The Korea Times

KT CEO blasts big firms for 'free riding'

By Kim Yoo-chul KT Chief Executive Lee Suk-chae has urged the government and the nation’s leading technology companies LG and Samsung Electronics to pay for using its networks. “Korea needs a new paradigm. The digital revolution has changed everything. Despite heavy data traffic amid rapid rises of data-intensive devices such as tablets and smartphones, no one is ready to pay in return for using networks,’’ said Lee in a technology forum held at the COEX Convention Center, southern Seoul, Tuesday. ``If the current situation continues, then Korea will see a big data blackout. This is an expected scenario. There’s no free lunch. It doesn’t make sense to ride free on networks,’’ stressed the CEO, who is outspoken on key pending issues,. The remarks come as telecom companies KT and SK Telecom are being pressured to secure their bottom line amid explosive demand for wireless data. Analysts say Lee’s ``well-prepared’’ speech was aimed at warning the government and apparently Samsung and LG. Earlier, Lee ordered his top confidants to limit access to certain TV applications th

May 15, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

LSIS likely to see recovery in China

By Kim Yoo-chul LSIS, a leading local provider of electric power and automation equipment, has suffered a minor setback in China with decreased electricity-related orders. But the company and market analysts expect the China business to see a gradual recovery throughout this year. ``No drastic improvements are expected in our China business in the second quarter, however, LSIS’s bottom line will strengthen thanks to rising power cable orders from Iraq,’’ said LSIS spokesman Kim Bong-kyu, Monday. In the first quarter, LSIS reported 33.1 billion won in operating profit, a drop of 7.7 percent year-on-year on a consolidated basis, an international accounting measurement that includes all of the company’s overseas performances. Chun Young-ki, an analyst at Hyundai Securities, said the rather sluggish first quarter performance was largely due to a smaller contribution by LSIS’s Chinese affiliates. LSIS’s affiliate in Dalian reported an operating loss of some 800 million won in the first three months of the year, while another affiliate in Hubei, central China, also repor

May 14, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Future iPhones may bend, twist

By Kim Yoo-chul Future versions of Apple’s iPhone, the definitive mobile device credited for taking the Internet beyond the personal computer, might bend and twist. At least that seemed to be what Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun was hinting at when he revealed that the company is getting ``huge’’ orders from electronics makers for it futuristic lineup of flexible organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. Samsung, which enjoys a dual strength in parts and finished products, has found Apple to be an odd bedfellow, as one of its biggest customers for screens and memory chips but also a hated foe in smartphones and touch-screen tablets. Samsung is eager to push open an era of bendy phones and boasts a capability to mass produce OLED displays that bend from the middle or from around the edge. The notoriously secretive Apple remains tight lipped about how its future iPhones will look and it’s hard to imagine that its next smartphone, which may or may not be named the iPhone 5, having a rubbery screen. But for iPhones after that, who knows? While Kwo

May 13, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Entering new phase

Are Samsung, Apple on way to reconciling legal battle? By Kim Yoo-chul, Cho Mu-hyun The ongoing battle between Samsung Electronics and Apple over patents is heading toward a critical phase after both companies withdrew some infringement claims. Samsung is still officially saying it has no plan to sign a cross-licensing agreement with the California-based company, while Apple spokesman in Korea declined to give any updates on the situation. Samsung said it has trimmed its number of claims in a broad intellectual-property lawsuit about smartphones and tablets after an order from U.S. district court judge Lucy Koh.

May 11, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

New paradigm

Samsung to begin sales of OLED TVs in second half By Kim Yoo-chul Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions are the technology world’s equivalent of a superhot, shopaholic girlfriend: visually breathtaking, but financially unsustainable. But that isn’t keeping Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest maker of flat-screen televisions, from taking a shot at it. The company unveiled a prototype 55-inch OLED television at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas; and is now nearly ready to move the products from display booths to living rooms. Sources at Samsung confirmed Thursday that it has decided to mass produce the ES9500 televisions, which will be hitting shelves in the latter half of the year in Korea, North America and Europe. Samsung is among a growing list of electronics makers trying their luck with OLED televisions, along with rivals LG Electronics and Sony. While OLED sets offer a significant improvement in picture quality compared to liquid crystal display (LCD) models, hefty price tags and unresolved technical issues have

May 10, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

SK hynix to raise $500 million in block sale

By Kim Yoo-chul Creditors of SK hynix, the world’s second largest memory chipmaker, plan to raise some $500 million by offloading half of their combined shares in the company. The plan comes after the firm dropped its bid to acquire bankrupt Japanese chipmaker Elpida Memory, helping it recover investor confidence. Market analysts had earlier claimed that there’s nothing SK hynix can gain from acquiring Elpida. ``Therefore, the plan by SK hynix shareholders does make sense in this timing,’’ said Kim Young-chan, an analyst at Shinhan Investment. ``Creditors of SK hynix will sell 23 million shares or a 3.2 percent stake with no discount, worth about some 580 billion won ($500 million),’’ a banking source said, Thursday. This is half of the total shares owned by creditors of the Korean chipmaker. ``Creditors will hold a meeting to discuss details about the block sale plan late Friday,’’ said the banking source, adding the creditors will ask SK Telecom to buy the stake, first. "If SK Telecom refuses the offer, then they will sell the stake in the market,’’ said the sourc

May 10, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Will LG Chem rebound with batteries?

