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Baek Byung-yeul

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.

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Companies

Kia to transform itself into EV carmaker

Kia CEO Song Ho-sung speaks during the company's CEO Investor Day event, Tuesday. / Courtesy of KiaBy Baek Byung-yeulKia has vowed to improve its electric vehicle (EV) sales, and will release 11 EV models by 2026, while transforming itself into a total mobility company, the Hyundai Motor Group affiliate said Tuesday.The carmaker held a CEO Investor Day event online and unveiled its future vision focusing on EVs and mobility.The company recently unveiled its new logo, removing “Motors” from its corporate name to distance itself from combustion engines and stress its transformation into a mobility company.Kia CEO Song Ho-sung said the change in its corporate name shows “Kia's commitment to total transformation.”“Kia Motors will pass into history. We will greet the coming mobility era with our new name Kia, and Kia will go beyond the manufacturing and sales-driven business to solidify itself as a brand offering innovative mobility experiences to customers,” he said.Under its new vision, Kia introduced what he called the “Plan S” strategy,

Feb 9, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
Kia to transform itself into EV carmaker
Tech & Science

LG CNS wins certification

LG CNS employees promote the firm's artificial intelligence (AI)-based language education service, Tuesday. The company said its English education services AI Tutor and AI TOEIC Speaking won certification from the Korea Association of Teachers of English ― the first AI-based language learning program to receive the certification. / Courtesy of LG CNS

Feb 9, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
LG CNS wins certification
Companies

EXCLUSIVE SK, LG fail to resolve intellectual property disputes ahead of US ruling

By Baek Byung-yeulLG Energy Solution employees, left, and an SK Innovation employee hold their companies battery cells. / Courtesy of LG Energy Solution, SK InnovationSK Innovation (SKI) and LG Energy Solution (LGES) have failed to reach an out of court settlement in their battery patents dispute before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) makes a final ruling, slated for Feb. 10 (local time), a high-ranking industry official said Monday.“SKI and LGES have failed to reach a settlement before the USITC's final ruling. The two sides were still at odds as LGES asked SKI to admit it infringed on intellectual property for battery-making technology, while SK reiterated that it didn't infringe on any patent rights,” the official said.“As they failed to iron out their differences, the talks to decide on the amount of settlement money also fizzled out,” he added.However, representatives of both electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturers said the two were still working on finding middle ground to reach a settlement.This comes a week after Prime Minister Chun

Feb 8, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
[EXCLUSIVE] SK, LG fail to resolve intellectual property disputes ahead of US ruling
Tech & Science

Samsung requests US for tax benefits to build Austin plant

By Baek Byung-yeulSamsung Electronics appears to have decided to expand its chip-manufacturing factory in Austin, Texas, as the Korean tech giant is asking the local government there to offer tax benefits in return for the building of new production lines.Samsung Electronics' Austin branch in Texas / Captured from Samsung Electronics webpageReuters reported Friday that Samsung filed documents with Texas state officials, seeking tax abatements of $805.5 million over a period of 20 years from Travis County and Austin. Samsung added in the documents that the company would begin construction in the second quarter of this year and the new plant will be operational in the third quarter of 2023.The documents also showed Samsung was looking at alternative sites for its new semiconductor production plant in the U.S. such as Arizona and New York.The Austin plant, which runs 14-nanometer chip lines, is Samsung's sole semiconductor manufacturing base in the U.S. Customers for its contract-based chip production there include Tesla, Qualcomm and Nvidia.Regarding the plans to increase U.S. producti

Feb 5, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
Samsung requests US for tax benefits to build Austin plant
Tech & Science

SK hynix adjusts incentive allocation to soothe angry union

SK hynix's chip manufacturing plant in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of SK hynixBy Baek Byung-yeulSK hynix has amended its incentive calculating system after disgruntled employees demanded that management come up with a more equitable bonus structure.The company said a meeting was held with union leaders at its headquarters in Icheon, south of Seoul, Thursday, to address the problem, and the union agreed to an offer by management to change the measurement method of calculating the profit-sharing bonus system.Under the agreement, the bonus program will no longer be calculated based on the company's economic value added (EVA) index, which refers to a calculation of how much profit remains after deducting the costs of a company's capital spending from its operating profit. Instead, bonuses will be decided based on the memory chip maker's annual operating profit. Furthermore, the company will issue employees with stocks equivalent to 200 percent of their base salary.With the two sides coming to an agreement, SK hynix said it expects the recent controversy over the profit-sharing i

