my timesThe Korea Times

Kim Yoo-chul

Korea Times Business Reporter

Go to Email

Read more

Tech & Science

Is Samsung offering olive branch to Apple?

Samsung delays new phone launch, though vows legal fight By Kim Yoo-chul Expectations have arisen that Samsung Electronics might offer an olive branch to Apple after the Korean firm officially announced it was postponing the release of a new smartphone that uses the Android operating system (OS). Samsung said the decision to delay the event was due to its sincere tribute to the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The ``very rare decision’’ by Samsung, which company officials say is a ``goodwill gesture,’’ has raised speculation by industry executives and officials in Korea that Samsung has it in mind to end the ongoing legal disputes. But Samsung officials told The Korea Times that the company is approaching the matter ``separately,’’ and said Samsung doesn’t have any imminent plans to resolve the legal tussle. ``We’ve acknowledged such speculation, however, that’s gone too far. Samsung is in talks with Google to fix new data for the new smartphone,’’ said a high-ranking Samsung executive, Tuesday. Representatives of Google’s Korean office declined to confirm

Oct 11, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

LG picks fight with Samsung over smart displays

Challenge appears to be diversionary effort for slipping mobile phone business By Kim Yoo-chul LG Electronics appears to be prolonging its fight against Samsung Electronics going through LG Display, firing a salvo at smart devices. For smart products, content and hardware technology are important for faster download speed but as critical is viewing quality. That is where LG wants to take its fight. The firm has successfully fought a war with Samsung over 3D technology. But it remains to be seen how well LG can manage the latest round. By all indications, the tactics look increasingly like an attempt to divert attention from its dismal performance on smartphones, the current make-or-break factor for electronics firms. Samsung is using its in-house organic LED or OLED display-making technology for all Galaxy-branded smartphones by insisting that OLEDs promise to realize natural images as they emit their own light and feature several appealing factors. LG Display believes its advanced high-performance in-plane switching (AH-IPS) LCD technology is better than Sams

Oct 10, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Has dispute with Apple raised Samsung’s brand power?

By Kim Yoo-chul What Apple has least wanted from its patent dispute with Samsung Electronics may have happened _ the increased value of the Korean tech giant. Samsung’s brand value, which was placed at 42nd in 2001 with a value of $6.37 billion, has grown to 17th with its brand value estimated at as much as $23.4 billion, according to a report by Interbrand, “2011 Best Global Brands.” Samsung is the first Korean company that surpassed the ``$20 billion’’ barrier. Last year, Samsung’s brand value was estimated at $19.49 billion, Interbrand said. In a string of international legal disputes, Samsung and Apple accuse each other of copying patents of the other. ``It’s quite inspiring result for Samsung to add two-notches in brand value this year from last year’s 19th,’’ said one Samsung executive, wondering whether it has anything to do with its Apple fight. Samsung has been focusing on innovation in its overall management strategy since the early 2000s with an aim to rise in the highly-competitive consumer electronics business, resulting in huge spending on marketing

Oct 9, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung vows to renew mobile race with Apple

By Kim Yoo-chul Upbeat about its third-quarter performance, Samsung Electronics is set to report even stronger results in the fourth quarter of this year, defying analysts' expectations that the Korean tech giant will end up with disappointing figures this year. What is boosting the morale of Samsung is its rise in the booming smartphone segment. The depreciation of the local currency against the greenback as well as the stabilization of memory chip prices is also good news for the Suwon, Gyeong Province-based outfit. ``I am a little bit cautious, however. Samsung hopes to achieve the 150 trillion won revenue, 15 trillion won profit target this year. The smartphone business is now the key sector,’’ said a Samsung executive, asking not to be identified, Friday. Last year, Samsung’s total revenue was 154.63 trillion won with an operating profit of 17.29 trillion won. During the first nine months of this year, Samsung reported 117.42 trillion won in turnover with an operating profit of 10.9 trillion won. ``The 150 trillion, 15 trillion target looks quite challenging

Oct 7, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung sees ’earnings surprise’ in Q3

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics' third quarter results were better than expected, buoyed by brisk smartphone and other consumer gadget sales in the United States and China. The recent depreciation of the Korean currency also helped the Suwon, Gyeonggi Province-based outfit record a handsome bottom line, described by analysts as a surprise. In an earnings guidance Friday, Samsung said it expects an operating profit of 4.2 trillion won ($3.52 billion) for the July-Sept. period on sales of about 41 trillion won. This is the first time in a year that the company has posted more than 4 trillion won in quarterly operating profit, although compare to the same period last year, the figure represents a 13.6 percent decline. Samsung just released numbers without any official details for the guidance. Rather, it said the actual result may differ because it is still in the process of completing an audit. The company will announce detailed earnings later this month. The guidance was far better than a broader consensus by analysts of 3.2 trillion to 3.5 trillion won.

