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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.

THE BIG TECHNOLOGY SHIFT

SUCCESS GOES BEYOND APING APPLE Diiverrsiiffyiing Marrketts,, Achiieviing Harrdwarre--Soffttwarre Converrgence Arre Key fforr Technollogy Companiies By Ethan Inhyuk Choi The “Great Recession” has affected industries everywhere, yet its impact on the electronics industry has been particularly severe. Unlike other businesses, the electronics industry is characterized by a global ecosystem of multinational players. Western firms handle the software and key components; Korean and Japanese firms the design and development of set products; and Chinese and Taiwanese firms the assembly. Leading players in each part of the value chain therefore target not their local markets but the entire world. A case in point is Samsung Electronics, generating approximately 90 percent of its sales outside its home market. Such a structure had afforded the industry a certain degree of immunity from localized economic crises. The Great Recession, however, has served as a wake-up call to electronics industry players as economies everywhere took a synchronized dive into the abyss. In response to th

Apr 7, 2010

Can Korean High-Tech Giants Find Their Creative Gene?

Cutting-Edge Hardware, Manufacturing Muscle No Longer Enough for Samsung, LG By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter South Korea has produced its share of world-beating technology companies, who took and perfected the old playbooks of their Japanese rivals to achieve supremacy in both parts and finished products. Despite the success, however, it appears that the executives at these corporate beasts continue to be troubled by a deep sense of insecurity. The most pessimistic comments come from none other than Lee Kun-hee, the son of Samsung Group's founder and the country's most influential businessman by any measure. After returning as chairman of Samsung Electronics earlier this month, following a two-year hiatus forced by an ethics scandal, Lee claimed that Korea's biggest company is in for a ``real crisis,'' and that most of Samsung's flagship businesses and products will likely ``disappear'' within the next decade. One may find the call for urgency puzzling, interpreting Lee's words merely as an attempt to soften criticism upon his return to the management helm. Af

Apr 7, 2010

Kwon Known for ‘Hands-on’ Approach

By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter Kwon Young-soo is not one of those corporate executives who prefers calling the shots from behind his desk. The 53-year-old president and chief executive of LG Display, in fact, is rarely spotted at the company's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, but is more often seen touring the company's manufacturing plants in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, and Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. According to company officials, Kwon spends his Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Gumi plant, and Thursdays and Fridays at the Paju plant. He is not to be confused with the haughty-inspector type, company officials say, as Kwon makes an effort to be viewed as an approachable boss, eager to communicate with employees at every level. Rather than seeking big announcements and attention-grabbing headlines, Kwon is a believer that innovation comes from the details, and details come from a hands-on knowledge of the factory work floor, according to company officials. ``Kwon always stresses that the answers are found at the site,'' said a LG Display official. ``During

Apr 7, 2010

LG Display Benefiting From Bold Investment

By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter Liquid crystal display (LCD) vendors had already been bracing for a dismal period when the financial crisis hit in late 2008 and decimated stock markets. During the shaky start to 2009, LCD makers were stomping on the panic button, scrambling to cut production, reduce inventory and shave payrolls to cope with the expected decline in consumer electronics demand. However, LG Display, which is competing with domestic rival Samsung Electronics for the title of the world's largest LCD maker, attempted to exploit the softened competition instead and kept production afloat while continuing to invest in order to add muscle to its eighth-generation and sixth-generation lines. It would be safe to say that the company's gamble paid off handsomely, as credit-crunched consumers found just enough money to maintain a healthy market for LCD televisions and the growth in emerging economies, such as China, made up for the lost sales in advanced nations. LG Display now finds itself in a stronger position than even before the economic turmoil, advanc

Apr 7, 2010
  • Kwon Known for ‘Hands-on’ Approach

Nam Boasts Proven IT Track Record

By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter Nam Yong, vice chairman and chief executive of LG Electronics, is a 62-year-old who moves and talks like he is 20. Reputed as a bold decision-maker he never lets his wealth of experience get in the way of his quick trigger. Since taking the management helm at LG Electronics in 2007, Nam is credited for his role for elevating the profile of the company, which has long departed from its old reputation as a ``poor man's Sony'' and continues to emerge as a source of innovative, premium products. Although LG Electronics has established itself as a major player in consumer electronics and mobile devices, ranked the world's second-largest maker of flat-screen televisions and third-largest mobile phone maker, Nam continues to see room for growth. Nam recently said that he wants LG Electronics to become more like Apple, a maker of innovative, game-changing products that allow consumers the freedom to create their own value. Nam first joined LG Electronics in 1976, assigned to the company's overseas business planning division, and built a ca

Apr 7, 2010

Looking Good?

