Journalist

Lee Hugh
  • Samsung Electronics Posts Record Q1 Operating Profit as Chip Boom Outpaces Devices
    Samsung Electronics Posts Record Q1 Operating Profit as Chip Boom Outpaces Devices Samsung Electronics said it posted its best-ever quarterly results in the first quarter of 2026, driven overwhelmingly by semiconductors, underscoring a widening gap between its chip business and its device operations. The company said Thursday that on a consolidated basis it recorded revenue of 133.9 trillion won and operating profit of 57.2 trillion won. Revenue rose 43% from the previous quarter and operating profit jumped 185%, setting a record for a single quarter. The Device Solutions (DS) semiconductor division led the surge, posting revenue of 81.7 trillion won and operating profit of 53.7 trillion won, accounting for most of the company’s earnings. Samsung cited expanding AI adoption, which boosted demand for high-value memory and lifted prices. It said it strengthened technology leadership through mass production of HBM4 and next-generation low-power memory modules, and development of PCIe Gen6 SSDs. Within chips, System LSI improved somewhat on higher flagship chip sales, while foundry results declined due to seasonal weakness. Samsung said it maintained its longer-term footing with orders centered on high-performance computing and progress in securing silicon photonics-based capabilities. The Device eXperience (DX) set business saw higher sales but limited profit improvement. DX posted revenue of 52.7 trillion won and operating profit of 3.0 trillion won. The Mobile eXperience (MX) unit grew on stronger flagship sales, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but gains were constrained by rising costs and tariff burdens, the company said. The network business weakened as telecom operators cut investment, and home appliances saw only limited improvement despite new product launches because of cost pressures. TV (VD) profitability improved somewhat on premium products, but not enough to drive overall results. Other businesses were mixed. Harman posted revenue of 3.8 trillion won and operating profit of 200 billion won, with results falling on memory supply constraints and an off-season in the audio market. Display recorded revenue of 6.7 trillion won and operating profit of 400 billion won; small and mid-sized panels were weak on softer demand, while large OLED remained relatively steady. Samsung said a weaker won helped results, estimating about 1.8 trillion won in profit improvement from the stronger dollar. Looking to the second quarter, Samsung said the chip-led improvement is expected to continue. “With expanded investment in AI infrastructure, the upward trend in memory prices is expected to continue,” the company said, adding it expects profitability to improve. It said the set business is likely to remain volatile as the impact of new model launches fades and cost burdens persist. For the second half, Samsung forecast a “conflicting environment” in which tariff and geopolitical risks and rising costs persist even as semiconductor demand increases and IT demand slows. The company said it will focus on higher value-added products and cost efficiency to protect profitability. 2026-04-30 09:19:28
  • Kiwoom Securities Q1 Net Profit Jumps 103% to 477.4 Billion Won on Trading Surge
    Kiwoom Securities Q1 Net Profit Jumps 103% to 477.4 Billion Won on Trading Surge Kiwoom Securities said its first-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, helped by a sharp rise in stock market trading value. The company said Thursday that consolidated net profit for the first quarter of 2026 totaled 477.4 billion won, up 102.6% from 235.6 billion won a year earlier. Consolidated operating profit rose 90.9% to 621.2 billion won. On a separate basis, net profit came to 443.2 billion won and operating profit to 534.8 billion won, up 92.4% and 81.0%, respectively. Total equity stood at 6.2994 trillion won, a 25.6% increase from a year earlier. The brokerage business led the gains. Stock commission revenue in the quarter rose 120.8% to 311.5 billion won, as average daily trading value in the domestic market climbed to 27.8 trillion won from 8.8 trillion won a year earlier, more than tripling amid a stronger market. The asset management business also grew. Management profit and dividend and distribution income increased 58.9% to 155.7 billion won, and client assets under management rose 43.4% to 21.8 trillion won. In investment banking, Kiwoom built results mainly in the debt capital markets. It ranked fourth in domestic bond lead management in the first quarter and took part in major deals involving POSCO Future M, LS Cable, SK, Shinsegae and LG Energy Solution. It also worked on equity capital markets transactions, including rights offerings for Amicogen and Raonpeople, and arranged acquisition financing. For the previous quarter, the company posted consolidated net profit of 246.9 billion won and operating profit of 345.6 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2025. For the full year last year, it reported net profit of 1.115 trillion won and operating profit of 1.4882 trillion won. Kiwoom said it plans to announce a midterm corporate value enhancement plan in the first half of this year. It also aims to expand its outstanding balance of short-term notes from 1.2 trillion won to 3 trillion won by year-end and plans to launch retirement pension services (DB, DC and IRP) in June. As part of shareholder returns, the company has continued to buy back and retire its own shares, and said it held no treasury shares as of the end of March this year. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:18:32
