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Kim Bo-eun

Korea Times Digital Content Reporter

Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.

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Tech & Science

Leadership vacuum troubles Samsung amid global chip shortage

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong enters the Seoul High Court to attend a retrial of his bribery case held Jan. 18. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-hanBy Kim Bo-eunA prolonged leadership vacuum at Samsung Electronics has placed the semiconductor giant in a tough spot with strategic decisions over new investments in the U.S. being delayed. Meanwhile, amid the global shortage of semiconductors, rival TSMC of Taiwan is building a large plant there. Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong was jailed in January after receiving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for bribing former President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil. Lee is currently hospitalized after receiving emergency surgery for appendicitis, March 19.The White House, meanwhile, is inviting executives of companies in the chip industry for a meeting with senior officials, April 12. The U.S. presidential office said earlier this week that the list of participants and companies taking part in the meeting will be unveiled nearer the meeting date.A Bloomberg report stated that executives of firms including Samsung Elec

Apr 8, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Leadership vacuum troubles Samsung amid global chip shortage
Tech & Science

SK Broadband launches TV channels

Media S employees pose marking the launch of the company's new TV channels, in this provided photo. Courtesy of SK BroadbandBy Kim Bo-eunSK Broadband said its subsidiary Media S launched two TV channels, Thursday. This is part of the company's plan to set up a value chain in the media business that encompasses content, channels and platforms.SK is seeking to differentiate its new TV channels from others by having exclusive content make up 70 percent of the programs offered. The channels are "Channel S" and another channel focusing on content for regions outside of the Seoul metropolitan area.SK Broadband set up Media S as a multiple program provider in January. The new entity kicked off operations with the launch of the channels."Media S, with creative and meaningful content, will communicate with viewers and provide new value," CEO Kim Hyuk was quoted as saying in a press release. Kim also serves as SK Broadband's head of media strategy."We will maximize synergy by expanding the distribution of original content through real-time broadcast channels and B tv," he said. B tv is SK Broa

Apr 8, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
SK Broadband launches TV channels
Tech & Science

Korea emerges as global testing ground for mobility services

A mobile phone user logs into Uber's app with an Uber Taxi in the background. Courtesy of UberUber, Google seek to capitalize on country's advanced IT infrastructureBy Kim Bo-eunThe Korean market has become a test bed for global firms' services due to the country's advanced IT infrastructure and tech-savvy consumers. Uber and Google are the latest companies that have partnered with local mobility services providers to test services and collect data for new businesses.The testing is being done based on Korea's high-speed internet infrastructure, superior smartphone penetration rate and the large population density in the Seoul metropolitan area, which have led to the rapid growth of mobile-based services for hailing cabs and other forms of transportation. Korea is one of the top countries in terms of smartphone penetration, with over 93.6 percent of the population owning a smartphone as of 2019. Data shows that 28 million people ― more than half of the population ― are signed up with the cab hailing apps of local firms, such as Kakao Mobility. The country's high degree of smartphone p

Apr 6, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Korea emerges as global testing ground for mobility services
Companies

SK invests in Vietnam's VinCommerce

SK South East Asia Investment Managing Director Park Won-chul, right, and Vice President Kwon Hye-jo, left, pose with Masan Group CEO Danny Le on screen at SK's building in central Seoul, Tuesday, after signing a deal about SK's investment in Masan's retail unit, VinCommerce. Courtesy of SKBy Kim Bo-eunSK Group said Tuesday its subsidiary in Southeast Asia has invested in Vietnam's top retailer, VinCommerce.SK South East Asia Investment acquired 16.3 percent of the firm's shares for 460 billion won ($410 million), as part of a strategic partnership with its parent company, Masan Group, SK said. VinCommerce operates 2,300 convenience stores and supermarkets in the Southeast Asian country, and takes up a 50-percent share in Vietnam's retail market."We expect VinCommerce to grow into an omni-channel business, such as Alibaba or Amazon, that integrates online and offline channels," an SK official said. "Investment in the company is an investment in the future retail value chain of Southeast Asia, which is expected to see high growth."Masan Group is Vietnam's largest business in the food

Apr 6, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
SK invests in Vietnam's VinCommerce
Tech & Science

US International Trade Commission dismisses LG Energy Solution's request to cancel SK Innovation's patent suit

The U.S. International Trade Commission's headquarters in Washington D.C. / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunThe U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) on Thursday (local time) dismissed LG Energy Solution (LGES)'s request to cancel a patent suit filed by SK Innovation (SKI) in 2019.The suit was filed in September 2019, prior to LGES filing its own patent suit against SKI the same month. USITC on Wednesday sided with SKI in the suit that LGES had filed.U.S. regulations state that any party may file a motion to introduce sanctions for the failure of a party to cooperate in investigations. LGES requested that sanctions be taken against SKI for their patent suit in August 2020, citing that SKI failed in its duty to preserve evidence for the investigation. LGES claimed that SKI's duty to preserve evidence should have been in effect, "Well before May 16, 2019." SKI, meanwhile, asserted that it did not anticipate the ITC's investigation or any litigation relating to the patent suit until July 2019."The undersigned finds that SKI had a duty to preserve evidence in this investigation as of

