my timesThe Korea Times
namhw

Nam Hyun-woo

Korea Times Business Reporter

Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.

Go to Email

Read more

Companies

LG CEO courts engineers at US tech conference

LG Electronics CEO Lyu Jae-cheol courted talented engineers during a recruiting event in San Francisco as part of the company's efforts to secure specialists in future growth businesses such as robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) data center cooling solutions and mobility. According to LG Electronics on Monday, Lyu, Chief Technology Officer Kim Byoung-hoon and other executives attended the North America Tech Conference in San Francisco on Saturday (local time), where they shared the company’s vision for its future businesses and highlighted its technological competitiveness. The event drew around 100 participants, including doctoral students and researchers from Stanford University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California, Berkeley and other leading universities and research institutions across the U.S. Experienced research and development professionals working at local Big Tech companies and startups also joined the event. Sharing his career experience as an engineer-turned-CEO, Lyu said LG Electronics places great impor

Aug 31, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
LG CEO courts engineers at US tech conference
Companies

Samsung Biologics rights offering highlights future growth, but stock price drops

Samsung Biologics will issue new shares worth 3 trillion won ($2.17 billion) to finance its planned acquisition of a Swiss-headquartered contract drug manufacturer and the expansion of its manufacturing facilities in Korea. Its shares fell after the announcement on Friday, as the new offering will increase the number of outstanding shares. However, analysts said the capital increase could strengthen Samsung Biologics’ long-term growth prospects by helping the company quickly enter the fast-growing market for materials used in obesity treatments and expand capacity ahead of further large-scale orders. Samsung Biologics said it will issue 2.27 million new shares, equivalent to 4.9 percent of its outstanding shares. The planned offering price is 1.322 million won per share, which will raise a total of 3 trillion won. Of the proceeds, 2.7 trillion won will be used to finance the acquisition of PolyPeptide Group, and 294.8 billion won will be allocated to facility investment for the company’s sixth plant in Incheon. PolyPeptide Group is a global contract development and manufacturing orga

Aug 28, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung Biologics rights offering highlights future growth, but stock price drops
Tech & Science

SKT, KT, Kakao consortiums selected for free AI service for public

The government on Friday selected three consortiums, each led by SK Telecom, KT and Kakao, as the operators of the “AI for All” project, which will provide unlimited access to artificial intelligence (AI) tools and services for all Koreans without any fees. The Ministry of Science and ICT chose the three consortiums from six applicants following an evaluation of their service plans and technological capabilities. The selected operators will receive a combined 512 Nvidia B200 graphics processing units from the government this year and, from 2027, will receive government support for part of the costs required to provide the service nationwide. The project is aimed at developing public AI services based on Korean AI models. The selected operators will be required to use both their own models and those developed by other companies to provide general-purpose AI chatbot services, as well as public and specialized AI agents. The ministry plans to sign agreements with the three operators in September and officially launch the AI for All service by the end of this year following a beta servi

Aug 28, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
SKT, KT, Kakao consortiums selected for free AI service for public
Companies

POSCO extends helping hand through global student volunteer program

POSCO has been expanding its volunteer activities at home and abroad since launching its university student volunteer group, Beyond, in 2007. Over the past 19 years, the program has produced more than 1,500 volunteers who have worked to improve living conditions for vulnerable communities and address social issues. Beyond is POSCO’s flagship social contribution program, aimed at creating sustainable value rather than one-off volunteerism. Participants lead the planning and execution of community projects, including construction work, youth education and environmental campaigns, so that they become more proactive in executing the sharing value. According to local media reports, the 19th POSCO Beyond team carried out educational support and cultural exchange activities at two elementary schools in Vietnam's Phu My region from Aug. 14-18. More than 60 volunteers participated in the program, which also included improvements to school facilities and the provision of equipment. The 19th Beyond group, recruited in April, has focused its volunteer work on programs incorporating science, techno

Aug 27, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
POSCO extends helping hand through global student volunteer program
Companies

Samsung considers appealing UK ruling over Swatch watch face suit

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it is considering “all possible countermeasures, including an appeal” to a U.K. High Court’s decision to pay Swatch Group $11.6 million in damages for hosting smartwatch watch face designs that replicated the Swatch brands on its Galaxy app store. “We are carefully considering the High Court's judgment and will consider all possible countermeasures, including an appeal,” Samsung said in a statement. The High Court in London ruled Wednesday (local time) that Samsung should pay damages to the Swiss watchmaker as watch face apps developed by third parties have copied watch face designs of Swatch brands such as Breguet, Blancpain, Omega, Longines and Tissot. The ruling was for far less than the $170 million (235.7 billion won) in damages that Swatch Group initially sought, but far higher than Samsung’s claim that it gained only $300 by selling the watch face apps and that Swatch did not suffer any damage. According to local media reports, the court ruled that the majority of the damages were specifically for display infringement that harmed Swatc

Aug 27, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung considers appealing UK ruling over Swatch watch face suit
Companies

