Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it has started mass-production of a power-efficient solid state drive (SSD) for data centers that also boasts enhanced security solutions. The South Korean tech giant said PM9A3E1.S is the industry's first data center-use SSD product based on sixth-generation V-NAND chips. It supports the standards of Open Compute Project (OCP), an organization that sets hardware and software standards in data centers. Samsung, the world's leading memory chip producer, sa

South Korea's business sentiment improved for March on decreased economic uncertainty, with more companies expecting a recovery down the road, a poll showed Wednesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 109.2 for next month, up 19.1 points from February, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. "The business index got a boost from expectations that the rollout of new coronavirus vaccines and recovery in global deman

The land ministry said Wednesday it has selected new sites for its housing development project aimed at increasing supplies in urban areas and curbing housing prices. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it has selected a vast area spanning 1,271 square meters in Gwangmyeong and Siheung in Gyeonggi Province as the site for approximately 70,000 new homes. The two satellite cities are located about 12 kilometers southeast of Yeouido, a major business district in eastern Seoul.

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it is investigating yet another suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu traced to poultry farms, with the total caseload reaching 101. The latest suspected case of the malign H5N8 strain of avian influenza came from an egg farm in Wonju, 132 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea confirmed its 101st case of seriously contagious bird flu from another egg farm in Icheon, sout

Shipments of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines for South Koreans began Wednesday as health authorities gear up to launch a public inoculation program later this week. The inaugural shipments of vaccines developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca were made at a drug manufacturing plant of SK Bioscience Co. in Andong, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The delivery began as the country was preparing to begin a public vaccination program on Friday using AstraZeneca vaccines

LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday its smart TV platform will be used by other TV makers this year as the company eyes boosting its software capability. LG said some 20 TV manufacturers, including RCA, Konka and Ayonz, will release TVs installed with its webOS platform. To attract more TV brands using its smart TV platform, LG said it has also signed partnerships with streaming giants like Netflix, YouTube and Amazon, as well as remote controls solution provider Universal Electronics Inc. The

Samsung Electronics Co. remained the world's leading TV vendor for the 15th straight year in 2020 on the back of its QLED and large TVs, a report showed Wednesday. The South Korean tech giant had a market share of a record 31.9 percent in terms of sales revenue last year, up from 30.9 percent a year earlier, according to data from industry researcher Omdia, extending its lead in the global TV market for the 15th consecutive year. Samsung was followed by its South Korean rival LG Electronics In

미국 '골프 황제' 타이거 우즈가 23일(현지시간) 교통사고 당시 현대자동차 스포츠유틸리티차량(SUV) '제네시스 GV80'을 운전하고 있었다는 사실이 주목을 받는다. 폭스뉴스비즈니스와 USA투데이 등은 우즈가 몰던 차량에 관심을 쏟으며 사고경위, 피해 정도 등을 소개했다. 보도들에 따르면 우즈는 현대차 후원으로 지난 주말 열린 미국프로골프(PGA) 제네시스 인비테이셔널 대회 주최자로 최근 캘리포니아주(州) 로스앤젤레스(LA)에 머물러왔고 LA에 머무는 동안 현대차로부터 GV80을 빌려 이용해왔다. 대회 우승자인 맥스 호마도 부상으로 GV80을 받았다. GV80은 제네시스 브랜드를 단 첫 SUV다. 이 차량에는 에어백 10개와 운전자가 졸면 경보를 울리는 '운전자 주의 경보'(DAW), 장애물과 충돌을 막는 '회피 조향 보조' 등 안전기능이 있다. 우즈는 이날 오전 7시 15분께 LA카운티 교외 랜초 팔로스버디스에서 혼자 운전하다가 사고를 냈다. 차량은 도롯가로 여러 차례

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 400 on Wednesday on continued cluster infections across the country ahead of the country's COVID-19 vaccine rollout this week. The country reported 440 more virus cases, including 417 local infections, raising the total caseload to 88,120, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Wednesday's daily caseload is a sharp rise from 357 cases amid unrelenting group infections. The figures hovered above 600 las

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight tech losses on Wall Street that stemmed from US inflation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.46 points, or 0.37 percent, to 3,058.63 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Samsung Electronics retreated 0.49 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 0.36 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor moved down 0.2 percent, with internet portal operator Naver declining 1.02 percent. Leading chemica

North Korea's official newspaper on Wednesday called for greater efforts to realize a self-reliant economy without outside help amid struggles to accomplish key goals unveiled in a rare party meeting last month. "When we face difficulties in the process of achieving our tasks, we must not depend on help from outside or from the top but rather solve the problems in close cooperation with the production, research and development sector," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's rulin

WASHINGTON -- The United States and South Korea may discuss the proposed release of Iranian funds held in South Korea, but no money has yet been transferred, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday, noting the allies often discuss such issues. Ned Price said it would not be a surprise if the allies are already in such discussions, but noted no money has been transferred yet. "We don't have a comment precisely on that, precisely because there has been no transfer of funds," the depa

South Korea's exports are expected to rise 8.9 percent on-year in February to extend gains for a fourth month on robust shipments of chips and automobiles, a poll showed Wednesday. The country's outbound shipments are expected to reach $44.5 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on six local brokerage houses. Imports were estimated at $42.7 billion this month, resulting in a trade surplus of $8.1 bill

South Korean steelmakers are rushing to ramp up capacity utilization in an effort to meet rising demand at home and abroad, industry sources said Wednesday. The move comes amid stabilizing international steel prices due to a drop in China's steel exports, and expectations for an increase in domestic demand for steel used in construction. According to the sources, leading steelmaker Posco has decided to postpone repair work on a cold-rolled steel plant in Gwangyang on the south coast, originall

WASHINGTON -- The United States' missile defense capability is "clearly" focused on North Korea and must continue to advance to meet evolving threats from the country, the vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. Gen. John Hyten argued the North poses one of the most immediate threats to the US in that the country has a real potential of using its weapons against the US. "Our national missile defense capability is clearly focused on North Korea right now, not

South Korean listed companies' dividend payouts soared nearly 47 percent in 2020 from a year earlier thanks to a jump in payments by top-cap Samsung Electronics Co., a corporate tracker said Wednesday. According to CEO Score, 613 firms listed on the main stock market paid out a combined 37.34 trillion won ($33.6 billion) last year, up 46.7 percent from the previous year. The businesses cover those which have so far put out their dividend payouts for fiscal 2020. The jump came as Samsung Elect

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose for the second straight month in March, but worries about sluggish consumption remained amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 85 for March, up from 81 for February, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumb

The top diplomats of South Korea and Britain spoke over the phone Tuesday and discussed joint efforts to expand bilateral cooperation in climate change and other areas, the foreign ministry said. In the phone talks, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong agreed with his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, to use upcoming events, like the Group of Seven (G7) summit and the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G), as occasions to further strengthen cooperation. It was the first phone co

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun urged North Korea on Tuesday to return to denuclearization talks, saying that the peace process on the Korean Peninsula is the path that must be taken, the foreign ministry said. Choi made the remark in a speech he delivered virtually for the high-level segment of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, as he explained Seoul‘s ongoing efforts to engage with Pyongyang toward the goal of building a nuclear-free peninsula and lasting peace in t

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it has reached a settlement with Brazilian state prosecutors and auditors over a graft probe surrounding drillship orders by the company. The company said in a regulatory filing that it has agreed to pay 812 million reais ($149 million) in a leniency deal with Brazil’s Office of the Comptroller General, Office of the Attorney General and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, accepting the results of an investigation into a criminal case inv