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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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Tech & Science

Samsung Taylor fab enters production phase for Tesla's AI5 chip

Samsung Electronics has completed designing its version of Tesla’s AI5 chip for self-driving systems, with production set to begin soon at its foundry fab in Taylor, Texas, according to industry officials on Monday. James Kim, a principal engineer at Samsung Foundry, wrote on LinkedIn that “the Tesla-Samsung AI5 chip has reached tape-out” and it is “scheduled to be manufactured at the Taylor fab using our latest 2nm (nanometer) process and will soon be integrated into Tesla's newest products.” He deleted the post after news reports. Tape-out marks the completion of a chip's design process, meaning the design has been finalized and handed over for manufacturing. After passing the prevalidation stage, the taped-out design is used to produce photomasks and undergo wafer fabrication to create engineering samples, which then go through the qualification process with customers before entering mass production. In April, Elon Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Tesla’s AI5 team has taped out the chip’s design to Samsung Electronics and TSMC for foundry manufacturing. Musk said

Jul 13, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung Taylor fab enters production phase for Tesla's AI5 chip
Tech & Science

D4D Hackathon lays foundation for defense AI ecosystem in APAC

Deploy for Defense (D4D) Hackathon APAC successfully completed its inaugural event in Seoul, laying the foundation for a defense artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem in the region. According to D4D, Sunday, it hosted the hackathon event from July 3-5, with more than 200 builders and officials from academia and defense AI companies including Palantir Technologies, Stealth Mole and BONE AI. The event awarded eight teams across five tracks. A team from BONE AI won the autonomous and unmanned systems track. Teams DoS and ANGAE won in the defense intelligence category, while DELPHI, SEASIDE and Nyx were recognized in battlefield networks, maritime domain awareness and combat readiness, respectively. Supporty and Kestrel also received special awards linked to an Oregon-based UAS accelerator program in the United States. Organizations from Oregon are scheduled to visit Korea on July 14 to sign a memorandum of understanding, marking the first case in Korea in which a domestic hackathon resulted in a direct U.S. market entry. “Korea's defense industry has long been defined by the export succe

Jul 12, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
D4D Hackathon lays foundation for defense AI ecosystem in APAC
Companies

Samsung Electronics' largest union urges withdrawal of local voucher wage bill

Samsung Electronics' largest labor union on Friday called for the withdrawal of a proposed revision to the Labor Standards Act that would allow employers to pay part of workers' wages with local gift certificates, arguing that the bill undermines the principle that wages should be paid in legal currency. According to a wage agreement reached in May, employees in Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Division could receive performance-based incentives of up to 600 million won ($397,000) each if earnings meet expectations, while employees in the Device eXperience (DX) Division, the company's consumer electronics business, are expected to receive company shares worth about 6 million won. The Samsung Electronics Labor Union (SELU) criticized proposed legislation, introduced Wednesday by Rep. Park Min-kyu of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which would amend the Labor Standards Act to allow employers to pay part of workers' wages, including performance bonuses, in local gift certificates or other non-cash forms with employees' explicit consent or under a collective bargaining agre

Jul 10, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung Electronics' largest union urges withdrawal of local voucher wage bill
Tech & Science

Space Frontier Forum kicks off to draw attention to space startups

Korean space industry consulting firm SpaceRadar and venture capital firm STIC Ventures hosted the inaugural Space Frontier Forum on Thursday, creating a platform for space industry startups, researchers and policymakers to explore new opportunities. Under the theme, "Understanding and Growing the Space Industry Ecosystem Together," the forum brought together over 150 participants, including officials from Korean space companies, startups, the Korea AeroSpace Research Institute (KARI), the foreign ministry and venture capital firms. "For the space industry to grow, it is essential for companies, researchers and policymakers to communicate and collaborate," SpaceRadar CEO Park Si-soo said. "We hope today's forum will serve as the starting point." During the forum, participants discussed the latest trends and emerging opportunities in the private space industry. Established space companies, including KT SAT and Nara Space, shared their experiences, while Mirae Asset Capital and KARI delivered presentations on investment trends and the latest developments in the space sector. Nara Space CEO

Jul 9, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Space Frontier Forum kicks off to draw attention to space startups
Companies

KEZAD offers risk buffer for K-biz as Korea-UAE CEPA opens opportunities

As geopolitical tensions around the Strait of Hormuz persist, uncertainty continues to cloud Korea's trade with the Middle East, with businesses here increasingly exploring ways around that risk while looking to best capitalize on growing regional demand for Korean goods. Khalid Al Marzooqi, vice president of Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) Group, said the United Arab Emirates and KEZAD are well positioned to support such efforts as regional manufacturing, assembly and distribution hubs for Korean companies, noting that the implementation of the Korea-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) makes this an opportune time for Korean businesses to establish operations there. “Korean businesses are increasingly viewing UAE as an outstanding base for manufacturing location for their global operation and also viewing UAE as a stable, innovation‑driven base for regional and global expansion,” Al Marzooqi told The Korea Times in an interview on Tuesday during his visit to Seoul. “And today we see more interest for production activity, not just export. Companies se

