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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

LG Uplus pledges to secure funds for fresh growth

LG Uplus holds its general shareholders' meeting at the company's headquarters in central Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of LG UplusBy Kim Bo-eunHwang Hyeon-sik, elected as LG Uplus CEO Friday, vowed to lead the telecom company's growth in new sectors by securing additional funds.Hwang was elected a member of LG Uplus' board at the company's general shareholders' meeting held the same day. He was elected CEO at the board meeting that followed."The plan is to create a business structure that enables qualitative growth and secure funds for new growth," Hwang said."We will improve profitability in the content and solutions businesses, focusing on improving customer value, and use excess funds to secure new growth engines and return more to shareholders.”His remarks come at a time local telecom firms are turning their eyes to new sources of profit as the local market for conventional telecom services has reached saturation.Hwang said LG Uplus will seek out new B2C growth engines in advertising, data and subscription services. As for B2B businesses, the company is seeking to pursue smart

Mar 19, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
LG Uplus pledges to secure funds for fresh growth
Tech & Science

US International Trade Commission postpones pre-ruling on LG-SK battery 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) said Thursday (local time) that it has postponed by two weeks to next month a preliminary ruling on a battery patent suit between LG Energy Solution (LGES) and SK Innovation (SKI).The preliminary determination for the suit filed by LGES was scheduled to be made Friday. But it is now set to be made April 2, while the final ruling is due Aug. 2."Additional time will be needed to complete the initial determination, which will require an extension of the target date," USITC stated in a notification.The USITC has previously delayed multiple rulings, including a trade secret case between LGES and SKI.LGES' parent company, LG Chem, filed the battery patent suit against SKI in September 2019. LG claimed that SKI infringed on LGES' patents in the U.S. involving battery separators and cathode materials.The patent suit is related to another claim LGES filed against SKI over trade secrets. In April 2019, LGES filed the case with the USITC claim

Mar 19, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
US International Trade Commission postpones pre-ruling on LG-SK battery patent suit
Tech & Science

Why did Kakao back out of eBay acquisition race?

By Kim Bo-eunQuestions are being raised over why tech giant Kakao decided to pull out of the race to acquire eBay Korea, after applications for the preliminary bid were filed on March 16.As Kakao has been seeking to scale up its e-commerce businesses, thoughts were that it would join the race, with company officials acknowledging its intent to participate in the bidding process. Against earlier expectations, Shinsegae, Lotte, SK Telecom and private equity fund (PEF) firm MBK Partners made the cut in the preliminary bid. Regarding Kakao's “departure,” sources said the decision was aimed at focusing on its KakaoTalk-based commerce model. Simply put, it has its own strengths to successfully manage digitally driven business models. The mobile messenger-based model has immense growth potential with over 45 million monthly active users. Gift services on Kakao have become widely popular, securing 20 million users as of the end of last year.Kakao is also offering live commerce services and services under which KakaoTalk users can purchase certain products at discounted prices in

Mar 18, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Why did Kakao back out of eBay acquisition race?
Tech & Science

Samsung vows to strengthen compliance

Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Ki-nam speaks at the company's general shareholders' meeting held at the Suwon Convention Center, south of Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Samsung ElectronicsBy Kim Bo-eunSamsung Electronics reiterated its commitment to strengthening compliance with the law on Wednesday, while its chief Lee Jae-yong is in prison because of his involvement in a bribery case that resulted in the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. The remarks came during the tech giant's general shareholders' meeting held the same day.“We will set up the foundation of a trusted company of 100 years,” Device Solutions (DS) Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Ki-nam said at the meeting held in the Suwon Convention Center, south of Seoul.Shareholders affiliated with civic groups called for the board to strip the Samsung leader of his title given his convictions.Regarding the requests, Vice Chairman Kim said, “The group will comprehensively review the company's circumstances and law, taking into consideration the role Lee plays in manag

Mar 17, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Samsung vows to strengthen compliance
  • SDI to invest more in Hungary battery plant
Tech & Science

KT share price rising on growth momentum

By Kim Bo-eunKT's share price is riding on the company's growth momentum as it seeks to transform itself into a big tech firm.Its stock price has long been sluggish as its business models haven't been able to appeal to institutional investors. KT is heavily dependent upon saturated conventional telecom-oriented businesses, while its new CEO is trying hard to expand into new industries. KT's stock price has failed to recover to pre-pandemic levels in the past year. But the price have risen in recent weeks ― hitting a 52-week high of 27,350 won on Feb. 17. It closed at 27,050 won, Monday. This is a 12 percent growth from Jan. 4's closing price of 23,800 won.With the rise, KT's market capitalization came to 7 trillion won, 15 months since Dec. 30, 2019. This is based on gradual growth expectations of the company's business-to-business (B2B) sectors focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation.Since CEO Ku Hyeon-mo took office in March 2020, the company has begun taking initial moves to cut reliance on its conventional telecom business and focus on key businesses d

Mar 15, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
KT share price rising on growth momentum
Tech & Science

