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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.

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Companies

Samsung union, management to continue talks Wednesday in last-ditch effort to avert strike

Samsung Electronics’ labor and management will continue their negotiations in a government-arranged mediation session on Wednesday, which could be the last chance for a wage agreement before union members stage an 18-day strike on Thursday. With the government poised to invoke a compulsory arbitration measure that could suspend the strike, labor, management and the government were exploring a compromise plan, with the allocation of the semiconductor division’s performance bonuses between the memory and foundry businesses remaining a key point of contention. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) said it adjourned the mediation session after midnight Tuesday and will continue discussions from 10 a.m. Wednesday. The two sides had been negotiating through the NLRC-arranged session since Monday, but failed to conclude the talks by Tuesday as initially planned, despite overnight negotiations. Earlier Tuesday evening, NLRC Commissioner Park Su-keun told reporters that the talks were making progress and that an outcome could be expected around 10 p.m. However, the two sides struggle

May 19, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung union, management to continue talks Wednesday in last-ditch effort to avert strike
Companies

Lotte Biologics builds track record through confidence from clients

Lotte Biologics is building its track record in biopharmaceutical drug contract manufacturing by signing an expanded antibody drug manufacturing deal with U.K.-based Ottimo Pharma. Lotte Biologics said Monday it signed a contract deal to manufacture drug substances for Ottimo’s Jankistomig at its Syracuse Bio Campus in New York. The latest deal builds on the two companies' first development and manufacturing agreement signed in June last year. This time, the contract includes not only drug substance production but also process development, a key area that determines critical factors such as quality and yield before moving into commercial production. The company said the deal is meaningful because it expands the scope of cooperation beyond simple manufacturing into the development stage, increasing the likelihood of the partnership evolving into a long-term relationship that could eventually lead to commercialization. Established in 2022, Lotte Biologics is a newcomer to the industry and has been accelerating efforts to build a track record that can demonstrate its competitiveness to glo

May 19, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Lotte Biologics builds track record through confidence from clients
Companies

Court puts brakes on Samsung unions' strike plan amid final round of talks over bonuses

A district court put the brakes on Samsung Electronics unions’ plan to go on strike for 18 days starting Thursday, partially banning a labor action that would shut down production facilities as it accepted most of Samsung management’s requests on Monday. The injunction ruling came just as the company’s labor and management resumed talks in an additional government-arranged mediation session, regarding the unions' demands for higher performance-based bonuses and the removal of a payout cap. Although the ruling still allows the walkout, it effectively undermines the unions’ leverage by ordering them to maintain minimum operations to prevent damage to production facilities and raw materials. In the ruling, the Suwon District Court said that the workforce must be maintained at normal levels even during a strike, in order to prevent potential damage to safety-related and other facilities, as well as the company’s products. It also accepted management's argument that wafer preservation falls under essential work that should continue, in order to prevent damage to production facilitie

May 18, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Court puts brakes on Samsung unions' strike plan amid final round of talks over bonuses
Companies

Biz associations express concerns over Samsung unions’ strike threat

Korea’s six major business associations on Monday expressed their “grave concerns” over a planned general strike by Samsung Electronics’ labor unions, urging the unions to reconsider the move and the government to invoke a compulsory arbitration measure. In a joint statement, the associations said the strike could “shake the foundation of the country’s key industries,” and that “the unions should withdraw their strike plan and seek to resolve the issue through dialogue.” Joining the statement were the Korea Enterprises Federation, the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business and the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea. The associations said the strike comes at a critical time and could lead to a “national loss of opportunity,” warning it may disrupt production, undermine trust in the global supply chain, drive away clients and damage Korea’s credit standing. “Given that semiconductor fabrication processes require around-the-

May 18, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Biz associations express concerns over Samsung unions’ strike threat
Companies

Prime minister hints at compulsory arbitration over Samsung union strike

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Sunday hinted at the possibility of invoking emergency arbitration in the labor dispute between Samsung Electronics’ management and unions, urging the two sides to reach an outcome in the additional round of wage talks scheduled for Monday. It was the first time the government had officially mentioned the potential use of the emergency measure, which is often regarded as a last resort in labor disputes. Kim’s remarks served as a strong warning ahead of what may be the last chance for a settlement before the unions begin an 18-day strike Thursday, which could cause losses of up to 100 trillion won ($66.67 billion), according to Kim. “If the strike inflicts enormous damage on the national economy, the government will have no choice but to consider all possible response measures, including an emergency adjustment of industrial action, in order to protect the economy,” Kim said during a press conference. “I, along with fellow Korean citizens, sincerely urge labor and management to produce tangible results in tomorrow’s follow-up mediation session,

May 17, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Prime minister hints at compulsory arbitration over Samsung union strike
Companies

