The Korea Times

LG Display to push industrial recovery

By Kim Yoo-chul Analysts said Thursday that LG Display, the world’s largest LCD panel maker, is expected have a better year thanks to a partnership with Apple. Last year wasn’t a good one for LG Display due to a steep decline in prices caused by the debt crisis in Europe and poor demand for televisions in key markets. The LCD business is cyclical and volatile to economic situations. Usually, manufacturers report their earnings peak in the latter half of the year as set makers order more panels ahead of the holiday season. But LG Display didn’t see the cyclical factor last year. It has had operating losses for more than a year, but it is doing better than overseas rivals Sharp of Japan and Chi Mei Innolux of Taiwan. In 2011, LG reported an operating loss of 924.3 billion won, while revenue declined by 4.8 percent to 24.29 trillion won, the company said in a filing to the Korea Exchange (KRX). ``This year will be different. LG Display will increase output of premium displays such as film-patterned retarder ones for 3D applications and we want to release cost-effective

Mar 22, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Hyundai Heavy targets $90 billion in revenue

By Kim Yoo-chul Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world’s biggest shipbuilding company, plans to achieve 100 trillion won or some $90 billion revenue in 2015 by diversifying its business portfolio. The ambitious management target comes as HHI celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, starting in the shipbuilding business in 1972. ``HHI is aiming to reap 100 trillion won in revenue by 2015, an increase of 50 percent from last year’s 66 trillion won,’’ the company said in a statement. It has grown into a world-class firm for heavy industries with key business divisions spanning from shipping, plants and shipbuilding to engine equipment and green energy. The firm said it will invest more in an attempt to further strengthen its ongoing initiatives for shipbuilding businesses as it believes the global demand for shipbuilding to steadily rise over the next few years. HHI has cumulatively built over 100 million tons of ships over the shipyard’s 40-year history. No other shipbuilding company in the world has ever built more. It has delivered a total of 1,805 diverse t

Mar 22, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Volvo releases premium excavators

By Kim Yoo-chul Volvo Construction Equipment is releasing two heavy-duty D-Series excavators onto the domestic market, the company announced Wednesday. Weighing 38 tons and 50.5 tons, respectively, Volvo’s EC380D and EC480D excel in heavy digging and lifting duties, offering superior cycle times and greater fuel efficiency, Volvo Construction Equipment Korea said. ``The EC380D excavators are heavy-duty production machines that a driver can rely on for quarrying, road building, truck loading and more. Featuring a robust undercarriage and a reinforced boom/arm and superstructure, these machines are safe, efficient and durable,’’ said Lena Park, a deputy general manager at Strategic Marketing and Communications (SMC), a Korea-based PR consultant firm. Park said the increased time between simplified service intervals keeps these Volvo crawler excavators on task for longer periods. ``An easy to read color LCD display, multi-adjustable seat and joystick, and rear view camera, keep the operator informed, comfortable and in control. High breakout and crowding force is support

Mar 21, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

LG shrugs off doubt, comes back with vengeance

Chairman boosts can-do spirit in workforce, affiliates respond with better bottom lines By Kim Yoo-chul LG Group is recovering with the group’s export-driven affiliates including LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Chem and LG Innotek leading the way. And the industrial conglomerate is set for another impressive chapter in its story this year led by Chairman Koo Bon-moo as it is returning to basics ― a technology-driven corporation. Koo is the eldest grandson of LG Group founder Koo In-hwe and has been in his current post since 1995. He is credited with boosting the group’s sales four-fold and its market capitalization 10 times. ``Last year wasn’t good. But this year we have no doubt that the group will regain its power buoyed by the brighter performance of LG Group companies. That’s partly due to the chairman’s consistent request for technology,’’ said LG spokesman Jeong Jung-wook. For 2011, LG Electronics made a small profit, while LG Display, the group’s flat-screen unit, reported a 920 billion won operating loss. The component maker LG Innotek also suffered from an

Mar 21, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Optimus, 3D TVs put LG on fast track out of slump

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Electronics is increasing profit with its two critical pillars of 3D TVs and smartphones leading the way. It has steadily been rolling out premium devices and they are receiving warm responses from consumers in key markets, even causing market analysts to expect stronger-than-anticipated first quarter earnings. Since Koo Bon-joon, younger brother of LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, became the firm’s chief executive, it has seen impressive developments in product quality. ``We have no doubt that LG Electronics is showing signs of improvement. Its Optimus smartphones are selling well and its Web-connected TVs with 3D functionality are also garnering more shares, globally,’’ said Baek Jong-seok, an analyst at leading local brokerage Hyundai Securities, citing 130,000 won as its target stock price. LG Electronics shares are trading in the upper 80,000 won and lower 90,000 won range, an increase of over 20 percent from earlier this year, according to data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), the nation’s bourse operator. ``We are returning to basics. LG is sol

