The first-quarter earnings report released Thursday by SK hynix brought to light the worse-than-expected situation of South Korea’s memory chipmakers and the resulting impact on the country’s export-driven economy. SK hynix reported in its regulatory filing that it had achieved 6.77 trillion won ($5.83 billion) in sales and 1.36 trillion won in operating profit during the January to March period -- plunges of 22 percent and 69 percent year-on-year, respectively. On-year, the company saw 30 perce

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that it would invest a total of 133 trillion won ($115.7 billion) by 2030 to become the world’s No. 1 integrated device manufacturer by strengthening its competitiveness in the foundry and system-on-chip segments. The investment plan was announced a month after President Moon Jae-in ordered the government to take steps to boost the country’s competitiveness in the global non-memory market, amid growing worries about falling exports of memory semiconductors as t

South Korea’s chipmaking industry is watching closely an ongoing bid for the foundry business and fabrication line of MagnaChip, which was formerly owned by SK hynix, according to the industry on Tuesday. Officials in the semiconductor industry have named SK hynix as one of the most likely candidates for the acquisition of the foundry business and factory of MagnaChip, based in Cheongju, North Chuncheong Province, in the vicinity of SK hynix’s M15 memory chip plant. MagnaChip, which saw $751 mil

Xilinx, a San Jose-based system-on-chip business established 35 years ago, refuses to be known merely as an SoC company.Senior officials of the $2.7 billion US firm proudly introduce Xilinx as the “inventor of the FPGA,” the highly flexible silicon integrated circuits that can be programmed after the manufacturing stage. “The reason why we call Xilinx the inventor is that the company makes what hasn’t existed before,” said David Ahn, head of Xilinx Korea. “Xilinx is a relatively small company wi

Samsung Electronics said Monday it would postpone media events scheduled for China this week in order to review the screen problem raised by US-based journalists. Samsung was going to hold media briefings in Hong Kong on Tuesday and Shanghai on Wednesday. The events were put off, according to a report by China’s National Daily Business as the media company was notified by Samsung’s Chinese branch.  (Samsung Electronics)“The media events for China will be rescheduled after reviewing the screen pr

LG Electronics and CJ Foodville will develop various types of robots to serve customers and reduce inefficiency at restaurants, the companies announced Thursday. The two signed a memorandum of understanding at CJ Foodville’s headquarters in central Seoul.LG and CJ will introduce parts of the robots within the year at flagship food chains run by CJ.  Officials at LG Electronics and CJ Foodville hold a MOU agreement at CJ's head office in central Seoul on Thursday. (LG Electronics)“Robots will hel

SK hynix announced Thursday it had completed the expansion of a current DRAM production line in Wuxi, China, for technological migration. The South Korean memory chip provider held a ceremony to mark the completion of the C2F line, attended by around 500 government and industry officials. The new C2F is a single floor fab with an area of 58,000 square meters. The company has begun production of DRAMs in a part of a sector of the new cleanroom. Full operations of the entire fab will be decided la

Samsung Display said Wednesday the company’s foldable organic light-emitting diode display going into Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Fold smartphone won an international certification for causing less harm to users’ eyes. The 7.3-inch foldable OLED display was certified by Germany’s TUV Rheinland for an “Eye Comfort” display that has reduced harmful 415- to 455-naometer blue light from normal OLED displays by 42 percent. The Galaxy S10 series phones were also approved by the German institution for

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles analyzing the drives and challenges in the non-memory chip market. -- Ed.A month after President Moon Jae-in ordered measures to raise the competitiveness of the country’s chipmaking industry in the global non-memory market, Samsung Electronics and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy are expected to announce a series of plans next week to nurture engineering talent and a favorable ecosystem, according to the industry on Wednesday.  A new

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday revealed the specifications of the world’s first commercial foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, including its weight and thickness, 10 days ahead of its launch in the United States. According to an infographic uploaded on Samsung’s online newsroom homepage, the Galaxy Fold has a 4.6-inch cover display and, when unfolded, the device turns into a 7.3-inch Infinity Flex Display-based tablet PC.  (Samsung Newsroom)The Samsung device weighs 263 grams, and it is 7.5 mi

Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday it has completed its 5-nanometer FinFET process based on the extreme ultraviolet technology as a result of the spurred efforts to strengthen its foundry business with an aim to become the market leader by 2030. Along with the completion of the 5nm EUV-based process, Samsung also said it will start shipping chips manufactured on the company’s 7nm process this month as the first in the foundry industry, and is aiming to start mass production of 6nm products wi

Over the weekend, renowned corporate and political figures paid tribute to late Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, who died of a chronic illness last week. However, his younger brothers Cho Nam-ho and Cho Jung-ho garnered more attention due to their strained relations in the past. Another brother, Cho Soo-ho, former chairman of Hanjin Shipping, died in 2006. Nam-ho is the former chairman of Hanjin Heavy Industries, while the youngest Jung-ho is current chairman of Meritz Financial Group. The sib

Harman International, a subsidiary of South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, has maintained its top position in the global wireless speaker market for the last four consecutive years, Samsung announced Sunday. According to data by Futuresource Consulting, Harman’s premium audio brand JBL and Harman Kardon claimed 35.7 percent of the global market last year, retaining the market leader’s position since 2015.  (Samsung Electronics)US firm Harman was acquired by Samsung in 2016 with an aim to apply its

Under its fourth-generation leader Koo Kwang-mo, LG Group is expanding investments in startups in the fields of latest technologies such as mobility and virtual reality in Silicon Valley, according to the group on Thursday. Chairman and CEO Koo visited Silicon Valley last week and toured the group’s venture capital arm, LG Technology Ventures, as part of the group’s efforts to increase investments in new future technologies. The group said the investment unit has invested a total of $19 million

LG Chem said Thursday it will invest a total of $2 million in five startups based in the United States and United Kingdom as part of efforts to co-develop innovative battery technologies.The South Korean battery manufacturer selected the five startups through the Battery Challenge hosted by the company Wednesday, which brought together global startups to pitch ideas for new battery technologies.  A startup official introduces the company's technologies at LG Science Park in Magok, Seoul on Wedne

Samsung Electronics introduced a rotating camera with the launch of its midrange Galaxy A80 smartphone model, designed for the so-called “era of live,” the company announced Thursday. In response to consumer preference for more spontaneous photos and the ability to stream live videos and connect over shared experiences, the world’s biggest smartphone vendor in terms of shipments came up with the A80, an edition that offers the company’s first rotating camera. When users launch the camera and sel

LG Electronics’ first 5G smartphone, the V50 ThinQ 5G, will feature highly customized artificial intelligence functions that would make users feel as if the smartphone is a real personal assistant, according to the company on Tuesday. Ahead of the 5G model’s launch next Friday, LG revealed functions of the new device that focus on increasing user convenience by reinforcing the AI platform to understand circumstances.For example, the V50 ThinQ will help users with parking. When a user parks and g

With South Korea launching the world’s first commercial fifth-generation telecom network last week, the nation’s semiconductor industry is seeking opportunities in the emerging 5G chipset market in an effort to overcome sluggish demand for memory chips. As Korea’s economy has been heavily reliant on memory exports for the past 35 years, the current down cycle is making a critical dent in the export-driven economy, raising calls for new high-tech export goods to reduce the overdependence on memor

Amid aggressive expansion by Chinese TV makers in the liquid-crystal display TV market, LG Electronics is moving to strengthen its leadership in the premium LCD TV market, according to the industry on Monday. Although LG has gained more attention with its organic light-emitting diode TVs in recent years, the company still takes a major share of the LCD TV market. It plans to expand its market share and launches new lineups featuring upgraded technologies each year. Out of the total of 218.8 mill

Smartphones enabled by fifth-generation telecommunications networks were launched and registered in South Korea on Friday, marking the beginning of a new telecom era. The country’s three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- started offering 5G mobile services for ordinary smartphone users with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G model. SK Telecom, the biggest telecom firm by number of subscribers, held a ceremony at its T World shop in Gangnam Station, southern Seoul, to celebra