North Korean hackers have broken into South Korean chip equipment makers, according to South Korea's spy agency.

South Korea unveiled plans by leading firms such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to spend more than US$470 billion establishing the world's largest chipmaking cluster, joining a global race to safeguard domestic supply.

South Korea's memory-chip exports increased in October for the first time in 16 months, offering more evidence for the revival of demand for the country's most important products.

SK Telecom, South Korea's dominant mobile carrier and sibling of chipmaker SK hynix, has declared that 5G was over-hyped, has under-delivered, and has failed to deliver a killer app.

A majority of Korean semiconductor companies responded to a Bank of Korea (BOK) survey by saying that their exports to China were unlikely to fully recover.

Apple knows its products are already used across the manufacturing industry; this week it held a special event dedicated to Industry 4.0 at the heart of its APAC manufacturing chain in Korea.

Seoul has signalled it will not intervene to stop South Korean companies Samsung and SK Hynix from filling in a market gap after China imposed a ban on US chipmaker Micron, in an escalation of the tech battle between the superpowers.

The White House has asked South Korea to urge its chipmakers not to fill any market gap in China if Beijing bans Idaho-based Micron from selling chips, as it tries to rally allies to counter Chinese economic coercion.

South Korea and Taiwan will still be key semiconductor hubs in years to come, even as pressure to diversify supply chains leads to new competition from places like the US and Germany, according to John Lee, president and CEO of MKS Instruments.

US chip toolmaker KLA will cease offering some supplies and services from Wednesday to China-based customers including South Korea's SK Hynix in compliance with recent US regulations, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Samsung Electronics broke ground recently for a new semiconductor research and development complex in Giheung, Korea, with plans to invest about KRW20 trillion (US$14.95 billion) by 2028.

South Korea's early exports barely rose in August as geopolitical risks and central bank tightening weigh on the world economy.

South Korea's export growth slowed sharply in June, partly due to a shorter work month but also as a result of softer global demand, as the nation ran a trade deficit for a third consecutive month.

South Korea's factory production jumped the most since mid-2020 last month, suggesting supply disruptions that hurt manufacturing in key industries were easing before an omicron-triggered surge in global infections.

South Korea's SK Hynix said on Wednesday it has received merger clearances from the Chinese antitrust authority for its acquisition of Intel's NAND memory chip business, clearing the way for the world's second-largest memory chip maker to completion of securing regulatory approvals from all eight countries.

SK Hynix System IC, a subsidiary of SK Hynix, will close down its M8 plant in Cheongju, Korea in February 2022 and relocate all its equipment to its plant in Wuxi, China by May.

Plans by Korea's SK Hynix to overhaul a huge facility in China so it can make memory chips more efficiently are in jeopardy, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, because US officials do not want advanced equipment used in the process to enter into China.

South Korea's antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet's Google KRW207 billion (US$176.64 million) for blocking customised versions of its Android operating system (OS), in the US technology giant's second setback in the country in less than a month.

Samsung Electronics is looking to expand its mobile device manufacturing capabilities in Pakistan. The company has reportedly entered an agreement with Lucky Motor Corporation - a joint venture by Lucky Corp. and Kia Motors - for the purpose of manufacturing phones locally.

Vietnamese factories serving Samsung and a major Nike and Adidas supplier have suspended operations after detecting cases of coronavirus at their facilities, the country's health ministry said on Wednesday.

Reasons for the ongoing global chip shortage, which is set to last into 2022 and possibly 2023, are complex and multifaceted. However, nations are planning to pump billions of dollars into semiconductors over the coming years as part of an effort to sure up supply chains and become more self-reliant, with money going toward new chip plants, as well as research and development.

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co said on Tuesday it plans to temporarily suspend production at its Ulsan No.1 plant in South Korea due to chip and component supply issues from April 7-14.

South Korea said Monday it has granted the final approval to SK Hynix' KRW120 trillion (US$106 billion) project to build a new semiconductor complex, a move that could ease supply shortages in the global market.

US President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order as early as this month to accelerate efforts to build supply chains for chips and other strategically significant products that are less reliant on China, in partnership with the likes of Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

South Korea's exports climbed at the fastest pace in more than two years in December, buoyed by a pickup in global demand as vaccines raised hopes for a recovery.

A targeted approach with American allies such as Taiwan and South Korea, both leading semiconductor manufacturers, with the narrower aim of keeping the most advanced technology out of China's hands may be preferred by the new administration.

A report today suggests that Apple might be making South Korea a priority target for the iPhone 12, with this year's models to go on sale there earlier than usual - or at least, at an earlier point in the rollout.

When the South Korea government unveiled an expanded semiconductor material testing facility last month, the centrepiece was a towering white machine given by Samsung Electronics at a fraction of its market price.

Samsung Electronics plans to allow some workers in South Korea to work from home in September under a pilot programme, a company official said on Thursday, as the country battles a resurgence in novel coronavirus cases.

SK Group, South Korea's third-largest conglomerate, said Tuesday it has secured a stake in a chipmaking unit of China's largest electric vehicle (EV) producer BYD.

British officials have discussed supplies of 5G networking equipment with companies in South Korea and Japan as part of a bid to develop alternatives to China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

It may be a while before you can check for an irregular heartbeat.

It's officially launched in South Korea.

Vietnam will quarantine all arrivals from South Korea to guard against the new coronavirus, the Southeast Asian country said Friday, a policy move sure to hamstring the operations of South Korean corporate giants like Samsung Electronics that have a heavy presence in the nation.

Semi Korea, the local organizer of Semicon Korea, on Friday canceled the nation's semiconductor show due to mounting concerns over the new coronavirus.

South Korea's December factory output exceeded forecasts as soaring chip production fueled industrial activity, but the virus outbreak in China will likely dent demand in January.

South Korea said Sunday that it will invest 1 trillion won ($863 million) in the next 10 years to nurture the next-generation semiconductor sector.

The Japanese government has reversed curbs on exports of photoresists to South Korea, one of three technology materials which it had restricted since July, a Trade Ministry official said on Friday.

In 2018, South Korea's SK Innovation beat its larger, local rival LG Chem to a multibillion dollar deal to supply German carmaker Volkswagen with electric vehicle batteries in the United States.

Shipments of semiconductors, South Korea's key export item, will likely rebound next year on a recovery in global demand, a report suggested Sunday, also possibly ending a steady decline in the country's overall exports.