Journalist
Candice Kim, Lim Jaeho
candicekim1121@ajupress.com, ajupresswogh@ajupress.com
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US patent firm alleges LCD patent infringement by LG Electronics SEOUL, September 04 (AJP) - A U.S. intellectual property management company has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, accusing LG Electronics and several other television manufacturers of infringing patents covering liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. BH Innovations LLC named South Korea’s LG, China’s Hisense and TCL, and U.S.-based Vizio as respondents in the case, according to data released Thursday by the patent information platform RPX. The company alleges the manufacturers violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act by importing products that use LCD panels covered by its patents. The firm is seeking an import ban on televisions and other products that incorporate the disputed technology. In a notice published in the Federal Register, the commission invited public comments on how a potential ban might affect U.S. health, welfare, competitive conditions and consumer access to similar goods. The ITC also asked whether BH Innovations or third-party suppliers would have the capacity to meet demand should imports from the named companies be blocked. BH Innovations is described by analysts as a patent assertion entity — sometimes called a “patent troll” — that acquires or licenses intellectual property and pursues litigation against large manufacturers, typically aiming to secure licensing fees or trade restrictions. Such disputes are common in the consumer electronics industry, where control of component patents can shape supply chains and market access. The ITC has not yet ruled on whether it will initiate a formal investigation. 2025-09-04 11:09:23 -
From Beijing startup to global powerhouse: China's ByteDance rewrites rules of social media Editor's Note: This article is the 34th installment in our series on Asia's top 100 companies, exploring the strategies, challenges, and innovations driving the region's most influential corporations. SEOUL, September 04 (AJP) - When Zhang Yiming founded ByteDance in a modest Beijing apartment in 2012, his goal was deceptively simple: build software that could serve people the information they didn’t know they wanted. A decade later, his company has become the world’s most powerful social media empire, eclipsing even Silicon Valley’s titans. In the second quarter of 2025, ByteDance’s revenue surged to $48 billion, outpacing Meta’s $42.3 billion. TikTok, its short-video app born out of the $800 million acquisition of Musical.ly, now commands more than 1.6 billion monthly users and has redefined how people, especially young ones, spend their time online. The company’s valuation, bolstered by employee share buybacks, has swelled to more than $330 billion. ByteDance’s rise has been fueled by an uncanny ability to predict — and shape — what people want to watch. Its AI-powered recommendation engine, endlessly feeding users with tailored clips, has been hailed as one of the most sophisticated algorithms in tech. For many, TikTok is not just another app but a cultural engine: a place where pop songs take off, comedians launch careers, and political debates are reframed in seconds-long bursts. Yet the company’s ascent has also thrust it into the center of geopolitical fault lines. In Washington, where lawmakers worry that TikTok could be used as a tool of influence by Beijing, Congress passed legislation ordering ByteDance to sell its U.S. operations. U.S. President Donald Trump extended the deadline for a sale to Sept. 17, with investment firms including Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic and KKR circling as potential buyers. The standoff has cast doubt over TikTok’s future in its most lucrative foreign market. For now, the company is thriving. Its revenues flow from advertising, live commerce, and creator partnerships, with TikTok Shop alone recording $33.4 billion in merchandise sales last year. Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew, who oversees global operations, presides over a sprawling but flat organization that prizes experimentation and data-driven decisions. ByteDance is also looking beyond social media. The company has made forays into education technology, enterprise software, and e-commerce, while pledging to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. It has rolled out youth protection measures and content moderation systems, even as critics say they do little to blunt the addictive pull of its apps. The story of ByteDance is, in many ways, the story of a new era of the internet — one where Chinese companies are no longer content to imitate Silicon Valley but are setting the pace of global innovation. From Zhang’s original news aggregation app Toutiao to TikTok’s global dominance, ByteDance has shown that a Chinese startup can capture the world’s attention, and hold it. As the Sept. 17 divestment deadline looms, the company’s future in the United States hangs in the balance. Whether it emerges as a fractured giant or a stronger, more globalized enterprise will help define not only ByteDance’s trajectory, but also the future of social media itself. 2025-09-04 10:50:01 -