Mar 20, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

KT chairman declares 4G LTE campaign

Emergency management called to take lead in new field By Kim Yoo-chul KT Chairman Lee Suk-chae, head of the nation’s largest fixed-line operator, has declared a state of emergency management to boost efficacy and strengthen the firm’s challenge in the competitive race in fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) services. This is the first time that the CEO has directly used the word, emergency. KT executives agreed to cut their annual paychecks by 10 percent, if the company fails to meet its management target. Lee plans to put the corporate focus on strengthening its capability to deliver virtual goods, such as content and applications. ``This year, KT has a lot of work to do. We expect annual investment to rise by more than 20 percent by 2012. It’s required to boost management efficacy to raise cash for our key projects,’’ Lee said Monday. He made the comments at a ceremony marking the start of his second term at KT’s main office in downtown Seoul. ``KT has managed to save over 500 billion won in costs. But our desperate efforts will be short-lived w

Mar 19, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Samsung cuts dependence on Qualcomm

Smartphone maker plans to use in-house chips for Galaxy S III By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics will use its single-chip solutions for its next smartphone, the Galaxy S III, to lower dependence on U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm. The move comes as Samsung, the world’s top memory chipmaker, aggressively shifting focus to more profitable and less-volatile non-memory chips. Memory chips like DRAMs and NAND flashes are used to read and write data with these chips being commoditized. Thus they are cheap, compared with non-memory chips. Non-memories are to control an entire computing system and require advanced chip-making technology. ``Samsung’s single-chip solution is a combination of long-term evolution (LTE), telecommunications and W-CDMA functions,’’ a high-ranking company executive said Monday. The firm’s Exynos-branded quad-core mobile application processors (APs) are to be equipped in the Galaxy S II’s successor, according to the executive. ``We don’t think there will be big technology-related problems as we have already tested our telecommunications chips in some sm

Mar 19, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

‘Samsung isn‘t sole supplier for Apple iPad‘

By Kim Yoo-chul Despite the widening patent dispute with Apple, a top Samsung executive said the California-based Apple is buying more parts manufactured by Samsung Electronics. Also, Samsung isn’t the sole supplier of flat-screens to the U.S.-based company. ``As you know, Apple emerged as Samsung’s biggest client and we think the partnership could be stronger throughout this year as well,’’ Samsung Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun, who oversees the company’s parts business including chips and flat-screens, told The Korea Times, late Friday. Kwon was at Gimpo International Airport with company CEO Choi Gee-sung, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lee Jay-yong, the head of the revived Strategic Planning Office (SPO) Kim Soon-taek and other top executives waiting for the arrival of Chairman Lee Kun-hee from his trip to Hawaii. ``Our chip-making factory in Austin, Texas, began operating at full capacity from last year in response to our clients,’’ said Kwon. The Austin plant is producing mobile application processors (MAPs) for Apple. The top memory chipmaker has been supplying

Mar 16, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Samsung CEO in for long haul on Apple dispute

LG Electronics chief absent from shareholders’ meeting; KT chairman wins new term By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics said it’s in a ``delicate situation’’ with Apple in a patent battle that encompasses 30 different cases worldwide. The world’s biggest technology firm has suffered a legal setback in the Netherlands, where a court sided with its California-based rival on a ``FRAND’’ (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms) patent dispute that was regarded to be a precedent-setting ruling. ``I can’t talk about the ongoing patent disputes with Apple for strategic reasons,’’ Samsung CEO Choi Gee-sung said in response to a question at the firm’s annual shareholders’ meeting in downtown Seoul, Friday. Choi, the top confidant of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, also declined to talk about how many components the firm would ship to Apple this year. Even with all the patent issues going on, Apple is likely to pay Samsung between $9.7 billion and $11 billion for parts depending on consumer demand for iPads and MacBooks. A Dutch court ruled that Samsung can’t fight A

Mar 16, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

LG Hausys, Tech-Wood strike partnership

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Hausys, an LG Group affiliate that makes quartz and acrylic surfaces, said Thursday that it has reached an agreement to use Dutch-based company Tech-Wood’s patented technology aimed at boosting the output of profitable products. The strategic partnership comes after LG Hausys is being asked to diversify its business profiles to find new earnings propellers from overseas amid the sluggish local real estate market. The company has seen growth in profit and revenue, however, the curves are not impressive as the sales of its main products including floor tiles and sheet products are dependent upon the housing market. Weak consumption and tightening loan conditions mean real estate transactions have maintained sluggish, threatening the firm’s bottom line. ``Under the agreement, LG Hausys will use various patents owned by Tech-Wood for the output of wood fiber thermoplastic composite (WFC) products,’’ said Lee Dong-joo, the chief of LG Hausys’ public relations office. Lee declined to unveil further details such as the payment of royalties and contract term

Mar 15, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Kim Yoo-chul

Read more

LG Display to push industrial recovery

Hyundai Heavy targets $90 billion in revenue

Volvo releases premium excavators

LG shrugs off doubt, comes back with vengeance

Optimus, 3D TVs put LG on fast track out of slump

KT chairman declares 4G LTE campaign

Samsung cuts dependence on Qualcomm

‘Samsung isn‘t sole supplier for Apple iPad‘

Samsung CEO in for long haul on Apple dispute

LG Hausys, Tech-Wood strike partnership

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