Hynix CEO Kwon to make appearance in the U.S. event early next month


Hynix chief executive Kwon Oh-chul is expected to attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month to meet with top officials of its U.S. business partners, industry sources said.

Kwon, top executive of the world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker, is most likely to go to the U.S. as demand for its two key products -- NAND Flash memory and mobile application processors -- is increasing with the sharp rise in smart devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, according to the sources.

Hynix’s NAND Flash memory chip is currently used in Apple’s latest smartphone iPhone 4S and Amazon’s e-reader Kindle.

Kwon is expected to make a stop at Hynix’s U.S. headquarters in San Jose, California, as he seeks to hold talks with the company’s U.S. partners, such as major PC manufacturers.

Hynix is projected to invest a total of 4 trillion won for next year -- 2.5 trillion won in NAND Flash and 1.5 trillion won in mobile dynamic random access memory.

In the meantime, LG Electronics’ vice chairman Koo Bon-joon will also attend the electronics show in Las Vegas, as well as LG Display’s new chief Han Sang-beom. Samsung Electronics’ vice chairman Choi Gee-sung and Kwon Hee-won, president of the home entertainment unit at LG Electronics, are also among the key participants from South Korean electronics firms.

Koo will not hold a press conference on the sidelines of the world’s biggest consumer electronics trade show, but he will meet with the company’s buyers and partners, striving to get out of the red and make a comeback in 2012, industry sources said.

Kwon, LG’s TV chief, is planning to unveil details of the company’s TV strategies to reporters at the show in Las Vegas although 3-D TVs are deemed to remain as its core business in the year ahead.

Next month’s electronics show will become the debut stage for Han as observers eye how he will differentiate himself from his outspoken predecessor Kwon Young-soo.

In the meantime, Samsung’s vice chairman Choi is scheduled to hold a press conference on Jan. 9.


By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)