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LG seeks corporate overhaul for growth

By Kim Yoo-chul After laboring through a dismal 2011, things appear to be improving at LG Group. Chairman Koo Bon-moo has stressed that rebuilding efforts are ongoing as he pushes another round of business-lineup adjustments and an organizational shakeup. Earnings and profits at LG’s key business units, LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Innotek and LG Chem, have been rising in recent months, suggesting the group is becoming resurgent in its main markets of consumer electronics, mobile phones and industrial components. However, Koo has no intention to sit on his laurels, company sources say. ``There is stronger demand from the top that every business must improve efficiency and react faster to the changing needs of customers. Changing of habits, implementation of new ideas and creating synergy between different businesses are key focuses for the group,’’ said LG Group spokesman Ahn Young-hoon. ``In a recent meeting with senior executives at the group’s headquarters in Yeouido, Koo ordered the key group subsidiaries to review their annual business plans from square one and co

Jul 5, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung holds job fair for 'shared growth'

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Group is vowing to strengthen its commitment toward mutual growth with subcontractors and local communities. Its shared growth programs include more financial support for its smaller business providers and hiring more graduates from vocational and regional schools. Samsung Electronics, the kingpin of the conglomerate’s corporate lineup, has collaborated with the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KBIZ) on a job fair for youngsters currently being held at the KINTEX Convention Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Samsung affiliates and its business partners are planning to hire nearly 1,700 people from the job fair alone, including 700 in research and development (R&D). Key affiliates, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Engineering, Samsung SDS and Samsung Heavy will also be looking for young talent. ``This event was organized to help small companies, including our subcontractors, which have been struggling to hire skilled worke

Jul 4, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Falling euro forces Samsung into emergency mode

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that it has shifted into emergency mode to better cope with the fallout from the deepening eurozone economic crisis. This is the first time in four years that the electronics giant has declared a need for ``crisis management’’ since the company first adopted the scheme in late 2008 when the company reported 800 billion won in operating losses during the fourth quarter of that year. The biggest factor that forced the company to go into emergency mode was the ``highly-fluctuating currency,’’ said Rhee In-yong, top communications officer, in a briefing to reporters at the firm’s headquarters. ``The euro is rapidly losing its currency value. Samsung Electronics is currently being run by scenario-based management as the eurozone is one of its biggest markets,’’ said the executive. Europe’s economic ailments are pushing the euro to fall against the dollar. The euro is currently trading at around $1.26 to $1.28, down sharply from $1.48 in May, last year. The fall in the euro has caused Samsung Electronics to suffer from a

Jul 4, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Siemens to up sales to W4 tril. by 2016

By Kim Yoo-chul Siemens plans to more than double its annual revenue in Korea within the next five years, the firm’s top executive said, Tuesday. At a press conference, Siemens Korea Chairman and CEO Kim Jong-kap said the Korean arm of the German engineering giant sees high growth potential in wind power and formed an alliance with local companies to expand this business. ``I am confident in doubling our annual revenue in Korea in the next five years,’’ Kim told reporters during an event to mark his first year at the German firm at a Seoul hotel. Siemens aims to earn 4 trillion won in annual revenue by 2016. In a statement, Siemens Korea said it had made 1.8 trillion won last year, up from 1.7 trillion in 2010. Operating profit was 78.7 billion won. In 2009, the company reported 2.1 trillion won in revenue. The executive said his previous experience at Hynix Semiconductor, now SK hynix, will help Siemens see faster earnings growth. The former bureaucrat was the chief executive at Hynix from 2007 to 2010. ``The key things I learned as CEO of Hynix were faster decis

Jul 3, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung CEO Kwon to head display unit

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics said Monday that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kwon Oh-hyun will head Samsung Display, the unified firm that combines Samsung Mobile Display (SMD), S-LCD and Samsung Electronics’ LCD-manufacturing division into one. Samsung Display generated 29.24 trillion won in sales last year. It has seven manufacturing facilities in Korea, China and Slovakia and employs 40,000 people including 26,000 here. “If we combine experienced know-how in displays, the new unit will help Samsung improve management efficiency in organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays and the existing LCD business,’’ Kwon was quoted as saying in the statement distributed by Samsung Display. The launch of Samsung Display means Samsung will take advantage of economies of scale in display-making especially for OLEDs. All Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy line of devices from tablets, smartphones and cameras use OLED displays. Samsung Display also supplies the screens to Nokia, Sony, Taiwan’s HTC and Motorola of the United States, and the company is seeking to supply the scre

