The Korea Times

POSCO produces eco-friendly special steel

By Kim Yoo-chul POSCO has started to mass produce bismuth-based free cutting steel, which is environmentally less harmful than a lead-based product. The free cutting steel is used for televisions and cars due to its easiness to handle. The Korean steel maker plans to replace 35,000 tons of the special-purpose steel imported a year with its product. Worldwide, about 1.5 million tons are used annually, meaning POSCO will be able to export it. Already, LG Electronics is using the POSCO product for its televisions. Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group are expected to follow suit. In a statement, POSCO said the bismuth steel is eco-friendly and replaces the current lead-based system, thereby eliminating health hazards to those on production lines as well as consumers. A POSCO spokesman Jung Jae-woong declined to unveil the actual timing of production but added the special steel will be used in all LG Electronics’ TV lineup after a limited start in July last year. The development and partnership has come after POSCO and LG Electronics are being asked to boost profit

Jan 1, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Stringer trapped in Sony he’s hired to fix

By Kim Yoo-chul Is it Japanese people’s famous patience, or fear of a western CEO wreaking havoc on its unique system of management as seen in the case of Olympus? Either way, Sony’s retention of Sir Howard Stringer appears to beg the question. The Tokyo-based outfit forecasts a fourth consecutive annual loss in its fiscal year that ends in March. Plus, Stringer’s future plan, based on an $8.4 billion ambitious strategy to boost phones and content, is also filled with questions starting with its viability. Sony’s latest decision to terminate its partnership with Samsung in liquid crystal display (LCD) flat-screen production is throwing the knighted CEO’s ability to manage in to question. According to some analysts, this action may mean not only lowering its dependence on TVs, its former mainstay business, but could also spell a general downgrade in its products because the termination of the partnership is aimed at using cheaper products. Is it a cost-saving effort? Yes. Is it worth it at a time when its TV business has been gripped by a downward spiral? Maybe no

Jan 1, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Samsung moves to reduce Qualcomm reliance

By Kim Yoo-chul By expanding component procurement channels Samsung Electronics is lowering its dependency on U.S.-based telecommunication chip giant Qualcomm in a similar manner to Apple cutting its dependency on Samsung. As a critical partner, San Diego-based Qualcomm has been paid multi-billion dollars for telecom chipsets used in a variety of Samsung’s electronic devices, a company official said. But a surge in smartphones equipped with advanced long-term evolution (LTE) technologies convinces Samsung to internalize its own capability of handling LTE-based chipsets.

Dec 30, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

LG Intel odd bedfellows in mobile

LG hopes chip giant will help reduce smartphone gap with Samsung, Apple By Kim Yoo-chul LG Electronics will manufacture U.S. chip giant Intel’s first smartphones running on Google’s Android mobile software, that are set to be exhibited in an upcoming technology fair in the United States, officials from both companies said Friday. The alliance is seen as positive for LG although some raise doubts on the viability of the partnership as Intel has no history in the competitive phone business. ``LG Electronics will produce Intel’s first Android smartphones that use Intel’s own mobile platform. The device will be shown at the CES,’’ said a top-ranking executive, Friday. When contacted, however, spokespeople declined to officially confirm this. CES, or the Consumer Electronics Show, is an annual technology exhibition that will kick off on Jan. 9, 2012 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). Intel has long been an also-ran in the mobile device field as their mobile-focused Atom chips have drawn too much power for portable gadgets smaller than a netbook. ``But o

Dec 30, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

’Chung Ju-yung Kids’ program to spur hiring

By Kim Yoo-chul The Asan Nanum Foundation (ANF) said Thursday it will run an internship program to help jobseekers gain work experience. ANF was established by the owning families of Hyundai Group with 500 billion won as the initial operational budget in October this year in memory of the late Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung. Under the plan, it will provide 1,000 young jobseekers opportunities to obtain internships at various international organizations and overseas affiliates of South Korean firms on an annual basis. ``The internship program is the biggest of its kind. The `Chung Ju-yung kids,’ as we will call them, will see internship chances in working for overseas offices of Korean firms in China, India, Russia, Brazil and the Middle East for six months,’’ said an ANF spokesman. ``ANF is also in talks with several predetermined international organizations such as the United Nations to make the internship program stronger,’’ said the spokesman. Initially, 200 interns will be dispatched to overseas operations of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in 11 different countr

Dec 29, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Exclusive LG Chem’s strange bid to have 3 CEOs