Samsung Electro-Mechanics to benefit from soaring MLCC price

By Kim Bo-eunSamsung's electronics component manufacturing unit is expected to see robust earnings this year, driven by expected price hikes of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), a key component in smartphones.Taiwan-based Yageo, which manufactures MLCCs, is set to raise prices beginning in the second quarter, according to NH Investment & Securities. Yageo has not unveiled the specifics but prices are expected to see a 10 percent to 20 percent hike.Global MLCC manufacturers such as Japan's Murata, TDK as well as Samsung Electro-Mechanics raised prices of high-value added MLCCs in late February. Yagyeo's price hike is set to lead to rises in prices of mid- to low-priced capacitors as well. In addition to MLCC price hikes, the Samsung affiliate is set to enjoy an earnings boost backed by soaring demand in China for 5G phones.According to a report by Hana Financial Investment, China shipped 21.34 million smartphone devices in February, a 234 percent jump from the previous quarter. Among the handsets, China shipped 15.1 million 5G devices in February, up 50 percent from the previ

Mar 15, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Samsung Electro-Mechanics to benefit from soaring MLCC price
Tech & Science

Both Samsung, LG denied US QNED trademark registration

By Kim Bo-eunLG Electronics' QNED Mini LED TV unveiled in December / Courtesy of LG ElectronicsBoth Samsung and LG have failed to register "QNED" as trademarks with the U.S. authority, documents showed Sunday.The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Feb. 25 notified Samsung Display that its registration for "QNED" was refused because the mark "merely describes an important feature and characteristic of the applicant's goods." Samsung's display manufacturing unit applied for the trademark in September of last year.QNED stands for "quantum nano-emitting diode" and is considered to be the next-generation display technology.LG was also notified in January that its registration for QNED as a trademark was refused because it was “merely descriptive.”The U.S. authority last week notified Samsung that it could use the name with a disclaimer stating that no claim is made to the exclusive right to use QNED.Given both LG and Samsung applied for the same trademark, the U.S. authority notified both sides last week that if either entity registers the mark, their own mark may be

Mar 15, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Both Samsung, LG denied US QNED trademark registration
Tech & Science

Will Samsung, LG build battery plants in Spain?

By Kim Bo-eunSamsung SDI and LG Energy Solution (LGES) could possibly be considering building production facilities in Spain after Volkswagen said it will manufacture battery cells in the European country.However, officials from both Korean companies said they had no plans to build battery manufacturing plants there.Despite the denials, the feasibility for doing so is gathering momentum after the German carmaker's CEO Herbert Diess earlier confirmed plans to assemble battery cells in Spain as part of converting its Martorell factory there into a complete electric vehicle (EV) plant. Volkswagen is holding a "Power Day," March 15, where it is expected to unveil more details about securing EV batteries.Battery makers here, including SK Innovation (SKI), are exploring the best ways to penetrate the European market following EU initiatives to assist the EV industry. They are currently eyeing sites to base production for their European clients.Volkswagen owns a Spanish carmaker affiliate, SEAT, which is also a technology partner of Samsung. Spain's first factory for EV batteries is set to

Mar 14, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Will Samsung, LG build battery plants in Spain?
Tech & Science

SKT, Kakao to cooperate in AI, ESG, intellectual property

Kakao CEO Yeo Min-soo, left, bumps fists with SK Telecom's head of mobile network operator business Yoo Young-sang after the two companies partnered to cooperate in AI, ESG and intellectual property at Kakao's office in Pangyo, south of Seoul. / Courtesy of SK TelecomBy Kim Bo-eunSK Telecom and Kakao unveiled a partnership Sunday to co-develop technology in artificial intelligence (AI) and create a fund for environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. The companies have also agreed to share intellectual property and open this up to small- and medium-sized companies and venture firms.The telecom carrier and tech giant plan to develop AI technology in the sectors of infrastructure, data and language models. Language models, which assign probability to a piece of unseen text based on training data, are vital for tasks such as speech recognition, spelling correction and machine translation. AI learning data such as in the forms of text, voice and images will be shared in the process of developing technology. The companies are seeking to open up new AI technology to academia as we

Mar 14, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
SKT, Kakao to cooperate in AI, ESG, intellectual property
Tech & Science

Naver, Kakao, Toss fail identification verification review

By Kim Bo-eunMajor tech firms Naver, Kakao and operator of the financial platform, Toss, Viva Republica, face a delay in entering the identification verification business, as they failed to be designated by the government as entities able to carry out the process.The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) on Monday stated that the three companies did not pass a screening for the identification verification, which is used to allow access to various online processes. Under the current system, verification is carried out by through mobile phone or credit card numbers. The three telecom companies, SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, are the only entities in the business.The commission said in a press release that it determined the three corporate bodies that applied did not meet the designation criteria, based on a review by its screening panel."Viva Republica did not have its own certification tool when it applied," a KCC official told The Korea Times. "Kakao and Naver also did not have a specifically unique means for all individuals to be identified in a verifiable manner.”The agency sai

Mar 10, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Naver, Kakao, Toss fail identification verification review
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