Jul 2, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

LG Uplus facing cash flow problem

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Uplus is expected to face a cash shortage in the wake of its aggressive investment over the past few years, according to market analysts Monday. They say the nation’s smallest mobile carrier has been lavish in its investment in a next-generation long-term evolution (LTE) network to try and catch up with rivals SK Telecom and KT, but has yet to generate enough profit. Experts believe it has gained a bigger market share at the expense of cash flow. ``The key point is that LG Uplus will report its steepest drop in operating profit in the second quarter as it spent too much to climb to the No. 2 position,’’ said Choi Nam-gon, an analyst at TongYang Securities. According to a consensus among market analysts, industry leader SK Telecom posted an operating profit of 356 billion won between April and June, down 25 percent from the previous quarter. Runner-up KT recorded 354 billion won, while LG saw its profit plunge by 85 percent. The poor performance was widely expected. Last year, the total borrowing by Uplus reached 3.9 trillion won. As of the end of May

Jul 2, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung has Google's backing in fight against Apple

By Kim Yoo-chul The intellectual property battle between Samsung Electronics and Apple may have hit a turning point as the Korean company now appears to have the support of Google, which competes with Apple for supremacy in mobile operating systems (MOS). Samsung and Google have a productive partnership in the technology sector. The former is now the world’s leading provider of mobile phones and the flagship maker of devices based on the latter’s MOS, which represents the industry’s best attempt to topple Apple’s consumer smartphone leadership. Google being dragged into the bitter fight between Samsung and Apple was all too predictable. A U.S. court recently ruled to block the sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphones, which were designed in collaboration with Google. Since the decision, the two firms have been working closely to create a united front against Apple’s legal offensive, said Samsung. This is the first time Samsung confirmed it is getting help from Google in its legal battle with Apple. Google is also supporting HTC, a Taiwanese smartphone maker and a

Jul 1, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Hyosung eyes new growth engines

By Kim Yoo-chul Hyosung Group has been built on a dual-pillar of textiles and chemicals but is now looking jump on the green technology bandwagon for future growth. Hyosung spokesman Kim Jun-sik said renewable-energy will become a larger part of the company’s business portfolio. And carbon fiber will be a key focus in efforts to strengthen its position in existing core markets. ``Diversifying our business lineup will be important to strengthen our international profile. We need to elevate the quality of our existing products and experiment with advanced technologies at the same time,’’ Kim said. The firm plans to spend up to 250 billion won (around $231 million) by 2014 in building a carbon fiber manufacturing industry in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, and expects an annual production capacity of 2,000 tons. Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer, made up of millions of tiny carbon nanotubes and several times stronger and tougher than current materials, is beginning to reveal exciting industrial properties. Through 2020, Hyosung plans to spend 1.2 trillion won in carbon-fi

Jun 28, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung SDS inks health care deal in US

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung SDS announced Thursday that it has struck a 10-year contract with CHRISTUS Health, a major hospital network in the United States. Upon the agreement, the Samsung Group affiliate will sell its electronic medical record (EMR) solutions to CHRISTUS Health. CHRISTUS Health is an international Catholic, faith-based, not-for-profit health system comprising almost 350 services and facilities, including more than 60 hospitals and long-term care facilities. Its corporate headquarters are in Irving, Texas. The latest deal is expected to be a breakthrough for SDS in its system integration (SI) businesses as this is the first time to export software kits. The company said it will start supplying the solutions to CHRISTUS Health’s network from July and added the companies have agreed to launch joint-marketing projects. ``Samsung SDS will utilize CHRISTUS Health’s comprehensive experience in delivering health care services and in integrating health care technology to enhance those services to ultimately benefit the patient,’’ it said in the statement.

Jun 28, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Apple wins ruling for Tab sale ban

By Kim Yoo-chul A U.S. judge ordered Samsung to stop selling its Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer in America Wednesday (KST), issuing a preliminary injunction in a ruling on Apple’s patent lawsuit. The ruling came a week after the Korean firm won a ruling for the first time against Apple in the Netherlands. Judge Lucy H. Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division ordered Samsung to temporarily halt sales of its tablets in the United States because it illegally copied the design of the popular iPad. The ruling will take effect after Apple posts a bond of $2.6 million toward any damages sustained by Samsung, according to officials. ``Although Samsung will necessarily be harmed by being forced to withdraw its product from the market before the merits can be determined after a full trial, the harm faced by Apple absent an injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is greater,’’ the judge said in an eight-page ruling. Koh, who previously denied Apple's bid for an injunction on the tablet and multiple Galaxy smartphones, said Apple had pr

Jun 27, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
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