NEOWIZ’s Round8 Studio accelerates hiring push after success of Lies of P

NEOWIZ’s Round8 Studio is ramping up recruitment as it expands a multititle development pipeline, with the studio emphasizing a hiring philosophy centered not only on technical skills but on applicants’ identity as gamers. Fresh off the global success of Lies of P on PC and console, the studio is entering an aggressive expansion phase, currently developing six distinct projects under multiple creative leads. The lineup includes a new title from Lies of P director Choi Ji-won and his team, known as Team NOUGH, alongside Project Rubicon led by Jin Seung-ho, Project Windi directed by Lee Sang-gyun, and Project CF,e among others. Each project is being developed with a distinct identity and gameplay direction. Round8 says the strong global performance of Lies of P was not merely the result of production scale or technical execution, but of what it describes as “authentic genre understanding” among developers who are themselves players of action and soulslike games. Soulslike refers to games inspired by the Souls series, defined by common elements such as high mechanical difficulty an

May 17, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
NEOWIZ’s Round8 Studio accelerates hiring push after success of Lies of P
Tech & Science

SK Telecom teams up with defense ministry on military AI

SK Telecom joined hands with the Ministry of National Defense to develop a defense-specific artificial intelligence (AI) model based on the telecom operator’s own foundation model. The two sides on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to apply the SK Telecom consortium’s AI model, developed under the government’s national AI foundation model project, to the defense sector. Under the MOU, SK Telecom and the ministry agreed to work together to develop and test a defense-specific AI model based on the consortium’s model, while also collecting and utilizing open defense-related data and supporting graphics processing unit (GPU) use for the company. SK Telecom said the collaboration is expected to significantly improve the efficiency of administrative operations in the defense area. An AI foundation model refers to a large-scale system trained on extensive data that can be adapted for a wide range of downstream applications. The government is pushing forward the national AI foundation model project to secure AI sovereignty. Four consortiums led by SK Telecom, LG AI Res

May 14, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
SK Telecom teams up with defense ministry on military AI
Companies

Samsung Electronics considers scaling down chip production to brace for strike impact

Samsung Electronics is bracing for the impact of its labor unions’ planned 18-day general strike, scheduled to start on May 21, activating contingency measures to minimize disruptions, including adjusting chip production processes and limiting new wafer input volumes. A potential production scale-down could also disrupt the global semiconductor supply chain, industry observers warned. According to industry officials on Thursday, the company has begun emergency management measures as the likelihood of a strike next week has increased, with the latest round of labor-management negotiations having ended without progress. The unions have rejected the possibility of further talks and reiterated their demands. Since the strike may cause large-scale production disruptions and quality issues stemming from workforce shortages in its chipmaking division, the company is considering a “warm-down” process. Chip plants typically require preemptive adjustments to production operations at least a week in advance because halting manufacturing processes midway can result in huge losses. “Unlike

May 14, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung Electronics considers scaling down chip production to brace for strike impact
Companies

Korea Society to honor Nvidia CEO with 2026 Van Fleet Award

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, will receive the 2026 Van Fleet Award, presented by The Korea Society. The award ceremony will take place at the organization’s annual gala on Sept. 28 in New York City. The Korea Society, a nonprofit organization established to promote Korea-U.S. relations, has given the award annually since 1992 to individuals and organizations that help strengthen the bilateral ties. The award is named after the U.S. Army general who commanded the Eighth U.S. Army at the height of the Korean War. According to the Korea Society, the award recognizes Huang’s visionary leadership and his contributions to the artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industries, which have become central to the evolving U.S.-Korea economic partnership. Huang founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led the company since its inception. In 1999, Nvidia invented the graphics processing unit, a breakthrough that transformed computer graphics and laid the groundwork for the modern AI era. Today, the company is a leader in accelerated computing and generative AI, technologies driving rap

May 14, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Korea Society to honor Nvidia CEO with 2026 Van Fleet Award
Companies

Samsung Electronics unions refuse further talks with management

After a government-arranged mediation session ended without progress, the leader of Samsung Electronics labor unions’ said Wednesday that the unions are “not considering additional talks with management” until after the 18-day strike scheduled to start on May 21. Choi Seung-ho, head of Samsung Electronics Labor Union, which leads an alliance of three unions in joint negotiations, said they have no intention of participating in additional mediation sessions, arguing that the company’s proposals have shown no meaningful progress during the past five months. “We lowered our demands to make an agreement possible, but the company’s proposal has not changed at all,” Choi told reporters after a court hearing on the company’s injunction request seeking to ban the strike. “Extending mediation further under such circumstances would only weaken momentum for the general strike.” The remarks came after the follow-up mediation session ended earlier in the day without results, increasing the likelihood of the strike, which is expected to see strong participation by employees from t

May 13, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung Electronics unions refuse further talks with management
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