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Chem, South Korea’s biggest chemical firm, has decided to adopt a ``top three’’ management system in a step to grant greater management independency to its key battery and materials businesses. Under the reorganization, two company presidents will be promoted to chief executives, while existing CEO and Vice Chairman Kim Bahn-suk will take coordinating also as CEO LG Chem has currently three business divisions ― batteries, petrochemicals and information materials. Park Young-key, president of the information materials unit, and Kwon Young-soo, president of the battery division will be promoted to chief executives in a reshuffle early next year, top LG officials told The Korea Times. Park Jin-soo, president of its petrochemical unit, will retain his current position. ``LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo will name the two LG Chem presidents as CEOs to guarantee management independency in LG’s battery-related business, which the firm sees as our new growth engine,’’ a top-ranking executive said. The executive stressed that the company has recently scrapped i

Dec 28, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Opinion

Catchy ad with one missing element

By Kim Yoo-chul Television commercials for Samsung Electronics’ latest Slate laptop and Note products — mid-way between smartphones and tablet PCs — are enough to distinguish themselves from others. The Slate commercial, with an all foreign-cast and dubbed in Korean, reminds people of a scene from hot American TV shows such as “24” including cloak-and-dagger elements compressed into a 30-second slot, making the viewers sit on the edge of their seat in anticipation of what will come next. “We put an element of drama into it,” a senior company official said in a telephone interview. One notably missing element is a kind of racial balance; some may feel tempted to say. For the Note, a Western person holds the device up in the air against the background of skyscrapers in Manhattan, New York City, with an emphasis on the use of a stylus. Samsung ad people say they are being strategic because it also uses plenty of Korean athletes and actors for commercials, pointing out that the advertisements for the Note and Slate don’t include famous celebrities from

Dec 28, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Samsung vs. Apple and#8212; high-stakes, unfinished war

Next year may prove crucial in determining winner between technology giants By Kim Yoo-chul Patent lawsuits between Samsung Electronics and Apple represent the eagerness of the industry giants to claim larger stakes in a battle for ownership of the technologies behind smart devices such as smartphones. Embroiled in about 30 patent lawsuits in 10 countries Samsung and its biggest component buyer Apple don’t have any imminent plans to declare a truce anytime soon. Victory would make it possible to earn

Dec 28, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Others

Samsung Galaxy S II wooing consumers

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S II smartphone has seen booming success since its April debut. The firm’s flagship smartphone is enjoying a successful run with consumers since arriving in the United States, a prime example of Android’s continued success. The device has sold over 10 million globally. The reason is very simple _ it’s a solid smartphone. The Galaxy S II has competitive specifications. It has all the ``right specifications’’ of an A+ smartphone this year, according to Samsung officials. A 1.2-gigahertz dual-core processor and a large 4.52-inch super AMOLED display makes the device look much brighter. The Galaxy S II is powered by an Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system. It has fourth-generation (HSPA+21) connectivity with 1024 megabytes of RAM. Other noteworthy features include full high-definition (HD) video recording with 1080 pixels, a 3-axis gyroscopic sensor for gaming, an 8-megapixel camera with inbuilt flash and server/client networking functionality with DLNA-certified devices. ``Samsung is pushing an aggressive market

Dec 28, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Samsung world’s No. 5 IT firm by market cap

By Kim Yoo-chul A surge in Samsung Electronics’ smartphone business has boosted its market capitalization to $136.9 billion. The figure raises Samsung to fifth in market capitalization among global IT firms, ahead of the world’s second-biggest software maker Oracle. ``We hope for a better year next year despite all difficulties,’’ said a spokesman. According to the data compiled by financial sources, Oracle’s market cap as of Dec. 23 was estimated at $131 billion. Samsung is ahead of Intel by $12 billion. All the top four were American companies. Apple is No. 1 at $374.9 billion, followed by Microsoft with $219 billion, IBM with $217.7 billion and Google, $205.1 billion. ``Last year, Oracle was ahead of Samsung in terms of market capitalization by more than $30 billion, but continued sluggish performances and stabilizing dollar-won rates helped the Korean firm,’’ the spokesman said. In the third quarter of this year, Samsung became the world’s biggest smartphone maker after passing Apple thanks to its Galaxy-branded smartphones. Analysts and even top decision-

Dec 27, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Kim Yoo-chul

Read more

POSCO produces eco-friendly special steel

Stringer trapped in Sony he’s hired to fix

Samsung moves to reduce Qualcomm reliance

LG Intel odd bedfellows in mobile

’Chung Ju-yung Kids’ program to spur hiring

Exclusive LG Chem’s strange bid to have 3 CEOs

Catchy ad with one missing element

Samsung vs. Apple and#8212; high-stakes, unfinished war

Samsung Galaxy S II wooing consumers

Samsung world’s No. 5 IT firm by market cap

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