  • HD Construction Equipment to Back Suppliers With 85 Billion Won in Loan Guarantees
    HD Construction Equipment to Back Suppliers With 85 Billion Won in Loan Guarantees HD Construction Equipment is launching a financial guarantee program totaling 85 billion won to help suppliers maintain stable operations. According to industry officials on Wednesday, the company signed a memorandum of understanding the previous day at Hana Bank’s headquarters in central Seoul with Hana Bank and the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund to support shared growth in the construction equipment industry. Attendees included Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-seong, Korea Credit Guarantee Fund standing director Chae Byeong-ho, HD Construction Equipment President Moon Jae-young and supplier council head Kim Do-wan. The agreement is intended to provide practical support to suppliers facing funding difficulties amid recent economic uncertainty. The partners said they expanded the program after strong demand quickly depleted an existing shared-growth fund. Under the deal, HD Construction Equipment and Hana Bank will jointly create a fund of up to 5 billion won. Using that as a source of funding, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund will provide guarantees of up to 85 billion won when suppliers seek loans from financial institutions. The program will operate in two tracks: a 40 billion won “joint project guarantee” for suppliers participating in future innovation projects such as new model development and mass production, and a 45 billion won “shared-growth financial support agreement guarantee” open to all suppliers. The program includes discounted guarantee fees and preferential interest rates. “Helping our suppliers prepare for the future without wavering, even in an uncertain external environment, is the true value of shared growth,” Moon said. He added that he hopes the support will strengthen competitiveness across the construction equipment industry through cooperation with suppliers.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:15:19
  • SM Group Rolls Out Google Workspace Across Company to Speed AI Shift
    SM Group Rolls Out Google Workspace Across Company to Speed AI Shift SM Group said Wednesday it will introduce the cloud-based collaboration platform Google Workspace (GWS) across the company as it pushes an artificial intelligence transformation aimed at strengthening future competitiveness. In the first phase, the group has applied GWS to 38 of its 54 affiliates, building an environment needed for work innovation and integrated operations. The company said the move goes beyond swapping collaboration tools and is intended to support a shift toward a “smart enterprise” that makes decisions and executes work based on data. As part of that effort, it set up an “AI Research Task Force Team” last month under the group’s management support division. The AI research task force will pursue a two-track roadmap tied to the GWS rollout: modernizing infrastructure by moving legacy systems to the cloud and standardizing fragmented work data, while also seeking new business value to deliver measurable gains in efficiency and profitability, the company said. SM Group said it expects visible changes including unified communications and turning information into managed assets. It consolidated communications that had been centered on individual affiliates into an official platform based on a groupwide domain (@smgroup.co.kr). The company said the change will reduce barriers between the group and affiliates and strengthen security so intellectual assets can be protected more systematically. The group also said it will step up adoption of “agentic AI.” Using Gemini Enterprise, it plans to integrate and analyze data in real time from headquarters, worksites and branches, and to reduce routine reporting and compilation work so employees can focus on higher-value tasks. For the AI transformation, SM Group named SM Hi-Plus as the control tower. SM Hi-Plus completed a cloud migration based on Amazon Web Services in December, the company said, improving system stability and security. Building on that, the group plans to run a “Leadership AI Conference,” where executives directly use AI tools to develop business solutions, and to train department-level talent as innovation champions to spread practical AI use across the organization. “GWS is not just a collection of tools, but the starting point of a work ecosystem where AI is connected in real time and organically,” said Ahn Byeong-hyeon, CEO of SM Hi-Plus. He said the group will pursue a strategy that combines broad infrastructure upgrades with agentic AI to improve effectiveness and efficiency and maximize value across SM Group’s businesses, including manufacturing and services, shipping and construction.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:11:36
  • Budget Office to Roll Out AI Budget Assistant for Government Work in May 2027
