Samsung's net profit soars nearly sixfold as AI boom boosts chip prices

SEOUL, July 31 (AJU PRESS) - Samsung Electronics reported Wednesday that its net profit surged nearly sixfold year-on-year in the second quarter, largely driven by a rebound in chip prices amid the artificial intelligence boom. Net income surged 471 percent to 9.84 trillion won ($7.13 billion) during the April-June period, a 470 percent increase from a year earlier. Operating profit jumped 1,462 percent to 10.44 trillion won during the same period, while revenue grew 23.44 perce

July 31, 2024

Lee Jin-sook appointed as chief of broadcasting watchdog amid controversies

SEOUL, July 31 (AJU PRESS) - Lee Jin-sook, the nominee for a position overseeing Korea's broadcasting watchdog, was appointed by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday, amid controversies over her alleged misuse of corporate funds in the past. Following a grueling three-day confirmation hearing, Yoon pushed for her appointment as the chief of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), despite allegations of inappropriate use of corporate credit cards while she was president of t

July 31, 2024

PHOTOS: Particle Museum offers outdoor sculpture exhibitions

SEOUL, July 31 (AJU PRESS) – The "Particle Museum" project, running from July 15 to Nov. 15, showcases high-quality sculptures at five major locations in Seoul's city center. Each location features a work by a different artist, with each sculpture displayed in a space of about 3.3 square meters. Organized by the city government, the exhibition takes place at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture, the garden in front of Seoul

July 31, 2024

First Korean appointed World Bank vice president

SEOUL, July 31 (AJU PRESS) - Kim Sang-bu, a former Google executive, has been appointed the World Bank's vice president for digital transformation, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Kim, who previously served as Google's Asia-Pacific director of government affairs and public policy for consumer products, will begin his new role on Sept. 3. The position focuses on promoting economic development in developing countries through digital infrastructure, cyber

July 31, 2024

LG Chem rises to 4th place in global chemical company ranking: US magazine

SEOUL, July 31 (AJU PRESS) - LG Chem has climbed to fourth place in the global chemical company ranking by revenue, compiled by a prominent U.S. industry magazine. Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) reported in its July 19 edition LG Chem’s sales increased by 6.5 percent to $42.3 billion (59 trillion won) in 2023, defying the industry-wide trend of declining revenues. LG Chem jumped to fourth from last year's eighth, becoming the first Korean firm to enter the top

July 31, 2024

Opinion: Fewer cities can afford to host Olympics, but Paris 2024 may be clever enough to turn profit

SEOUL, July 31 (AJU PRESS) - Many of the world's best athletes are currently competing in the first Olympic Games to be held in Paris since 1924. The French capital is buoyant with excitement and its local businesses filled with paying tourists from all over the world. Indeed, it's difficult not to be tempted into booking a weekend getaway to see the spectacle up close. But are the Olympics really a good deal for host cities? The evidence suggests a resounding no. Host citie

July 31, 2024

VISUALS: Expanded water park opens in front of Olympic Park

SEOUL, July 30 (AJU PRESS) - The Songpa District in eastern Seoul has opened its popular Olympic water park with expanded facilities and new attractions. The water park, located in front of Olympic Park, operates from July 27 to August 17. The facility has more than doubled in size, growing from 650 square meters last year to 1,550 square meters this year. The water park features various pool types, including a flowing water pool, a slide pool, and a swimming pool, along with spinning tub

July 30, 2024

ASEAN-Korea Center to hold youth workshop session for discussions on digitalization and climate change

SEOUL, July 30 (AJU PRESS) - The "ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop," set to take place in Seoul and Laos, aims to enhance communication between young people from Korea and ASEAN countries and engage them in discussions about digitalization and climate change, the ASEAN-Korea Center said Tuesday. The ASEAN-Korea Youth Workshop, an annual event since its inception in 2012, is designed to connect young people from Korea with their counterparts from ASEAN member countries,

July 30, 2024

SK hynix unveils world's fastest graphics memory chip

SEOUL, July 30 (AJU PRESS) - SK hynix on Tuesday unveiled its next-generation graphics memory chip, GDDR7, boasting a 60 percent increase in operation speed and 50 percent improvement in power efficiency compared to its predecessor. With speeds of up to 32Gbps, expandable to 40Gbps in certain environments, GDDR7 can process over 1.5TB of data per second when integrated with the latest graphics cards, the company said. This is equivalent to processing 300 Full-HD movies in just one s

July 30, 2024

Court freezes assets, debts of e-commerce firms amid payment crisis

SEOUL, July 30 (AJU PRESS) — A Seoul court on Tuesday ordered a freeze on the assets and debts of struggling e-commerce platforms Tmon and WeMakePrice, just a day after they filed for corporate rehabilitation amid a growing payment delay crisis. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court issued a preservation order to prevent the debtors from disposing of their assets, and a comprehensive stay order to prevent creditors from enforcing their claims against the debtors. The court p

July 30, 2024