am still unconvinced it is because it provided more practical convenience. First with trivial things, flipping the device back and forth with the right thumb, which made a “thud” sound, was truly satisfying, in a nostalgic sense. It reminded me of the plastic flip phones that I had used until the early 2000s.

The United States International Trade Commission revealed Sunday that it has dismissed the high profile case between SK Innovation and LG Chem regarding the theft of trade secrets. In its initial determination, the agency harshly criticized SK Innovation of intentionally tampering with evidence. “This type of investigation is particularly sensitive to and prejudiced by acts of spoliation. … Compliance with orders directing discovery into what information is possessed by a resp