Business - The Korea Times

Samsung considers chip packaging test line in Japan

A man uses a phone below a Samsung sign, during the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain March 1, 2023. Reuters-YonhapSouth Korea's Samsung Electronics is considering setting up a chip packaging test line in Japan, five people said, to bolster its advanced packaging business and forge closer ties with Japanese makers of semiconductor equipment and materials.It would be the first such test line in Japan for Samsung, the world's largest maker of memory chips. It would also come as the United States increasingly urges allies to work together to counter China's rising might in chips and advanced technology.Japan said on Friday it would restrict exports of 23 types of chip-making tools, aligning its technology trade controls with a U.S. push to curb China's ability to make advanced chips.Samsung is looking to establish the facility in Kanagawa prefecture, near Tokyo, where it already has a research and development center, according to four of the people, all of whom declined to be identified because the information is not public.Although details have not been finali

Mar 31, 2023

Samsung considers chip packaging test line in Japan

Lawmaker holds exhibition on Danuri lunar orbiter

Rep. Jo Seoung-lae of the Democratic Party of Korea and a member of the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, delivers a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of an exhibition on the Danuri lunar orbiter at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday. NewsisBy Baek Byung-yeulRep. Jo Seoung-lae of the Democratic Party of Korea hosted an exhibition shedding light on the Danuri lunar orbiter to commemorate the space vehicle's successful entry into lunar orbit, the lawmaker said Tuesday.Hosted by the lawmaker, the exhibition, titled “Special Exhibition of Lunar Exploration,” will take place at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, until Saturday. The exhibition features various moon-related content, a miniature of the Danuri and photos taken by the lunar orbiter.The Danuri is a domestically developed space vehicle. Carried by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, the unmanned space vehicle was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Aug. 5.A poster for an exhib

Mar 30, 2023By Baek Byung-yeul

Lawmaker holds exhibition on Danuri lunar orbiter

SK hynix promises no production cuts amid sluggish demand

Park Jung-ho, vice chairman of SK hynix, speaks during a shareholders meeting at its headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of SK hynixBy Baek Byung-yeulSK hynix vowed that there will be no additional production cut in its memory chip business as the sluggish semiconductor market is showing signs of improvement from the second half of this year, its vice chairman said Wednesday.At the shareholders' meeting held at the company's headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho added that the company will establish a chip packaging plant in the United States, as it previously announced, as there is a growing demand for an advance chip packaging business there.In 2022, due to decreased demand for memory chips, SK hynix said that it would reduce its investment by 50 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 and reduce the production of less profitable products. However, when asked about implementing an additional production cut, Park dismissed it saying “we won't.”Park hinted at the possibility that the global chip market will improve in th

Mar 29, 2023By Baek Byung-yeul

SK hynix promises no production cuts amid sluggish demand

Celltrion chairman vows to develop new drugs, initiate M&As

Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion, speaks during an online press conference, Wednesday. Courtesy of CelltrionBy Baek Byung-yeulSeo Jung-jin, founder and chairman of Celltrion, vowed to transform the biosimilar maker into a leading new drug maker and launch a series of merger and acquisition (M&A) activities to diversify its business portfolio during an online press conference, Wednesday. The chairman added that Celltrion will seek advancement into the artificial intelligence (AI) technology-based digital healthcare business to keep pace with trends in the biomedical industry that increasingly utilize emerging digital technologies.“We are a leader in biosimilars, but we will try to generate 40 percent of the company's sales from our own drugs and 60 percent from biosimilars by 2030,” the chairman said. Biosimilar drugs are biological medical products very similar to existing approved products.The chairman revealed the vision in order to achieve stable growth for the company. “Everyone thinks of Celltrion as a biosimilar company but we expect our Remsima SC drug

Mar 29, 2023By Baek Byung-yeul

Celltrion chairman vows to develop new drugs, initiate M&As

Seoul participates in Asia's biggest smart city expo in Taipei

Seoul Digital Foundation President Kang Yo-sik, second from right, greets visitors to the Seoul Pavilion during Smart City Summit and Expo 2023 at Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei, Tuesday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentBy Ko Dong-hwanThe Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday exhibited some of the city's best examples of how AI and other advanced future technologies can be applied to daily life during a global smart city expo in Taipei. The Seoul Digital Foundation under the Seoul Metropolitan Government and three companies selected by the city government are joining Smart City Summit and Expo (SCSE) 2023 in northern Taiwan. The event is scheduled to run through Friday.It is the first time for the city government to send a delegation to the annual summit in Taipei. Held at Nangang Exhibition Center, the event's main theme is “Digital Transformation Takes Smart Cities to New Heights.”The participating Korean companies are light detection and ranging (LiDAR) perception software provider Vueron Technology, AI-based data solutions provider CNAI and Aone Traff