Feb 5, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
SK hynix adjusts incentive allocation to soothe angry union
Tech & Science

SK hynix hit by labor unrest

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, center, attends a ceremony commemorating the completion of SK hynix's new semiconductor-manufacturing plant called M16 in Icheon, south of Seoul, Feb. 1. / Courtesy of SK hynixBy Baek Byung-yeulUnions at SK hynix are urging management to take a more equitable stance when calculating profit-sharing bonuses, claiming that the company gave lower-than-expected incentives despite the world's second-largest memory chip maker seeing more than an 84 percent increase in operating profit in 2020 from a year earlier.The company notified its employees that it would provide profit-sharing bonuses, equivalent to 20 percent of their annual salaries, but the unions protested the management's decision, claiming the amount was insufficient compared to what employees at rival companies received.The unions also asked management to transparently share the company's economic “value added,” which refers to a calculation of how much profit remains after deducting the costs of a company's capital spending from its operating profit.They also staged a protest in fron

Feb 4, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
SK hynix hit by labor unrest
Tech & Science

Samsung Display's OLED for laptops

Pictured is Samsung Display's OLED panel for laptops. The company said Thursday that its promotional videos introducing its OLED panels, which help manufacturers produce lightweight and energy-efficiency notebooks, have gone viral online. / Courtesy of Samsung Display

Feb 4, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
Samsung Display's OLED for laptops
Tech & Science

'Samsung could acquire automobile chip firm'

Samsung Electronics' in-vehicle systems / Captured from Samsung ElectronicsBy Baek Byung-yeulSamsung Electronics' possible move to acquire firms involved in the automotive semiconductor business seems to be rational given that cars will require a lot more chips and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to become more autonomous over the next decades, according to Jim Handy, a U.S.-based analyst working for Objective Analysis.There has been speculation that the Korean tech giant may try to acquire companies in the automotive semiconductor business, such as NXP, Texas Instruments, Renesas or Infineon.The chip industry analyst said acquiring one of them could be a comprehensible move as the importance of the automotive chip business has been increasingly highlighted because global carmakers are struggling with an unprecedented shortage of chips for cars, which has caused them to suspend production.The chip shortage issue stems from semiconductor companies prioritizing chips for IT devices and home appliances, which have been in strong demand since the COVID-19 outbreak.The analyst s

Feb 3, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
'Samsung could acquire automobile chip firm'
Companies

KDB says no fresh funding for SsangYong Motor until potential investor shows up

Korea Development Bank Vice President Choi Dae-hyun speaks during an online press conference, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Korea Development BankBy Baek Byung-yeulMoves to rescue SsangYong Motor have hit a major snag as its main lender, the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), has made it clear there will be no fresh funding aid until the debt-ridden carmaker finds a potential investor.“Since SsangYong Motor was placed under an autonomous restructuring support (ARS) program in December, three parties, including SsangYong Motor, KDB and Mahindra & Mahindra, have been trying to attract new investors. However there has been no progress in selling SsangYong, because Mahindra and SsangYong's potential buyer have failed to narrow their differences,” Choi Dae-hyun, vice president of KDB, told reporters.“SsangYong is still coming up with a detailed self-rescue plan, while a potential buyer departed Korea and there has been no progress in completing the prepackaged bankruptcy program,” he added. “We will make a final decision (on financial support) after checkin

Feb 2, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
KDB says no fresh funding for SsangYong Motor until potential investor shows up
Tech & Science

NXP, Infineon emerging 'top shopping list' for Samsung Electronics

By Baek Byung-yeulWith Samsung Electronics declaring it will actively seek opportunities for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as part of a strategy to improve its competitiveness, eyes are on which companies the tech giant will add to its shopping list.Industry sources said Monday that the firm may try to acquire companies in the automotive semiconductor business such as NXP of the Netherlands, Texas Instruments of the United States, Renesas Electronics of Japan or Germany's Infineon.Acquiring one of these firms could be a suitable move given the automotive chip business has high growth potential while Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, is way behind them in this sector.Samsung was mentioned as a potential buyer of NXP a few years ago, but Qualcomm reached an agreement to acquire the Dutch company for $44 billion. However, the acquisition did not go through following objections from the Chinese government.Currently, numerous players are fiercely competing in the automotive chip business, with NXP leading with around a 21 percent market share, followed by Infineon (19 p

Feb 1, 2021By Baek Byung-yeul
NXP, Infineon emerging 'top shopping list' for Samsung Electronics
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