Marriages with foreigners rise in South Korea, even as overall unions decline SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - South Korea is seeing a growing share of marriages involving foreign nationals, even as overall marriage rates have nearly halved over the past three decades, according to new government data released Wednesday. Statistics Korea said that marriages with foreign spouses rose 54 percent from 13,500 in 1995 to 20,800 in 2024. Such unions accounted for 9.3 percent of all marriages last year, up from 3.4 percent three decades earlier. Both Korean men marrying foreign women and Korean women marrying foreign men saw significant increases, rising 50.7 percent and 64.2 percent, respectively. The trend contrasts sharply with broader declines in marriage. Total unions peaked at 434,900 in 1996 before falling to 191,700 in 2022, the lowest in 30 years. The number has since inched up to 222,400 in 2024 but remains far below historic levels. South Korea’s demographic transformation extends beyond marriage. The number of newborns plunged from 715,000 in 1995 to 238,000 in 2024, with the total fertility rate dropping from 1.63 children per woman to just 0.75, among the lowest in the world. Average ages at first marriage climbed to 33.9 years for men and 31.6 years for women. Family patterns are shifting as well. First-born children now make up more than 60 percent of births, reflecting the rise of single-child households. Births outside of marriage, while still limited, grew nearly fivefold over the same period, reaching 5.8 percent. Parents are older on average, with mothers giving birth at 33.7 years and fathers at 36.1 years in 2024. Multiple births, including twins, also became more common, rising to 5.7 percent of all deliveries. 2025-09-03 17:10:26 -
Samsung's processor shows big leap, closing in on Qualcomm SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics’ next-generation Exynos processor has posted benchmark scores close to those of Qualcomm’s top chip, raising expectations that the company’s in-house silicon could return to its flagship smartphones next year. According to results released Wednesday by Geekbench and industry reports, the Exynos 2600 recorded a single-core score of 3,309 and a multi-core score of 11,256. Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite second-generation chip posted slightly higher results of 3,393 and 11,515, respectively. The results mark a sharp improvement from earlier Exynos 2600 tests, which had averaged 2,575 for single-core and 8,761 for multi-core performance. Industry analysts said the gains could clear the way for Samsung to reintroduce its own chips in the Galaxy S26, after leaving them out of the Galaxy S25 because of production issues. Samsung has been gradually expanding Exynos use across its product line. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is powered by the Exynos 2500, while the upcoming Galaxy S25 FE is expected to run on the Exynos 2400. Earlier this year, the company also shipped the Galaxy S24 with a mix of Snapdragon and Exynos processors, reviving its proprietary chip line after a two-year hiatus. Beyond smartphones, Samsung has secured design wins that could bolster its semiconductor business. Recent contracts include supplying Tesla with its next-generation AI6 chip and producing image sensors for Apple. The Exynos line is developed by Samsung’s System LSI division and manufactured by its foundry unit, both part of the Device Solutions arm, creating opportunities for synergy within the company’s chip operations. Strong chip sales are expected to lift earnings. Analysts forecast Samsung’s third-quarter operating profit at about 9 trillion won, with Kiwoom Securities projecting the Device Solutions division to post 4.2 trillion won — a more than seven-fold increase from the prior quarter, aided by Exynos 2500 shipments and growing demand for image sensors. 2025-09-03 16:13:54 -
South Korea unveils $10.2 billion emergency support for tariff-hit exporters SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - The South Korean government on Wednesday announced a sweeping 13.6 trillion won ($10.2 billion) relief package aimed at helping exporters weather U.S. tariffs, while expanding trade financing to a record 270 trillion won ($203 billion). The measures, unveiled during a joint meeting of economic ministers and industry officials, are designed to offset the burden of recently negotiated tariffs with Washington. Under the agreement, South Korea and the United States reduced planned mutual tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent. Automotive tariffs were also cut to 15 percent from 25 percent, but officials warned that the new rates still weigh heavily on Korean exporters. The plan centers on expanded access to credit and lower borrowing costs. Korea Development Bank will raise lending limits tenfold for affected companies, lifting the cap for small businesses from 3 billion won to 30 billion won and for mid-sized firms from 5 billion won to 50 billion won. Interest rates will be reduced by an additional 0.3 percentage points from current levels of 2 to 3 percent. The Export-Import Bank of Korea will broaden its crisis lending program to include firms with weaker credit ratings. Targeted relief is also planned for companies in steel, aluminum, copper and related industries, which face tariffs as high as 50 percent. The government pledged 570 billion won in support, including 150 billion won in subsidized loans, with interest rate reductions of up to two percentage points for small and mid-sized firms. Trade insurance coverage will be expanded by 14 trillion won to 270 trillion won, the largest on record, to help ensure liquidity for exporters. Fee discounts of up to 90 percent will be extended for small firms with less than $1 million in overseas sales. Other measures include 420 billion won in tariff-related export vouchers, higher subsidies for logistics and consulting costs, and the creation of a 100 trillion won National Growth Fund to spur domestic investment. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said the plan would be rolled out quickly to help exporters adapt to shifting trade conditions. “Our goal is not only to minimize tariff damage but also to create new opportunities for Korean industry,” he said. 2025-09-03 10:58:42 -
