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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.

Kakao to cut affiliates to 80 by year-end to focus on AI

Kakao is pushing ahead with a significant reorganization of its corporate structure, aiming to further trim its sprawling network of affiliates to streamline governance and refocus on artificial intelligence (AI) as a core growth engine. The tech giant’s CEO Chung Shin-a announced plans to pare down its affiliates from the current 99 to around 80 by the end of this year in a shareholder letter on Monday, continuing her two-year effort to simplify the group’s structure. Streamlining corporate governance has been one of Chung’s top priorities since she joined the Kakao Corporate Alignment Council in 2023, when there were 142 affiliates. By the time she became CEO in March last year, she had reduced the number to 132. It now stands at 99, down about 30 percent in just two years. “Kakao has spent the last year and a half rapidly reforming its corporate governance while implementing companywide cost efficiencies, building a financial structure that allows us to focus on future growth,” the CEO said in the letter. “Based on this foundation, we will begin delivering another wave of

Oct 13, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
Kakao to cut affiliates to 80 by year-end to focus on AI

Chipmakers' Q3 earnings outlook rosy due to AI boom

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are expected to deliver handsome third-quarter earnings, as the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure fuels soaring demand for advanced memory chips. Market analysts forecast that both companies will announce results surpassing market expectations, driven by robust sales of high-value products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Samsung Electronics is expected to announce its third-quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday. According to financial data service provider FnGuide, the company’s revenue during the period from July to September is estimated to exceed 83.8 trillion won ($58.98 billion), up 5.98 percent from the same period last year. Operating profit is expected to rise 7.80 percent year-on-year to about 9.9 trillion won. Some analysts predict that Samsung’s operating profit could exceed 10 trillion won, marking the first time in 15 months that the company has surpassed the threshold. In a report released on Sept. 19, Hanwha Investment & Securities projected this quarter’s revenue at 84.1 trillion won and operating pro

Oct 10, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
Chipmakers' Q3 earnings outlook rosy due to AI boom

LG accelerates global AI infrastructure push at Data Centre World Asia 2025

LG Electronics is ramping up its efforts to lead artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, presenting its integrated One LG solution for AI data centers with LG CNS and LG Energy Solution at this year’s Data Centre World Asia (DCWA). The three affiliates joined Asia’s largest data center exhibition, held in Singapore on Wednesday and Thursday, running a joint booth for the first time to showcase their unified portfolio of high-efficiency technologies. The One LG integrated solution responds to soaring AI infrastructure needs through the group’s combined expertise, already delivering concrete results such as a major hyperscale project in Jakarta, Indonesia. “With our differentiated thermal management systems, design, building and operating capabilities, and robust power solutions, the One LG integrated solution positions us to proactively lead in the rapidly growing AI data center market,” Lee Jae-sung, vice president of LG Electronics’ Eco Solution business division, said. At the exhibition, LG Electronics introduced advanced, high-efficiency cooling systems for AI data ce

Oct 9, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
LG accelerates global AI infrastructure push at Data Centre World Asia 2025

NC AI unveils vision to boost K-content with game-driven AI

With artificial intelligence (AI) transforming key industries worldwide, NC AI, the AI affiliate of game giant NCSOFT Corp., is positioning itself to lead South Korea's content sector by leveraging its gaming-tech expertise, company officials said Wednesday. Its vision is to democratize creativity and accelerate the global spread of K-content, tapping into a media AI market projected to soar from $8.21 billion in 2024 to over $51 billion by 2030, according to the officials. At the core of NC AI's strategy is the VARCO multimodal AI series that can process text, voice, image and 3D data to automate creative tasks. Among its most representative applications is multilingual dubbing. The company's voice-acting AI can translate videos into multiple languages while preserving the original actor's tone and emotion. This enables automatic multilingual dubbing from a single video, cutting the cost and time of localizing Korean dramas and films overseas by more than 90 percent. Beyond dubbing, NC AI offers tools that automate the full production pipeline, from generating text-based sound effects to

Oct 8, 2025By Yonhap
NC AI unveils vision to boost K-content with game-driven AI

Gangnam Unni seeks to connect international customers with top beauty clinics

For those who have recently traveled to Seoul, there's a good chance of encountering posters featuring two women wearing futuristic eyewear, staring blankly ahead, plastered across billboards throughout the city. The women featured are model Jang Yoon-joo and actor Jeon Jong-seo, promoting Gangnam Unni, an aesthetic medicine platform that connects those seeking cosmetic treatments with clinics. The name Gangnam Unni literally translates into “sisters of Gangnam,” referencing the affluent Seoul district known for its concentration of plastic surgery clinics, and evokes the image of women well-versed in beauty and self-care. Regardless of debates surrounding cosmetic surgery or whether medical care should be subject to market forces — or even the stereotypes implied by the platform’s name — Gangnam Unni has emerged as a clear business success over its 10 years of operation, meeting the demand for greater transparency in beauty services. According to regulatory filings from Healing Paper, Gangnam Unni's operator, the company posted sales of 53 billion won ($37.8 million) last yea