    Budget Office to Roll Out AI Budget Assistant for Government Work in May 2027 The Ministry of Planning and Budget will introduce artificial intelligence across budget work, including budget formulation and spending restructuring. The ministry said it held an “AI Budget Assistant introduction review meeting” chaired by Park Chang-hwan, director general for budget review and coordination, on April 29 to discuss progress and next steps. The AI Budget Assistant is designed to provide tailored information based on extensive fiscal and program data when budget staff enter questions. The ministry plans to begin procurement in early May and start using the system in day-to-day budget work from May next year. To support the rollout, the ministry will adopt a large language model dedicated to budget operations and train it on accumulated materials, including past budget requests, fiscal statistics, program briefing documents and internal review files. Officials expect it to reduce repetitive work such as searching and compiling past records, allowing staff to focus on policy judgments. To secure higher-quality data, the ministry will build an integrated data platform and move to collect documents scattered across personal computers and messaging services. It also plans to convert existing Hangul Word Processor (HWP) files into an AI-trainable format (HWPX) to improve data usability. The government, aiming to become one of the world’s top three AI powers, tripled this year’s AI budget from 3.3 trillion won to 9.9 trillion won. It plans to use the new system to improve both the accuracy of fiscal management and work efficiency. The ministry said it will start procurement in early May and try to move up the introduction schedule as much as possible. “By introducing the AI Budget Assistant as early as possible compared with the original plan, we will maximize both the accuracy of national fiscal management and work efficiency,” Park said. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:10:33
  • (UPDATE) March factory output sharply eases in Korea as Hormuz shock ripples
    (UPDATE) March factory output sharply eases in Korea as Hormuz shock ripples *Updated with additional information and market response. SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) — South Korea’s manufacturing and investment activity slowed sharply in March as supply disruptions from the Middle East’s key energy waterway began to weigh on the import-dependent economy in the first month of the war, data showed Thursday. According to March industrial activity data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics, mining and manufacturing output eked out a 0.3 percent gain from the previous month, sharply slowing from a 5.3 percent increase in February. Overall industrial output also slowed to 0.3 percent in March from 2.1 percent in February, although service-sector output accelerated to 1.4 percent, partially offsetting the slowdown. Retail sales, a barometer of consumption, rose 1.8 percent, reversing a 0.3 percent drop a month earlier, as higher energy and chip prices spurred preemptive fuel purchases and lifted demand for finished IT products. Investment momentum weakened markedly. Facility investment rose 1.5 percent, compared with a 14.6 percent jump in February, while construction investment plunged 7.3 percent after surging 13 percent the previous month. Supply disruption began to take toll on factory activities. Chipmaking fell 8.1 percent and refining 6.3 percent as producers adjusted output as imports of Middle East raw materials remained uncertain from the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Against a year-ago period, industrial output remained resilient on an annual basis, rising 3.5 percent year-on-year on strong chip demand. Consumer spending rebound was largely driven by 9.8-percent spike in computer and IT products on chip-flation worries. The coincident index added 0.5 point and the leading index climbed 0.7 point, suggesting underlying economic conditions have yet to fully reflect the external shock. Amid growing uncertainties, the KOSPI fell a tad, 0.43 percent, to 6,663.94 after testing new intraday high while the Korean won slipped to 1,485.9 against the U.S. dollar amid spike in oil prices. 2026-04-30 09:09:47
  • Hyundai Motor to Hire Experienced Staff in Manufacturing Software and AI
    Hyundai Motor to Hire Experienced Staff in Manufacturing Software and AI Hyundai Motor said Wednesday it will recruit experienced hires in manufacturing software and artificial intelligence from May 1 to 17. The openings cover four areas: software-defined factories, manufacturing AI, manufacturing robotics and intelligent manufacturing logistics. Successful applicants in the document screening will be announced in June, with final hires to be selected through first- and second-round interviews, the company said. Hyundai Motor said the recruitment is aimed at accelerating future businesses such as robotics and physical AI, while improving manufacturing performance and strengthening quality competitiveness. A company official said Hyundai Motor will "make every effort to identify top talent in manufacturing software and AI" to respond to a rapidly changing global market and sustain momentum in its future industries.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:06:39
  • NH NongHyup Bank Issues 4 Trillion Won in Hybrid Capital Securities to Bolster Growth
    NH NongHyup Bank Issues 4 Trillion Won in Hybrid Capital Securities to Bolster Growth NH NongHyup Bank said it successfully issued hybrid capital securities, or perpetual bonds, despite heightened market volatility tied to the Middle East situation. The bank said April 30 it completed a 4 trillion won issuance. The deal came as uncertainty grew at home and abroad, including geopolitical risks in the Middle East and a sharp rise in interest rates following a surprise in South Korea’s first-quarter gross domestic product. Through investor relations efforts, the bank set the spread at 65 basis points, down 11 basis points from the 76 basis points on last year’s issuance. One basis point equals 0.01 percentage point. Demand was strong. The bank initially sought 3 trillion won, but increased the size to 4 trillion won as institutional orders surged. The final yield was set at 4.33%. The securities are structured as perpetual bonds with a five-year call option, allowing early redemption at a specified time. “Even in a market environment with significant rate volatility, we achieved meaningful issuance results through proactive investor relations and an expanded investor base,” Lee Sang-seon, the bank’s executive vice president for the financial markets division, said. “Based on the strengthened capital, we will enhance our stable growth foundation through preemptive capital ratio management.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:04:39