Korea's chaebol families add nearly $25 billion in wealth in first half of 2025 SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - The fortunes of South Korea’s largest business dynasties swelled in the first half of the year, buoyed by rising share prices in their sprawling corporate empires, according to data released Tuesday. Combined assets held by the owner families of the country’s 50 biggest conglomerates rose by nearly 33 trillion won, or about $24.8 billion, between January and August, research firm Leaders Index said. Their holdings were valued at 144.4 trillion won ($108.6 billion) as of late August, based on the firm’s analysis of 623 family members with equity stakes in affiliated companies. Samsung heirs were the biggest beneficiaries. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong saw his wealth climb 4.7 trillion won to roughly 16.6 trillion won, largely driven by a 48 percent surge in Samsung C&T shares. His stake in the company rose in value by 1.8 trillion won. Lee's sister, Lee Boo-jin, who runs Hotel Shilla, gained 1.9 trillion won, while their mother, Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, added 1.7 trillion won. Altogether, the Samsung family’s wealth grew by 10 trillion won, accounting for about one-third of the total gains among chaebol families. Outside Samsung, Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon’s assets rose by 2 trillion won to 3 trillion won, partly through stake transfers and family share exchanges after the death of former honorary chairman Cho Seok-rae. Hyundai Motor Group’s Chairman, Chung Eui-sun, added 1.8 trillion won, lifted by stock splits and share price increases across affiliates, including logistics arm Hyundai Glovis. Not all saw gains. Kyobo Life’s Chairman, Shin Chang-jae, lost nearly 800 billion won as his assets fell 25 percent to 2.5 trillion won, dragged down by declines in his company’s share value. Yoo Jung-hyun, chairwoman of NXC and widow of Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju, also shed more than 200 billion won after selling part of her stake and as the company’s per-share valuation dropped. 2025-09-02 16:43:07 -
LG Electronics partners with Britain's Octopus Energy to push heat pumps in Europe SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - LG Electronics said Tuesday it had signed an agreement with Octopus Energy, Britain’s largest electricity supplier, to expand clean technology solutions in European markets. The memorandum of understanding, signed last week, calls for combining LG’s heat pump systems with Octopus’s artificial-intelligence energy management platform, known as Kraken. The companies plan to roll out the integrated offering in Britain, Germany and other major European markets, targeting households looking for more affordable heating options amid volatile energy prices. Founded in 2016, Octopus has grown rapidly into a multinational company operating in more than 30 countries. Its Kraken platform, which manages real-time renewable energy pricing and distribution, now serves about 10 million customers. The firm has also been a vocal proponent of replacing traditional gas boilers with heat pumps as part of Europe’s efforts to cut carbon emissions. LG said its heat pump systems use waste heat and untapped thermal sources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The company’s technology incorporates inverter scroll compressors designed to improve efficiency, durability and stability. Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy’s chief executive and founder, said in a press release the partnership would help consumers cut heating costs while reducing environmental impact. Yoon Tae-bong, who oversees global sales at LG Electronics, said the collaboration would accelerate the company’s clean technology growth in Europe and create new opportunities in the sustainable energy market. 2025-09-02 15:21:31 -
TSMC widens lead over Samsung in foundry business SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tightened its grip on the global chipmaking business in the second quarter of 2025, surpassing 70 percent market share and leaving rivals, including Samsung Electronics, further behind, according to new industry data. Worldwide foundry revenue reached a record $41.7 billion in the quarter, up 14.6 percent from the previous three months, research firm TrendForce reported Monday. TSMC accounted for 70.2 percent of the total, an increase from 67.6 percent in the first quarter, aided by rising demand for artificial intelligence processors, smartphones and notebook computers, as well as higher average selling prices. Samsung, the second-largest contract chipmaker, slipped to 7.3 percent of the market from 7.7 percent in the prior quarter. That left the gap between TSMC and Samsung at nearly 63 percentage points, up from about 60 points three months earlier. China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the third-largest player, fell to a 5.1 percent share from 6 percent. TrendForce attributed the decline to shipment delays and weaker prices, even as Beijing’s subsidies and U.S. tariffs encouraged more domestic chip demand. The strong overall growth reflected a wave of inventory building in China, spurred by consumer subsidy programs, and anticipation of new smartphones, laptops and servers set to launch in the second half of the year. Samsung continued to benefit from smartphone orders and production of the Nintendo Switch 2, but those gains were not enough to narrow the gap with its Taiwanese rival. 2025-09-02 11:03:07 -
