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Samsung mulls new chip packaging plant in Gwangju

Samsung Electronics is doing a feasibility study on establishing a semiconductor packaging plant in the southwestern city of Gwangju, government and industry officials said Wednesday, noting that plans will likely be announced during a presidential meeting later this month. According to officials, Samsung Electronics is now reviewing its investment plan for the new semiconductor packaging plant to address growing memory chip demands and in response to President Lee Jae Myung's push for more balanced regional development. If the plan is finalized, the facility is expected to be responsible for advanced semiconductor packaging for Samsung Electronics' latest chips, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Packaging, which comes after the fabrication process in semiconductor manufacturing, was traditionally regarded as a lower-value, less technologically demanding stage, compared with front-end wafer processing, where ultrafine circuits are etched onto wafers using highly sophisticated equipment. However, as artificial intelligence semiconductors become increasingly advanced, the ability to

Jun 10, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung mulls new chip packaging plant in Gwangju

Samsung SDS partners with AI security firms to boost cloud protection

Samsung SDS is partnering with U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) security startup XBOW and Korean cloud security firm Tatum Security to strengthen its AI-powered cloud security capabilities. The company said Wednesday that the partnerships with specialized AI security firms at home and abroad will enhance its end-to-end cloud security framework, spanning vulnerability detection, integrated monitoring and incident response, helping its customers adopt and operate AI and cloud environments more securely. “Through collaboration with advanced security startups at home and abroad, we have built a comprehensive cloud security framework covering prevention, monitoring and recovery,” said Chang Yong-min, head of Samsung SDS’ security business unit. “By combining advanced global technologies, locally tailored solutions and Samsung SDS’ operational expertise, we will proactively address the growing wave of security threats driven by enterprise AI adoption.” Through its partnership with XBOW, Samsung SDS will expand AI-based vulnerability detection for web-based IT assets. Founded

Jun 10, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Samsung SDS partners with AI security firms to boost cloud protection

Korea, China urged to deepen tech cooperation despite intensifying competition

Korea and China should seek deeper cooperation in emerging technologies despite growing competition and worsening global fragmentation, scholars said Tuesday, arguing that no country can dominate the next wave of innovation alone. The remarks came at the Gather in Shenzhen forum at Hanyang University in Seoul, part of a three-day event organized by Shenzhen Media Group ahead of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Shenzhen. Speaking at a session on technology innovation, Lee Hee-ok, emeritus dean of Sungkyun Institute of China Studies, said Korea's ambition to become one of the world's top three artificial intelligence (AI) powers would require strategic investment and international collaboration. "Every country today is moving within a similar framework of competition," Lee pointed out. "No country can win in every field." Instead, Korea should focus on becoming a "strategic linchpin" — ensuring that the global technology ecosystem cannot function without Korean capabilities, he said. Lee said Korea's strengths lie in memory semiconductors and precision man

Jun 10, 2026By Yulu Ao
Korea, China urged to deepen tech cooperation despite intensifying competition

FORUM Korean firms should move AI from routine tasks into core operations: PwC executive

Korean companies should shift their focus from choosing the best artificial intelligence (AI) models to helping AI understand their business processes and integrating the technology into their core operations, a PwC Korea executive said Tuesday. Speaking at the 2026 Korea Times Forum, Cho Yong-min, a partner at the Korean member firm of global consulting and accounting giant PwC, said many businesses have already adopted AI for tasks such as writing documents, conducting research and assisting with software development. However, he said the real payoff comes when AI is used to improve the day-to-day operations that drive a company's business, rather than simply handling routine tasks. “Using AI for productivity is important, but the bigger challenge is whether it can change a company's key operations,” he said during the forum co-organized by The Korea Times and GR Korea, a government relations and public affairs service company. Held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, the forum was themed “Made in Korea: Global and AI enablement.” Cho participated as

Jun 9, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
[FORUM] Korean firms should move AI from routine tasks into core operations: PwC executive

FORUM S4 Capital chairman says AI forces business reset, calls for faster execution

Martin Sorrell, chairman of S4 Capital and founder of WPP, the world's largest advertising and marketing services company, warned Tuesday that traditional business models built on scale, global reach and cheap capital are no longer fit for an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is forcing a “structural reset,” urging companies to redesign their operating models around speed, automation and AI-driven execution. Speaking at The Korea Times Forum, co-hosted by GR Korea and held in Seoul under the theme "Made in Korea: Global and AI enablement," Sorrell said businesses are facing a permanent shift rather than a cyclical disruption as geopolitical tensions, industrial policy and technological competition reshape global commerce. The event was co-hosted by GR Korea. “For years, global business leaders operated in a world of highly optimized globalization — frictionless supply chains, low inflation and expansion defined largely by scale and capital access. That world has fundamentally changed,” Sorrell said during his keynote speech. He noted that geopolitical fragmentation, the r

Jun 9, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
[FORUM] S4 Capital chairman says AI forces business reset, calls for faster execution