Mar 29, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan

Seoul participates in Asia's biggest smart city expo in Taipei

SKT uses AI to manage wireless network

SK Telecom employees inspect network system equipment using the company's AI-based A-STAR, Tuesday. Courtesy of SK TelecomBy Baek Byung-yeulSK Telecom developed A-STAR, an artificial intelligence-based solution for wireless network quality management, and applied it to its network base stations nationwide as part of efforts to improve service quality by detecting abnormalities quickly, the company said Tuesday.A-STAR monitors the status of hundreds of thousands of base stations nationwide, finds equipment that is expected to cause problems affecting network quality, alerts field operation managers and, at the same time, recommends how to fix the issues, the company explained.“A-STAR preemptively responds to deterioration in wireless network quality. By doing so, the solution minimizes customer inconvenience,” the company said.SK Telecom said A-STAR analyzes the quality of base station equipment every hour and reports abnormalities to field managers, and also analyzes the cause of quality degradation by looking at an average of 250 kinds of data per equipment.During a test

Mar 28, 2023By Baek Byung-yeul

ANALYSIS Tesla, BYD's price cuts unnerve LGES, Samsung, SK

A partially disassembled 4680 structural battery pack from a Tesla Model Y, built in Austin, Texas, is displayed under a sheet of plexiglass in Auburn Hills, Michigan U.S. March 3, 2023. Reuters-YonhapFollowing EV price declines, Korean battery trio follows CATL to produce affordable LFP-type batteries to secure profit margins By Kim Yoo-chulThe global electric vehicle (EV) market has enjoyed robust growth despite continued supply chain challenges. Supply disruptions during peak periods of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine had a short-term effect on the industry because EV sales rebounded from the second half of 2022.Earlier predictions of growth in EV sales were not very convincing. However, strong policy support in both the U.S. and China, as well as continued technological improvements, have helped overall EV demand remain bullish. Research firms expect the battery value chain to increase almost 10-fold between 2020 and 2030 to reach as much as $140 billion in annual revenues.But such policy changes ― the provision of up to a $7,500 tax credit for EV

Mar 27, 2023By Kim Yoo-chul

[ANALYSIS] Tesla, BYD's price cuts unnerve LGES, Samsung, SK

Samsung chief inspects production plants in China for first time in 3 years

Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, takes a look at products at Samsung Electro-Mechanics' MLCC plant in Tianjin, China, Friday. Courtesy of Samsung ElectronicsBy Baek Byung-yeulLee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, visited China for the first time in three years to inspect Samsung Electro-Mechanics' multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) plant at a time when demand for the key component of electric vehicles (EV) is increasing, the company said Sunday.His visit drew particular attention as it came amid the U.S. government's intensifying efforts to curb the growth of China's chip industry by regulating semiconductor production by non-Chinese firms there.The Korean tech giant said Lee visited the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin on Friday where Samsung Electro-Mechanics' plant is located to check how the business is performing and meet with Samsung Group employees working in the region.The Tianjin factory, which began operations in 2021, is one of the major production bases that supply MLCCs used in IT devices and cars, along with the company's Busan factory.An ML

Mar 26, 2023By Baek Byung-yeul

Samsung chief inspects production plants in China for first time in 3 years

Workday aims to assist hums with AI, machine learning, not replace it

Damian Leach, chief technology officer of Workday Asia Pacific and Japan, speaks during a press conference at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeulBy Baek Byung-yeulWorkday aims to augment human intelligence with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), instead of replacing people, as the U.S.-based human resources and finance management software maker thinks the emerging technologies need to be human-centric and trustworthy, the chief technology officer of the company's Asia Pacific and Japan region said, Thursday. “What's really important in terms of our philosophy with AI and machine learning, is that we still put humans in the loop in terms of what we do. Humans need to still make the decisions at the right time and the right place. And with the right context,” Damian Leach, CTO of Workday Asia Pacific and Japan, said during a press conference in Seoul.“This is really important at Workday. We believe we need to empower human decision-making through AI and machine learning. The purpos

Mar 23, 2023By Baek Byung-yeul

Workday aims to assist hums with AI, machine learning, not replace it

Samsung, SK chiefs prepare for trips to China amid intensifying 'chip war'

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, front row left, escorts Chinese President Xi Jinping, front row center, and first lady Peng Liyuan, at The Shilla Seoul in this 2014 file photo. Courtesy of Samsung ElectronicsBy Park Jae-hyukAll eyes are on the heads of Samsung and SK and how they will overhaul their semiconductor businesses in China, during their highly probable trips to the country later this month. This comes amid the U.S. government's intensifying efforts to restrain the growth of the Chinese chip industry.Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong is mentioned as one of the global business leaders to participate in the China Development Forum (CDF), which will be held in Beijing from March 25 to 27, according to industry officials, Thursday.Although Samsung Electronics declined to confirm the chairman's itinerary, he is said to be meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, as well as China's new Prime Minister Li Qiang, during the forum held annually by the Chinese government to discuss ways to develop the country's economy.When Lee paid a previous vi

Mar 23, 2023By Park Jae-hyuk

Samsung, SK chiefs prepare for trips to China amid intensifying 'chip war'

Samsung Electronics chief to attend China Development Forum

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