Samsung Electronics retains lead in India's TV market SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics strengthened its grip on India’s television market in the first half of 2025, holding a 23.8 percent share by shipment volume and extending its run as the top seller for a ninth consecutive year, according to data released Monday by the research firm Omdia. Samsung first captured the No. 1 spot in India in 2017 and has kept it ever since, fending off challenges from both domestic and Chinese competitors. LG Electronics ranked second with a 16.5 percent share, while Xiaomi — once a formidable rival — slipped to third at 7.9 percent, less than half its 2020 level of 18 percent. By revenue, however, LG has been outperforming its Korean rival. Data from the market tracker GfK showed LG leading in sales-based share at 27.5 percent, up from 25.8 percent a year earlier, marking its second straight year at the top by that measure. The divergence highlights the split between unit shipments, where Samsung dominates, and sales value, where LG has found strength in higher-priced models. India, with its 1.4 billion people and rising appetite for advanced consumer electronics, has become one of the world’s largest television markets, reaching 11.29 million units annually in 2024. Samsung has leaned on its premium lineup — including Neo QLED 8K sets with third-generation AI processors, OLED models with anti-glare technology, and its Samsung TV Plus streaming service, which offers more than 100 local channels in 14 Indian languages alongside global and Korean content. LG has similarly bet on premium positioning, expanding its OLED portfolio while rolling out its own free streaming service, LG Channels, in India last year. The platform delivers content in 10 regional languages, from Hindi and Punjabi to Tamil and Bhojpuri, part of a broader localization strategy in the diverse Indian market. For both Korean companies, India has become a crucial proving ground in the global television race — a market large enough to reward premium strategies, but competitive enough to keep even dominant players under pressure. 2025-09-01 15:08:58 -
US tightens grip on Korean chipmakers' China operations SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) - For years, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the two South Korean giants that dominate the global memory chip market, operated their Chinese factories with a special privilege. A designation from Washington allowed their plants to import the American equipment essential for advanced semiconductor production without the usual licensing hurdles, insulating them from the turbulence of U.S.-China trade disputes. That privilege is about to vanish. On Saturday, the Commerce Department said it would revoke so-called Validated End User, or VEU, status for the Chinese subsidiaries of Samsung, SK hynix and Intel, requiring them to obtain individual permits for every shipment of U.S. machinery starting early next year. The decision, set to be published in the Federal Register on Sept. 2, will take effect 120 days later. Its implications are sweeping. Samsung’s Xian NAND flash factory and SK hynix’s DRAM and NAND plants in Wuxi and Dalian account for a large share of global memory chip output. Industry officials fear the new licensing regime could stall technology upgrades, deter fresh investment and inject uncertainty into an already fragile supply chain. “The VEU system gave stability for equipment imports,” one industry executive said. “Without it, even routine upgrades will be difficult.” The Commerce Department estimates the shift will generate about 1,000 additional export license applications each year. Washington has signaled it will continue to approve equipment necessary to sustain current production, a move that may prevent immediate shutdowns. But the broader message is clear: The United States is tightening oversight of how foreign companies operate inside China’s semiconductor sector. The timing raised eyebrows in Seoul. The announcement came just days after President Trump met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Washington, a summit that touched on trade, economic security and technology policy but ended without concrete agreements. Some analysts see the revocation as a pointed reminder that America expects allies to align with its strategy to curtail China’s access to advanced chipmaking. South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it would continue talks with Washington to reduce the fallout. “Stable operations at Korean semiconductor facilities in China are crucial for global supply chain stability,” a ministry spokesman said. Samsung and SK hynix face a delicate balancing act. Both companies rely heavily on Chinese facilities for production, while also depending on American technology to run them. The United States, meanwhile, is pursuing a dual strategy: easing some trade tensions with Beijing — extending a tariff cease-fire and partially loosening semiconductor export curbs — while quietly erecting new barriers to prevent what it calls the leakage of critical technologies. 2025-09-01 11:16:47