  • Kang Hoon-sik Meets Qatar Trade Minister to Expand Investment Cooperation in AI, Other High-Tech Sectors
    Kang Hoon-sik Meets Qatar Trade Minister to Expand Investment Cooperation in AI, Other High-Tech Sectors Kang Hoon-sik, the president’s chief of staff, met with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed to discuss ways to expand investment cooperation in advanced industries. Kang disclosed the meeting in a Facebook post on April 29, saying the two sides agreed to broaden ties beyond natural gas trade and orders for liquefied natural gas carriers to investment cooperation in high-tech sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and biotechnology. Kang previously visited Qatar on April 13 as the president’s special envoy for strategic economic cooperation, meeting with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation. Kang said he told the emir it was time to extend cooperation centered on energy into investment in advanced industries such as AI, and that the emir promised to send a delegation promptly. “Indeed, within two weeks, a large delegation led by Minister of State Al Sayed visited South Korea,” Kang wrote, adding it included officials from Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the sovereign wealth fund. Kang said Al Sayed is also a leading investment expert who previously served as CEO of the Qatar sovereign wealth fund, which he described as the world’s eighth-largest by assets and managing $580 billion. Kang said Al Sayed thanked the South Korean government for arranging meetings with many advanced-technology companies during the visit, saying it is most important to meet companies directly when making investment decisions. Kang said he told Al Sayed to contact him at any time and that he would move first to resolve any difficulties related to investment in South Korea. Kang said investment fund officials traveling with the Qatari delegation were holding detailed talks with potential investee companies, and he expressed hope that “win-win” investment cooperation cases would emerge soon.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:03:08
  • Naver posts 16% revenue jump as AI-driven growth accelerates in Q1
    Naver posts 16% revenue jump as AI-driven growth accelerates in Q1 SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Naver reported a 16.3 percent rise in first-quarter revenue, buoyed by robust demand for AI-integrated services and a sharp uptick in its consumer-to-consumer commerce business. The company reported through regulatory filings Thursday that consolidated revenue for the January to March period climbed to 3.24 trillion won ($2.17 billion), while operating profit edged up 7.2 percent to 541.8 billion won, as heavier infrastructure spending to bolster AI capabilities tempered bottom-line gains. Naver's platform segment, the company's bread-and-butter search and commerce engine, generated 1.84 trillion won in revenue, up 14.7 percent from a year earlier. Advertising revenue grew 9.3 percent, with the company noting that AI now accounts for more than half of its ad revenue growth through enhanced targeting tools. Service revenue, driven by Naver Plus Store, its membership program and proprietary logistics network, surged 35.6 percent. Its financial arm also gained momentum, with Npay transaction volume climbing 23.4 percent year-on-year to 24.2 trillion won, as the platform expanded its presence in offline payments through the Npay Connect terminal. The standout performer was the global ventures division, where revenue jumped 18.4 percent to 941.6 billion won, powered by a 57.7 percent spike in C2C revenue following the full consolidation of Spanish marketplace Wallapop and steady growth at Poshmark, Kream and Soda. Enterprise revenue, bolstered by AI, digital twin and Line Works-related projects, rose 18.8 percent. "Naver is a uniquely positioned platform that integrates search, commerce and payments into a single pipeline — the core competitive edge of the AI agent era," Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said, adding that the company would pursue its "action-oriented AI" strategy to build a virtuous cycle of user satisfaction and monetization while accelerating global expansion through C2C and sovereign AI offerings. The results come as Naver deepens its AI pivot on multiple fronts. In March, CEO Choi held a high-profile meeting with AMD chief Lisa Su at Naver's headquarters to explore collaboration in AI data center infrastructure, signing a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop next-generation GPU infrastructure aimed at expanding their artificial intelligence ecosystems. Earlier this month, Naver signed a strategic partnership with India's Tata Consultancy Services to jointly develop AI and cloud services, and co-launched a 1 trillion won targeting investment fund with Krafton and Mirae Asset to back AI and fintech startups in India. Shares of Naver opened at 222,000 won per stock, 0.91 percent higher than the day before. 2026-04-30 09:00:59