Jul 9, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
KEZAD offers risk buffer for K-biz as Korea-UAE CEPA opens opportunities
Companies

Galaxy Robot Park sells out July weekend shows ahead of official opening

Galaxy Corp. said Wednesday that ticket sales for the preopening of its new Galaxy Robot Park have exceeded expectations, with all July weekend shows selling out immediately despite the venue's official grand opening being scheduled for September. The company said about 8,000 visitors secured reservations during the initial July booking period. Following the rapid sellout of weekend performances, it has received numerous requests to release additional tickets. Galaxy Robot Park is billed as the world's first physical artificial intelligence (AI) theme park, combining AI, robotics, live performances and intellectual property into an immersive entertainment experience. Unlike a conventional exhibition venue, the park is designed as a permanent performance space where humans and robots appear on stage together, offering interactive experiences intended to showcase advances in AI-powered robotics. At the center of the venue is the Robot Arena, where visitors can watch performances including synchronized K-pop robot dance shows and robot boxing matches. Other attractions include a "Hugging Ro

Jul 8, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Galaxy Robot Park sells out July weekend shows ahead of official opening
Tech & Science

Samsung SDS faces collective bargaining demands from fledgling union

Samsung SDS is facing growing pressure to improve its incentive system, as its labor union secured majority support just a day after its launch and demanded collective bargaining with management. According to the company on Wednesday, it has decided to scrap a proposed revision to its incentive system, as support for the plan reached only about 40 percent in an employee vote. The company had held the vote from June 24 through Tuesday, seeking approval from at least half of its employees to replace its existing cash-based “target achievement incentive” with treasury shares worth up to 20 percent of annual salary. However, the proposal faced employee opposition, ultimately prompting workers to establish the company's first labor union. The union, the Samsung Group United Union Samsung SDS Chapter, was officially launched on Monday and secured more than 5,500 memberships the following day, surpassing half of the company's workforce of about 11,000. Membership rose to around 5,800 on Tuesday night before easing to 5,686 as of Wednesday morning. The union on Tuesday requested collective b

Jul 8, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung SDS faces collective bargaining demands from fledgling union
Companies

Gov't rush on new nuclear power plants for chip cluster unrealistic

The government's plan to build a massive semiconductor cluster in southwestern Korea to house chip plants for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix is facing growing questions over whether sufficient power can be secured. The Lee Jae Myung government is increasingly moving away from its initial policy stance of maintaining the status quo on nuclear power, acknowledging that renewable energy alone cannot meet the project's electricity needs and arguing that additional nuclear power plants are needed. The challenge is that building nuclear power plants is as complicated and time-consuming as constructing semiconductor fabs. New reactors must clear environmental assessments and address potential opposition from local residents near transmission grids and other facilities, making it uncertain whether additional power generation is possible before the current memory chip upcycle fades or before Lee's term ends. According to government officials, the government is considering building four additional nuclear reactors. Earlier this month, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-hwan sa

Jul 8, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Gov't rush on new nuclear power plants for chip cluster unrealistic
Tech & Science

Nanomedicine pioneer Cheon Jin-woo named Korea’s top scientist of 2026

Cheon Jin-woo, a professor at Yonsei University widely regarded as Korea's pioneer in nanomedicine, has been named the winner of the 2026 Top Scientist and Technologist Award of Korea, the nation's highest honor for scientists and engineers. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies announced Monday that Cheon, a distinguished professor and founding director of the Institute for Basic Science Center for Nanomedicine at the university, was selected as this year’s award winner. Cheon was recognized for pioneering the field of nanomedicine by integrating nanochemistry with biotechnology to develop novel medical approaches for disease diagnosis, cell therapy and neural circuit modulation. Nanomedicine is increasingly being applied beyond disease diagnosis and drug delivery, with researchers exploring its potential in brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and other areas of neuroscience. Cheon developed magnetogenetics technologies to demonstrate that the neuronal activity of living animals can be wirelessly and remotely controlled using magneti

Jul 6, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Nanomedicine pioneer Cheon Jin-woo named Korea’s top scientist of 2026
Tech & Science

New KT CEO vows $12 bil. investment for transition to AI platform company

New KT CEO Park Yoon-young pledged Monday to invest 18 trillion won ($11.77 billion) into network security and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, as part of his plan to rebrand the telecom operator as an AI transformation platform company. Park said KT seeks to become an AI transformation platform company built on two core business pillars: its telecommunications business and AI business, which includes data centers, cable and AI transformation services. “The network business is our foundation, and we have to make that foundation stronger so we can build the company's next stage of growth through AI transformation," Park said during a press conference in Seoul, his first since taking office in March. “Our vision is built on two pillars: reinforcing our core business while driving the company's next phase of growth through AI transformation. To strengthen its telecommunications business, KT plans to invest 12 trillion won over the next three years in information security, IT and network infrastructure. As part of the investment, 4 trillion won will be allocated to information

Jul 6, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
New KT CEO vows $12 bil. investment for transition to AI platform company
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