semiconductor outlook

Korean chipmakers South Korea asks US for tailored approach to chip tariffs

South Korea has officially requested that the US take a distinct approach in its ongoing probe into foreign semiconductor technology and related dow...

Mergers & Acquisitions Doosan enters race to acquire SK Siltron in strategic semiconductor push

South Korea’s Doosan Group has entered the bidding war for SK Siltron Co., the world’s third-largest manufacturer of semiconductor wafer...

Economy S&P reaffirms South Korea’s AA credit rating with stable outlook

S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed South Korea’s sovereign credit rating at AA with a stable outlook, citing the country’s resilient ...

Earnings Samsung’s Q1 profit beats expectations; Q2 outlook murky on tariff war

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, booste...

Korean chipmakers Magnachip to sell display business in H1 to focus on power semiconductors

South Korean chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. plans to sell its display business by the end of the first half as part of a strategic shift to...

Electronics LG renames premium built-in appliance brand; Moody’s outlook up

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s top appliance maker, has rebranded its 10-year-old premium built-in kitchen appliance business to double do...

Electronics Hanmi Semiconductor to retire $90 mn treasury shares in May

Hanmi Semiconductor Co. on Thursday announced a plan to retire 130.0 billion won ($90 million) worth of treasury shares in May, marking its largest-...

Corporate restructuring SK Ecoplant seeks to sell waste treatment business for $1.4 billion

SK Ecoplant Co., a South Korean construction engineering and waste management company under SK Group, is seeking to dispose of its waste treatment b...

Banking & Finance Hana Financial, Bain Capital to expand investment in S.Korea

South Korean Hana Financial Group and the US-based global well-known private equity fund (PEF) Bain Capital plan to strengthen their strategic par...

Earnings LG Energy logs 1st quarterly loss in over 3 years, outlook remains gloomy

LG Energy Solution Ltd. reported its first quarterly loss in more than three years on Thursday, adding to concerns that the world’s third-larg...

Electronics Hanmi Semiconductor to build new TC Bonder plant in Incheon

Hanmi Semiconductor Co., South Korea’s leading chip packaging equipment manufacturer, held a ground-breaking ceremony for its seventh plant of...

Upcoming IPOs Rosy outlook for South Korean fintech IPOs in 2025

The South Korean fintech industry, which bloomed a decade ago, is poised to take the next step for the coming 10 years after prominent players began...

Economy South Korea jumps to world’s No. 6 exporter; 2025 outlook dims

South Korea has sharply narrowed the gap in export value with Japan to a record low of $20.2 billion so far this year. But the country’s expor...

Electronics Seoul Semiconductor wins patent lawsuit vs Signify

Seoul Semiconductor Co., the world’s No. 3 light emitting diode (LED) display maker, said on Thursday it has won a patent litigation case agai...

Mergers & Acquisitions Hahn & Co. to buy controlling stake in SK’s specialty gas unit for $1.9 bn

South Korea’s private equity firm Hahn & Co. is set to acquire a controlling stake in the world’s top specialty gas producer SK Spec...

Korean stock market Korean pension funds buy a net $1.2 bn in Kospi stocks in November

South Korean pension funds continued their Kospi market buying spree for a fourth straight month in November, notching their largest net purchases o...

Central bank BOK to keep rate at 3.25% in Nov despite dim GDP outlook: survey

South Korea’s central bank is expected to freeze its policy rate at 3.25% during its last monetary policy meeting of the year to prevent any f...

Business & Politics First Korean American US Senator vows to cement Seoul-Washington ties

NEW YORK – Democratic US Representative Andy Kim, the first Korean American elected to the US Senate, has pledged to strengthen the relationsh...

Corporate strategy SK Ecoplant establishes integrated chip service division

SK Ecoplant Co., a South Korean construction engineering and waste management company under SK Group, said on Thursday it reorganized its business s...

Business & Politics S.Korean defense firms stand to gain if Harris wins Nov. election

Defense companies will stand to gain the most among South Korean companies if US Vice President Kamala Harris wins the US presidential election next...

Electronics Samsung's Lee inspects MLCC plant in Philippines as it eyes turnaround

Samsung Group Chairman Jay Y. Lee on Sunday inspected Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co.’s production facilities for multilayer ceramic capacitors ...

Electronics Seoul Semiconductor wins no-wire LED patent case in Europe

South Korea’s Seoul Semiconductor Co. said on Wednesday it won a patent dispute against Taiwan's Everlight Electronics Co. after the European ...

Artificial intelligence LG Innotek develops AI for raw material inspection

LG Innotek, a leading South Korean electronics parts maker, said on Wednesday it developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can filter ou...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix shares nosedive after Morgan Stanley downgrade

The share price of SK Hynix Inc. plummeted as much as 11% at one point on Thursday after Morgan Stanley sharply cut its target price in an about-tur...

Batteries Samsung SDI relinquishes polarizer film unit for $834 mn

Samsung SDI Co., the South Korean battery maker with the world’s sixth-largest market share, has decided to sell its polarizer film business t...

Korean chipmakers Samsung, SK Hynix up the ante on HBM to enjoy AI memory boom

TAIPEI – Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., the world’s two largest memory chipmakers, are racing to supply their advanced DRAM ...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor, Kia gets A- credit rating from S&P Global

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. said on Thursday that S&P Global upgraded their credit ratings from BBB+ to A-, with a Stable outlook for both c...

Korean chipmakers Seoul Semiconductor overtakes Japan’s Nichia as top backlight LED maker

South Korea’s Seoul Semiconductor Co. has overtaken Japan’s Nichia Corp. as the world’s top backlight light-emitting diode (LED) d...

Leadership & Management Samsung’s new chip leader calls for restoring competitiveness  

It is urgent to restore Samsung Electronics Co.'s competitiveness in the semiconductor business, the chip division’s new head said in his firs...

Korean chipmakers Sapien Semiconductors looks to overtake Novatek in MicroLED DDI chips

South Korea’s Sapien Semiconductors Inc. is a lesser-known startup outside of the chip industry. However, it is a little giant in the fabless ...