Samsung memory chief, Nvidia CEO discuss next-generation HBM cooperation

The head of Samsung Electronics' memory business said Monday he met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and discussed long-term cooperation in next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products. Jun Young-hyun, who leads Samsung Electronics' device solutions division, made the remarks to reporters after meeting Huang during his visit to Korea to meet industry leaders to explore broader cooperation opportunities across the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem. "We have maintained cooperation with CEO Huang for a long period, and we have had very productive discussions so far," Jun said. A key focus of the talks was long-term collaboration on next-generation HBM technologies, including HBM4E and HBM5, as well as cooperation in the foundry business, Jun said. HBM chips are advanced memory semiconductors that work alongside AI processors to provide the massive bandwidth needed for AI training and inference, making them a critical component of modern AI systems. Jun added that in the shorter term, Samsung Electronics will make efforts to supply sufficient HBM4 products to Nvidia, which accounts f

Jun 8, 2026By Yonhap
Samsung memory chief, Nvidia CEO discuss next-generation HBM cooperation

SK hynix orders new equipment worth $28.7 mil. for next-gen HBM4

SK hynix has ordered new high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production equipment from Hanmi Semiconductor in a deal worth 44.2 billion won ($28.7 million), a regulatory filing showed Monday, in a possible bid to expand production of HBM4 products for U.S. chip giant Nvidia. Hanmi Semiconductor said in a regulatory filing it has won the deal to supply thermo-compression (TC) bonders to SK hynix through early September. A TC bonder, considered core equipment in HBM production, is used to stack multiple dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips to produce HBM. With a single TC bonder typically priced at around 3 billion won, industry watchers said the agreement likely covers 15 units. Hanmi Semiconductor said it will supply the TC Bonder 4.5 Griffin, an upgraded version of the TC Bonder 4.0 announced in May last year, which is presumed to have been optimized for SK hynix's needs. Industry watchers said the equipment will be sent to the new M15X fab in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. SK hynix, meanwhile, began mass production of HBM4 products in September last year, which will be installed in N

Jun 8, 2026By Yonhap
SK hynix orders new equipment worth $28.7 mil. for next-gen HBM4

Science minister meets Jensen Huang, discusses AI ecosystem partnerships

Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Seoul on Monday and discussed various areas of cooperation, including ways to nurture the local physical artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, the science ministry said. The meeting took place during Huang's four-day visit to Seoul, which started Friday. He has met with executives from Korea's major conglomerates in the AI supply chain, as well as researchers and representatives of startups in the sector. Bae and Huang reaffirmed the importance of creating tangible results since the partnership between Korea and Nvidia agreed to last year, on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting. The science minister also asked Huang for the smooth supply of some 260,000 advanced chips from Nvidia agreed to during the APEC event, as well as the company's support in Korea's effort to build an AI factory based on Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform. The two discussed partnerships in the physical AI sphere, while Bae delivered his hope that Nvidia's upcoming AI research and development (R&D) center in Seoul could

Jun 8, 2026By Yonhap
Science minister meets Jensen Huang, discusses AI ecosystem partnerships

Nvidia broadens ties with Korean firms during CEO's Seoul swing

Nvidia has expanded its artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships with a broad range of Korean businesses during CEO Jensen Huang's whirlwind meetings with top business leaders in Seoul, laying the foundations for wide-ranging cooperation encompassing joint chip development, data center infrastructure and physical AI initiatives. On Monday alone, Huang met SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, Naver Chairman of the Board Lee Hae-jin, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon and a slew of other key figures in Korea's tech industries. During a reception titled "Nvidia Korea AI Ecosystem Reception," Huang met Bae to discuss the U.S. company's supply of the latest AI accelerators to Korea, including Vera Rubin and B300 graphics processing units. "We have discussed receiving around 7,000 B300s and fewer than 3,000 Vera Rubins, and we hope to finalize the agreement within this year," Bae said. "We expect to secure the B300 supply, but Vera R

Jun 8, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Nvidia broadens ties with Korean firms during CEO's Seoul swing

SK, Nvidia form ‘long-term’ partnership for chip design, AI infrastructure

SK Group and Nvidia on Monday announced a “long-term” partnership for artificial intelligence (AI), which includes co-developing chips for AI accelerators and expanding AI infrastructure including semiconductor fabs and data centers. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said their partnership involves “jointly designing AI road maps,” adding that the cooperation will extend beyond SK hynix's chip supply business to encompass a broader range of SK Group's AI initiatives, including those led by SK Telecom. “Today we're announcing a partnership with SK that has many elements,” Huang said during a media interview at SK Group's headquarters in central Seoul. “We are securing a long-term agreement. We are co-designing our road maps together so that Nvidia's architecture and SK hynix's memory technology can advance together, allowing us to achieve the highest performance and the greatest value for the market.” Chey also said the partnership has evolved from a memory-focused relationship centered on SK hynix into a broader collaboration spanning the rest of

Jun 8, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
SK, Nvidia form ‘long-term’ partnership for chip design, AI infrastructure
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