Battle-Tested LG Electronics Aims for Supremacy in Consumer Electronics, Mobile Devices By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter The rivalry between LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics is the perhaps the oldest and the meanest one in Korea Inc. And checking in with the fiercest combatants now, it's the latter that is awash in the afterglow of clinching the title as the world's biggest electronics company, gaining the undisputed status in memory chips, digital displays, flat-screen televisions and mobile phones. Samsung Electronics is indeed the new beast of the world's technology industry, but LG Electronics insists that the rivalry isn't as lopsided as one may assume. LG Electronics, which actually entered the electronics business a decade before its domestic rival in 1958, is confident about regaining the upper hand, and with it, global supremacy. LG Electronics believes it can compete with Samsung Electronics in its rival's two main markets in finished products ― consumer electronics and mobile phones. Another LG Group affiliate, LG Display, is currently giving Samsung

Apr 7, 2010
  • Nam Boasts Proven IT Track Record

SDI CEO Bets on Green Tech

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff Reporter Samsung SDI chief executive Choi Chi-hun has his goals simplified ― he intends to raise the company's profile in lithium-ion batteries and that would mean eating the lunch of Japanese market leaders. Choi, 53, who formerly headed General Electric's Asia-Pacific unit before taking the management helm at Samsung SDI in December, is confident about the company's chance for dominance in batteries. Leaping on the bandwagon of green technology would be one way of getting there. "I want SDI to be called a great company that maximizes the value of our shareholders, customers, part suppliers and strategic partners," Choi told The Korea Times. Choi, who predicts a paradigm shift in the global consumer electronics industry, has a sharp eye for global technology trends and expects his employees to be just as aware. He is rarely seen in his office in Seoul, but is more often seen at Samsung SDI's manufacturing sites around the country or huddling with business partners and clients, company officials said. Samsung SDI's commitment in lithiu

Apr 7, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung SDI Aims for Top Spot in Lithium-ion Batteries

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff Reporter Samsung SDI, a South Korea-based maker of batteries, plans to become the world's top producer of lithium-ion batteries, a market that appears to be ripe for an explosion. Samsung SDI already has landed some major deals with global automakers, which are increasing their efforts toward the low-emission cars of the future, and another big deal is in the pipelines, company officials say, although declining to reveal the name of the carmaker. Samsung SDI is supplying its lithium-ion batteries to Germany's BMW Group through a joint venture with Bosch dubbed as SB LiMotive. The company is also looking to exploit the increasing demand in batteries for portable digital products such as smartphones, laptop computers and digital cameras. Its wealth of experience in "green" technologies is continuing to open new opportunities in different sectors, company officials said. According to Samsung SDI spokesman Seo Hae-su, it would be possible for the company to clinch the top spot in lithium-ion batteries by the end of the year, citing predictions

Apr 7, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
  • SDI CEO Bets on Green Tech

Choi Readies for Paradigm Shift

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff Reporter Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest electronics maker, looks to make a difficult transition from a hardware-oriented company to a software-driven one. And chief executive Choi Gee-sung is assigned as the man to push the project forward. Choi, who became the lone CEO of the company in a management reshuffle in December, which departed from the previous structure of having different CEOs for different business segments, also promises to strengthen Samsung Electronics' position in the traditionally weak areas of personal computers, home appliances and digital cameras. Choi is focusing on injecting creative input all across Samsung Electronics business areas, as the company could no longer rely just on cutting-edge hardware and "volume-focused" manufacturing strategies when the game is becoming more and more about software, content and user experience. Choi, whose assertiveness earned him the nickname "Choi-tler," is revealing his more flexible side to enable the software transition, vowing to give more autonomy to software-related un

Apr 7, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung Electronics Braces for Software Leap

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff Reporter SUWON, Gyeonggi Province - Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest technology company, is ready to advanced to its next phase of growth. But this time components, such as memory chips and liquid crystal displays (LCDs), or cutting-edge hardware, such as mobile phones which were for the company what the Walkman had been for Sony, won't be the key drivers of the changes. As the competition in the electronics industry moves increasing toward software programs and content, Samsung Electronics is trying to transform itself to a more software-driven company. It remains to be seen whether the transition would go smoothly, but the company's hiring of more software talent and creation of special task force teams show that the commitment is serious. "Samsung Electronics is pressed to add an element of creativeness in its major consumer items such as smartphones and home appliances. Software-driven products are key for the future, as seen by the fact that iPhone has been eating up Samsung Electronics' handset shares in its own home market," sa

Apr 7, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
  • Choi Readies for Paradigm Shift
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