Apr 2, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
US International Trade Commission dismisses LG Energy Solution's request to cancel SK Innovation's patent suit
Politics

Samsung to attend White House meeting on chip shortage

An American flag flies above the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 9. AP-YonhapBy Kim Bo-eunSamsung Electronics officials are set to attend a White House meeting with other firms in the industry later this month to discuss ways to tackle the global chip shortage.A Samsung Electronics official said Friday he could not confirm the meeting, but the top chip maker was mentioned along with General Motors and GlobalFoundries as companies that would meet with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese to discuss the issue, in a Bloomberg report published April 1.According to the report, the White House is also in talks with Congress and foreign allies over dealing with the semiconductor shortage.The global shortage of semiconductors is attributed to a surge in demand for electronic devices amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as work and school were brought home.Global automakers are keeping their production lines idle due to the chip shortage. The shortage was exacerbated after carmakers reduced orders and scaled down production in the ear

Apr 2, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Samsung to attend White House meeting on chip shortage
  • Samsung responding to climate change agilely utilizing eco-friendly technology
Tech & Science

USITC sides with SK in battery patent suit with LG

SK says ITC decision shows firm's technological capabilitiesLG claims latest ruling is separate from trade secret case By Kim Bo-eunLG and SK groups' corporate logos / Korea Times fileThe U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) ruled in favor of SK Innovation (SKI), Wednesday (local time), in a battery patent lawsuit with LG Energy Solution (LGES).In a preliminary decision in the patent suit filed by LGES, the commission stated that it could find no evidence that the nation's No. 2 battery maker, SKI, infringed on the stated patents. The pre-ruling comes as a deadline approaches for a decision by the White House on whether to veto a separate USITC ruling over SKI illegally obtaining LGES' trade secrets that was made in February."It is my initial determination in this investigation that there is no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, in the importation into the U.S., the sale for importation, and/or the sale within the U.S. after importation of certain lithium battery cells, battery modules, battery packs, components thereof and products containing the same, with r

Apr 1, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
USITC sides with SK in battery patent suit with LG
Tech & Science

Samsung SDI joins movement against deep-sea mining

By Kim Bo-eunSamsung Group's battery-making unit said Wednesday it is joining with global companies to boycott deep-sea mining for minerals used to make battery cells.Samsung SDI is the first battery maker to take part in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-backed global moratorium in which companies such as BMW, Google and Volvo are participants.Currently, battery materials such as cobalt, cooper, nickel and manganese are sourced from traditional mines on land. Deep-sea mining has yet to take off but the Pacific Ocean is known to be an abundant source of minerals.According to the WWF, deep-sea mining for metals and minerals would have a destructive impact on deep-sea ecosystems and biodiversity, which in turn could have a damaging effect on fisheries, livelihoods and food security, and adversely affect ocean carbon and nutrient cycles."The intrinsic long-term benefits of a healthy ocean far outweigh any short-term incentives offered by deep seabed mining," the WWF stated in its call for the moratorium."Extraction must not go ahead until the environmental, social and economic risks are und

Apr 1, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Samsung SDI joins movement against deep-sea mining
Tech & Science

KT seeks to become more foreigner-friendly

A staff member at a KT global store provides information to foreign customers about the telecom firm's latest services, which lets international customers receive discounts in their mobile phone plans by teaming up with friends of the same nationality. / Courtesy of KTBy Kim Bo-eunKT said Wednesday it launched a service that lets foreign customers receive phone plan discounts when teaming up with friends. The telecom firm is also expanding its foreign-language services for customers. Under the mobile plan service, foreign customers are able to receive discounts when five people of the same nationality team up. KT said it launched the service taking into account that foreigners are less able to benefit from family-based discounts.According to KT, about 70 percent of Korean customers are receiving discounts under the program, while the figure is less than 10 percent for foreign customers, given many foreign residents here are students or workers who are here without family members.The new program enables a foreign customer to get discounts of up to 11,000 won a month for two years, acc

Mar 31, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Tech & Science

Kakao approves 5-for-1 stock split

Kakao CEO Yeo Min-soo / Courtesy of KakaoBy Kim Bo-eunKakao, the nation's leading internet company, will conduct a 5 for 1 stock split, after the plan was approved at the tech firm's general shareholders' meeting held Monday.The stock split enables investors to purchase Kakao's stock at one fifth of its price. Kakao's stock price closed at 487,500 won, Monday. Individual investors will be able to purchase Kakao shares for less than 100,000 won.The split will increase the number of Kakao's issued shares to 443,523,100 from 88,704,620 shares. The newly split shares will be listed on April 15. Trading of Kakao stocks will be suspended from April 12 to April 14.Kakao is seen to be carrying out the split to make its stocks more affordable to individual investors and boost its stock value.Kakao's tech rival Naver as well as Samsung Electronics saw the portion of their minority shareholders grow and stock prices rise after their stock splits conducted in 2018."Kakao will make efforts for the growth of various lines of business to continue and make business models profitable," CEO Yeo Min-so

Mar 29, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Kakao approves 5-for-1 stock split
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