Oct 7, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

SK spurs business realignment in China

By Kim Yoo-chul SK Group, with business fields ranging from mobile phones to chemicals, is stepping up efforts for corporate realignment in China. A growing number of SK employees in China have already been tasked to better handle SK’s emerging business-to-business-related (B2B) businesses, sources directly involved with the matter said Thursday. ``Consensus has been reached by top SK’s decision makers to shift key focuses in China as efforts to bolster SK’s presence there have been struggling,’’ said an SK executive, asking not to be identified. ``But that doesn’t necessarily mean that SK Group plans to completely fold the venture. Rather than focusing on business-to-consumer (B2C) segments such as mobile phones, SK will shift its sights to business-to-business (B2B) sectors.’’ SK Group, led by Chairman Chey Tae-won, is also considering realigning ``a certain percent’’ of senior management jobs to B2B-centric business divisions from some money-losing divisions. ``We are desperate to strengthen competitiveness in some of highly-lucrative areas for business sustainab

Oct 6, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Will death cause Samsung, Apple to reconcile?

Samsung's legal team holds emergency meeting By Kim Yoo-chul The ongoing lawsuit battle between Samsung and Apple is expected to see an ``unexpected turning point’’ as new Apple executive Tim Cook is seen to put priorities on operational roles, including manufacturing, distribution and sales. Charismatic former Apple CEO Steve Jobs died just a day after the California-based Apple released its new iPhone 4S and hours after Samsung filed patent lawsuits in France and Italy to immediately ban the complete sale of the new handset. In a rare condolence message, Samsung chief executive Choi Gee-sung said the company was more than saddened to hear of the death of Steve Jobs. ``Jobs led the entire technology industry’s revolutionary changes and he was truly a great entrepreneur. Jobs’ innovative thinking and great accomplishments will be remembered forever by people on this planet,’’ Choi said Thursday. Attention is now focused on whether Jobs’ death and the complete take over by his successor Tim Cook will impact the widening legal battle between the two technology giants.

Oct 6, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
  • Netizens mourn the death of Steve Jobs
  • Shares of Samsung, LG rise
Tech & Science

Samsung seeks sale ban on iPhone 4S

Tech giant to file complaints with courts in Paris, Milan By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that it is seeking a sales ban on Apple’s just-unveiled iPhone 4S due to alleged infringements of its patents. In a statement, the company giant said it will file complaints with courts in Paris and Milan, where Samsung Electronics is seeing a steady market share increase. ``The iPhone 4S slavishly infringed on four Samsung-developed patents including transmission technology. Apple’s infringement is severe, thus it should not be allowed to sell the iPhone 4S,’’ Samsung said. Spokesman Shin Young-june said Samsung won’t let other manufacturers take a ``free ride’’ on key patents and added its legal team is mulling the possibility to expand the number of countries it will file complaints in. In Paris, Samsung plans to sue Apple on one patent that covers the encoding of a signal transmission format and one that corrects encoding errors. In Milan, the South Korean company insisted that Apple infringed on a patent that covers a method for bundling low bursts o

Oct 5, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
  • Markets less enthusiastic about iPhone 4S
Tech & Science

Shipyards braces for downturn before full recovery

By Kim Yoo-chul Korean shipbuilders are likely to continue their losing streak in terms of profit throughout next year because the bad economy is driving more ship owners to delay orders, executives said Tuesday. Tumbling oil prices and fewer transactions are also sapping the demand for new ships, they said. The price of oil, which is one of the key factors to gauge the healthiness of the shipbuilding sector, dropped to its lowest level in more than a year because of fears of another recession. Korea is home to the world’s three biggest shipbuilders ― Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and Samsung Heavy. ``It’s true that Europe’s worsening debt-related crisis has left the economy of the United States on the edge of a new recession, which is truly bad for shipbuilders,’’ said HHI chief executive Lee Jae-sung in a meeting with reporters. Lee said Hyundai is applying its fine-tuned contingency plans to prevent further profit drops, though factors are not on the company’s side. ``Since the second quarter, Hyundai has seen a

Oct 4, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung’s semiconductor biz looking up

Upbeat outlook comes despite patent wrangling with buyers By Kim Yoo-chul A patent row between Samsung Electronics and Apple is ironically a favorable opportunity for the Korean chip giant to sharpen its edge in profitability in the advanced non-memory chip business. ``Samsung aims to reap at least $1.5 billion in revenue from our foundry business by 2015, up from last year’s some $400 million,’’ said a high-ranking Samsung executive, Tuesday. Samsung is targeting an annualized 30 percent growth in its foundry business over the next four years. Its foundry business is well categorized as part of the non-memory business. The logic looks quite simple. A chipmaker just manufactures chips with the specifications outlined by a client. That business requires refined chip manufacturing technologies and is also labor-intensive. Officials at Samsung’s chip sector don’t doubt that further expansion of its foundry business is a top priority and one Samsung source said that the company has set the ``fab-light’’ strategy as the industry’s new outlook, fueling optimism that

Oct 4, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul
previous page
237238239240241
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.