LG Innotek supplies camera modules for Zoox robotaxis

LG Innotek has begun supplying automotive camera modules to Amazon-backed autonomous vehicle company Zoox for its purpose-built robotaxis, the Korean electronics parts maker said Thursday. The agreement expands the companies’ multiyear partnership and strengthens LG Innotek’s role as a key perception hardware supplier for Zoox. LG Innotek’s high-resolution automotive cameras are being integrated into Zoox’s sensor suite to provide overlapping fields of view and 360-degree coverage for autonomous driving. The modules leverage the Korean company’s optical design technology, developed through its extensive experience in smartphone camera modules. Designed to withstand prolonged exposure to harsh weather, the waterproof camera modules deliver reliable sensing and consistent performance under extreme environmental conditions, LG Innotek said. Each Zoox robotaxi is equipped with more than twice as many cameras as a conventional vehicle. The LG Innotek cameras offer five different fields of view depending on their mounting positions, enabling omnidirectional sensing of the vehicle’s

Aug 27, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
LG Innotek supplies camera modules for Zoox robotaxis
Companies

Hanmi Pharm in spotlight as Korea's 1st obesity drug nears launch

Hanmi Pharmaceutical is gaining attention as it prepares to launch Korea’s first glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based obesity drug, Eppe, while also signing a licensing deal worth up to $2.3 billion for a separate obesity drug candidate. In recent weeks, a series of analysts at domestic brokerages have raised their price target on Hanmi Pharm, citing the company’s potential in obesity drugs. “We expect Hanmi Pharm’s corporate value to increase with the upcoming domestic approval and launch of efpeglenatide (Eppe), as well as the release of Phase 1 trial results for HM17321,” DS Securities analyst Kim Min-jeong said in a report on Tuesday, raising the company’s price target to 720,000 won ($519) from 680,000 won. Samsung Securities on Tuesday also raised its price target on Hanmi Pharm to 610,000 won, up from 500,000 won, citing the potential of HM17321. Eppe and HM17321 are key drugs and drug candidates in Hanmi Pharm’s obesity treatment pipeline. Eppe is a long-acting GLP-1 obesity treatment based on Lapscovery, Hanmi Pharm’s own platform technology. The drug was initial

Aug 26, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Hanmi Pharm in spotlight as Korea's 1st obesity drug nears launch
Tech & Science

WRTN raises $72 mil. in Series C funding round

Korean artificial intelligence (AI) service provider WRTN Technologies has raised approximately 100 billion won ($72.23 million) in a Series C funding round, the company said Wednesday. According to WRTN, the company was valued at more than 1 trillion won in the latest funding round, becoming the first Korean AI service startup to surpass the mark. WRTN has raised a total of 230 billion won in funding so far. This time, Coreline Ventures and Eugene Asset Management joined the Series C round as new investors, while existing investors including Goodwater Capital, Antler Global, Woori Venture Partners and the Korea Development Bank also participated. Coreline Ventures is a U.S.-based venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley and Tokyo. It has invested in promising companies in the consumer and business-to-business technology markets in Korea, the U.S. and Japan. Coreline Ventures’ major portfolio companies include Korea’s mobile giant Kakao and China’s Happy Elements, which is known for casual game franchise Ensamble Stars. Osuke Honda, co-founder and managing partner of Cor

Aug 26, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
WRTN raises $72 mil. in Series C funding round
Companies

YLAB shifts to sustainable model after 'Teach You a Lesson' success

For viewers who enjoyed the Netflix series “Teach You a Lesson,” one of the platform’s most-watched TV shows worldwide in the first half of this year, the webtoon “Get Schooled” may already sound familiar, as the show was originated from the comics. “Get Schooled” was produced by comic and media company YLAB, one of the pioneers of the Korean webtoon industry. Their portfolio of intellectual properties (IPs) includes well-known titles such as “Jungle Juice,” “Study Group,” “Terror Man” and “IRL Quest.” For “Teach You a Lesson,” YLAB produced both the original webtoon and the live-action series, showcasing its ability to expand its IPs across different forms of media. “Based on our previous experiences, we tried to address real-life issues that viewers could relate to through a clear cathartic structure that delivers a strong sense of excitement,” YLAB CEO Kang Cheol-gu said in an interview with The Korea Times. “We also focused on preserving the personalities of the original characters and portraying their complex emotional arcs, and I think those

Aug 26, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
YLAB shifts to sustainable model after 'Teach You a Lesson' success
Companies

Coway expands in B2B market with tailored install, maintenance services

Home appliance maker Coway is expanding its presence in the business-to-business (B2B) market by offering a comprehensive package that includes product recommendations tailored to clients’ operating environments, installation and after-sales care services. Coway said Tuesday that it received orders for a total of 2,200 water purifiers, air purifiers and bidets from education company Megastudy in the first half of this year. Last year, the company also received orders for about 9,200 water purifiers, air purifiers and bidets from NongHyup branches nationwide, as well as about 5,700 units from CJ Group affiliates. Coway has also achieved notable results in the hotel market. The company currently supplies its products to major five-star hotels in Korea, including Conrad Seoul, Grand Hyatt Seoul, Paradise Hotel Busan and Banyan Tree Seoul. It also installed water purifiers in every guest room at Ventimo Hotel, the first hotel on Jeju Island to adopt such a system, and later supplied water purifiers and air purifiers to all guest rooms at Jeju Shinhwa World. Recently, Coway has been expandin

Aug 25, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Coway expands in B2B market with tailored install, maintenance services
previous page
1011121314
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.