Oct 7, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
Gangnam Unni seeks to connect international customers with top beauty clinics

Korean petrochemical firms to showcase advanced materials in Germany

Major Korean petrochemical firms will flock to the German city of Düsseldorf next week to showcase their latest material technologies at the triennial K 2025 trade fair for plastics and rubber, scheduled for Oct. 8-15. SK Chemicals plans to exhibit more than 70 end products and industrial goods commercialized with the company's proprietary materials. Under the theme "Recyclable, Recycled and Bio Solutions," the firm will present items made with its recyclable and recycled materials used across various industries, including cosmetics, automotive, fashion and food and beverage. “As circularity is becoming a core requirement in global markets, SK Chemicals provides readily deployable recycling and bio solutions, and is recognized for competitive quality and commercial readiness,” SK Chemicals CEO Ahn Jae-hyun said. “We will continue expanding collaborations with global companies and further strengthen SK Chemicals’ technological and brand leadership as the market shifts toward recycled plastics.” LG Chem will display 65 types of products at its 286-square-meter booth, the largest

Oct 2, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Korean petrochemical firms to showcase advanced materials in Germany

Samsung, SK form AI infrastructure partnership with OpenAI

Samsung and SK each signed comprehensive partnerships on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure with OpenAI during its CEO Sam Altman’s visit to Korea, Wednesday. The partnerships, respective letters of intent with Samsung Group and SK Group, will enable Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to supply AI-specific memory chips worth hundreds of billions of dollars for the Stargate project, a $500 billion joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank for AI infrastructure in the U.S. As part of the Stargate project, OpenAI expects it will need about 900,000 wafers’ worth of high-performance DRAM each month to power ChatGPT and its other AI solutions. During the visit, Altman noted that OpenAI hopes to source a significant portion of the demand from the Korean chip giants, helping the two secure stable and long-term client bases. Samsung Group said Wednesday its Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Altman signed a letter of intent (LOI) for a partnership on AI infrastructure. The LOI involves Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDS, Samsung C&T and Samsung Heavy Industries. Under the partnership, Sam

Oct 1, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung, SK form AI infrastructure partnership with OpenAI

KT launches monthly international call subscription plan

KT has introduced a new subscription-based international calling service, 001 Global Free, on Wednesday to offer affordable international calls with a fixed monthly fee. The new subscription plan offers up to 120 minutes of free international calls each month for 7,700 won ($5.50). After using the free minutes, users can make additional calls at a discounted rate of 3.3 won per second, which is 86 percent less than the standard international calling service rate. It is open to all mobile subscribers regardless of carrier, while KT customers also enjoy landline support as well. KT explained that the service is designed to respond to growing global business needs, the rise in international students and the spread of K-culture, leading to more foreigners staying in Korea. To mark the service’s launch, the company is offering a 50 percent discount on the first month’s subscription fee to anyone who signs up by Oct. 31. The service is available through the company’s official website, KT.com, the My KT app and KT retail stores. “As global communication becomes a part of daily life, KT w

Oct 1, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
KT launches monthly international call subscription plan

SK Telecom rolls out new subscription service

SK Telecom is launching a new bring-your-own-device subscription brand called air on October 13, offering simplified and cost-effective services specifically designed for users who already own mobile devices. The new service, which targets younger users, strips down unnecessary bundles that traditional carrier plans have, focusing on the essential mobile services — 5G connectivity, simplified data plans and straightforward self-service features. “Mainly, customers in their 20s and 30s tend to purchase unlocked devices online, so we took into account the fact that they do not visit physical telecom stores,” Lee Yun-haeng, air team leader of SK Telecom, said during a press conference in Seongdong District in Seoul on Wednesday to introduce the new service. “SKT thoroughly listened to the needs of the 2030 generation, who want intuitive and simple rate plans, activation processes and value-added services.” The air service features six contract-free 5G data plans, starting at 29,000 won ($21) for 7 gigabytes (GB) of data to up to 58,000 won for unlimited data per month. All plans in

Oct 1, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
SK Telecom rolls out new subscription service

LG Electronics India listing completes price building, targets $1.24 bil. offering

LG Electronics said Wednesday it has completed the price building process for the much-anticipated listing of its Indian unit, which will debut on the local stock market Oct. 14. The price band for the offering has been set between 1,080 and 1,140 rupees per share, which is expected to raise between 1.74 trillion won ($1.24 billion) and 1.84 trillion won for the company’s headquarters. LG Electronics will sell 15 percent of its stake in the unit through an offer for sale (OFS), with subscriptions opening on Tuesday. LG Electronics said in a Korean regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Board of India recently granted the final approval of the Indian unit’s listing. LG Electronics expects actual gains through the listing to surpass 1.74 trillion won, given the favorable valuation of the Indian unit in the market. At the upper end of the price band, the unit’s post-listing market cap will hover over 12 trillion won, which is far higher than that of Whirlpool of India (2.4 trillion won), Voltas (7.2 trillion won) and other home appliance companies listed on the local marke

Oct 1, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
LG Electronics India listing completes price building, targets $1.24 bil. offering
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