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Chem, the nation’s biggest chemicals company, is expected to see a turnaround in the coming months on the back of a pickup in its battery business headed by former LG Display CEO Kwon Young-soo. Analysts believe that the company will deliver an earnings surprise to the market for the second quarter, citing a rebound in the price of petrochemical products amid lingering economic uncertainties in China _ the world’s biggest chemicals market. In the first quarter, the firm witnessed its profit fall by 8.2 percent to 460 billion won from a year ago. Its sales grew only 3 percent to 5.75 trillion won during the same period. ``A rise in oil prices is still weighing on LG Chem,’’ said Hwang Kyu-won, an analyst at TongYang Investment. Despite the corporate struggles, the company’s battery-making division is emerging as an `` alternative’’ to prevent LG Chem from slipping into further profit squeeze, according to analysts. The LG Group chairman recently named former LG Display CEO Kwon Young-soo to lead LG Chem’s battery-making division as Kwon was credite

May 10, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Samsung heir takes independent steps

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lee Jay-yong, also the heir-apparent of Korea’s most powerful industrial conglomerate Samsung Group, is taking a more independent stance. It is a move seen to try and set himself apart from other group CEOs and improve his profile. Lee has so far been passive about having direct meetings with high-profile business tycoons. Samsung Electronics CEO Choi Gee-sung, who is regarded as the COO’s ``mentor’’ accompanied Lee. But Lee has been cutting his dependence on Choi. ``Jay-yong held a direct meeting with top decision-makers without the Choi. He is increasing his influence on all of Samsung by involving himself in various critical group-wide projects,’’ said a senior Samsung executive on Tuesday, asking not to be identified. ``As far as I know, Lee is going through leadership tests set by his father, Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee and we do not think any big issues will arise over the succession process,’’ said the executive. The younger Lee is trying to prove that he is ready to take control of Samsung.

May 8, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

A game of chicken

Samsung tussles with LG in OLED market By Kim Yoo-chul Oversupply is slowing growth in the global display industry triggering another “game of chicken” in this already cutthroat market. The world’s top flat-screen makers ― Samsung and LG Display ― have been competing fiercely to take the lead in advanced displays called OLED (organic light-emitting diode). ``Because global liquid crystal displays (LCD) are gradually being phased out, Samsung wants to get the upper hand in the OLED market by ensuring better technology than that of LG’s. Of course LG is not going to sit back and let that happen,’’ said Hwang Joon-ho, an analyst at Daewoo Securities. As LCD prices began experiencing significant decline major LCD makers including LG Display, the world’s second-biggest LCD supplier, and Taiwan’s Chi Mei Innolux (CMI), reported wider-than-expected losses. Oversupply and a lower-than-expected demand for televisions push down prices further. LCD is the vital component for use in almost all digital devices from televisions, smartphones, and tablets to monitors. The sector i

May 8, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Samsung SDS wins project in Saudi Arabia

By Kim Yoo-chul Information technology solutions firm Samsung SDS has taken a meaningful step toward smart convergence, which means a combination of digital devices, networks and software. Attention is being focused on whether the company can revive its stalling business momentum outside the Korean Peninsula by striking a ``sizable deal.’’ On Monday, SDS said it has been chosen by Saudi Arabian Oil, a state-run petroleum firm also known as Saudi Aramco as the provider of digital convergence know-how for a building project in the Saudi city of Dhahran. The petroleum company is currently building Saudi Aramco’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture. It will feature cutting-edge technology, which will incorporate hardware and software. Under the agreement, SDS plans to provide its digital space convergence (DSC) solutions on the project, SDS said in a statement. ``The project, which marks the 75th anniversary of Aramco’s establishment, includes three big parts ― construction, IT and exhibition. SDS is participating in the IT package,’’ the company said. This is one o

May 7, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Kim Yoo-chul

Read more

KT CEO blasts big firms for 'free riding'

LSIS likely to see recovery in China

Future iPhones may bend, twist

Entering new phase

New paradigm

SK hynix to raise $500 million in block sale

Will LG Chem rebound with batteries?

Samsung heir takes independent steps

A game of chicken

Samsung SDS wins project in Saudi Arabia

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