Samsung estimates record-high Q1 profit

A man walks behind a Samsung Electronics Co. light-emitting diode (LED) television at Yongsan Station in Seoul (Bloomberg)

Samsung Electronics said Friday that it estimates it will post its highest-ever operating profit at 5.8 trillion won ($5.15 billion) for the first quarter.

Analysts also gave rosy outlooks for the upcoming second quarter, expecting strong sales of the Galaxy S3 smartphones, which is planned to be released next month.

In a regulatory filing, the world’s top television and memory chip maker said it is likely to mark a 96.6 percent rise in operating profit from a year earlier and an increase of 9.4 percent from the previous quarter.

The firm also said it reached 45 trillion won in total sales, up 21.65 percent from the same period last year, but a slight decrease of 4.9 percent from the final quarter of 2011. The exact earnings figures for January-March will be unveiled later this month, possibly on April 27.

The sales figure met market expectations, but the operating profit surpassed it, exceeding its record quarterly profit of 5.3 trillion won posted in the fourth quarter of last year.

The rise in operating profit for the country’s IT behemoth was backed by the strong sales of its smartphone Galaxy series, including the success of the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, industry watchers said.

According to the company, it has sold more than 5 million units of the Galaxy Note globally as of last month since rolling out the gadget last October.

Samsung also said last week that it sold up to 1.65 million units of the Galaxy Note in Korea, selling an average of 18,000 units of the model per day. Its flagship smartphone Galaxy S2 had also recorded 20 million units in the first 10 months of sales, its officials said.

“It’s an earnings surprise,” said Choe Sung-je, an analyst at SK Securities. “Samsung shares will continue to rise for the time being.”

Noh Geun-chang, a senior analyst at HMC Securities, also said that hot-selling smartphones were the main drivers in reaching record quarterly earnings for the company and that the release of Galaxy S3 will also contribute in the continuous rise for the second quarter.

“I’m expecting the operating profit to post over 6 trillion won in the second quarter and the profit growth driver is also the smartphone for the upcoming quarter,” he said. “Due to the popularity of its smartphone, the subparts used to make the device such as the mobile dynamic random access memory, mobile application processor and the AMOLED display screens will also see rises in profit figures.”

As the Galaxy S3 is projected to roll out in May, the new smartphone is likely to sell up to 5 million units in June alone, said Noh.

Meanwhile, shares of the company closed at 1.332 million won per share on the Seoul bourse on Friday, up 2,000 won from Thursday.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldm.com) 

Seoul mayor wins defamation suit

The Supreme Court on Friday confirmed the innocence of Seoul City Mayor Park Won-soon in a defamation case appealed by the state over his allegation of being spied on by intelligence agents.

The top court said it upheld the lower court’s ruling against the National Intelligence Service which sued Park, then a civic activist, in 2009 on defamation charges.

In 2009, Park, an executive director at a progressive civic group, the Hope Institute, claimed in an interview with a news media outlet that the NIS aborted some of the organizations’ projects.

The state made the defamation suit in the same year, demanding 200 million won in compensation.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled in 2010 that the state as a rule cannot be a victim except in cases where the attack was malicious, and that the state already has its own capacity to correct or remedy any false reports. The Seoul High Court also dismissed the NIS’ appeal the following year.

The Supreme Court’s decision comes amid a controversy over the government’s alleged illegal surveillance of civilians ahead of the April 11 general elections.

It draws attention as the NIS reportedly plans to file a defamation suit against outspoken TV celeb Kim Mi-hwa for her claim that she was contacted in 2010 by secret agents who allegedly hinted that President Lee Myung-bak was not happy with her. The NIS has denied Kim’s claim.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldm.com)

Opposition candidate emerges as key variable in parliamentary race

Opposition candidate emerges as key variable in parliamentary race

An opposition candidate taking flak for foul language has emerged as a key variable in the upcoming parliamentary race, political watchers said Saturday. Kim Yong-min, a candidate for the Democratic United Party (DUP), who made a series of vile sexual remarks and derogatory comments to senior citizens, has come under increasing pressure to step down after it was found that he attacked South Korea's Christian churches. The candidate, who is running for a parliamentary seat in Seoul's Nowon district, apologized for his remarks made in the mid-2000s, but the clips of his remarks posted on YouTube have drawn considerable attention and public outcry. Kim, the son of a pastor, said the local protestant church is nothing more than a criminal organization and should be eradicated. South Korea's Christians make up just over a quarter of the population and can influence the outcome of tight elections. He predicted that regardless of who takes power, the church will collapse. The outspoken critic and co-host of a political satire program "Naneun Ggomsuda" also conceded that he called for terrorists attacks against the United States, and suggested the release of a notorious serial killer to murder former U.S. President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Kim also suggested that national TV should air pornography to deal with the country's low birthrate, and removal of escalators and elevators from Seoul City Hall subway station to keep conservative seniors from gathering there to protest liberal policies. The ruling Saenuri Party, which is fighting an uphill battle in the race, has lashed out at Kim and called on him to resign. The conservative party said if he does not, the DUP should make its position clear on the candidate. Church groups have demanded Kim withdrawal and attacked the opposition for picking such a "substandard" candidate. The DUP insiders said they are aware of the potential impact of keeping Kim on, but have been slow to take steps for fear of alienating young supporters who are fans of "Naneun Ggomsuda" and still want the candidate to run for the Nowon seat. Kim's campaign office said that because of the inflow of support, there will be no stepping down, and pledged to do more to meet the expectations of the people. Independent political analysts said the controversy surrounding Kim may be an important factor in the elections slated for Wednesday. Of the 246 district seats up for grabs, 100 are expected to be close races. In addition to the district seats, there are 54 proportional seats divided according to the popularity of parties. They speculated that the debate surrounding Kim could be just as volatile as fallout from the incumbent administration's unlawful surveillance of civilians. (Yonhap)

9 out of 10 French hallyu fans want to visit Korea

9 out of 10 French hallyu fans want to visit Korea

More than nine out of 10 French hallyu fans, who are interested in the Korean culture, want to travel Korea, a survey showed Tuesday. A poll at tourism promotion Website(www.visitkorea.or.kr), conducted by the state-run Korea Tourism Organization's Paris branch, displayed that more than 90 percent of 3,775 respondents said they want to visit Korea. Of them, 75.8 percent said they will come to Korea without fail. The result tells that hallyu has been promoting the Korean tourism industry directly or indirectly. According to the poll, most respondents preferred hallyu theme tour packages, which include K-pop concerts and drama-related tourist attractions. In a selection of two or more purposes of visiting Korea, the general sightseeing tour was the largest with 96 percent, followed by the tour with K-pop concert by 80 percent and that with drama shooting site by 41.2 percent. The tour for study was the lowest 34.2 percent. On the other hand, 169 respondents of the polled have already visited Korea were content with travelling. As many as 95 percent of them replied they were satisfied with their tour to Korea. Surprisingly, all respondents said they have enjoyed Korean pop music. Dramas came second hallyu content with 91.6 percent, followed by movies with 69.6 percent and Korean traditional culture with 50.5 percent. The survey also confirmed that K-pop experience helped the French tourists get better image on Korea. As many as 72 percent said that they got to know Korea after they listened to the K-pop, the highest, and 66.3 percent have got interested interest in Korean culture. Even more, 62.5 percent considered staying in Korea for a long time and 41.2 percent started to learn Korean language. More than 90 percent of the respondents showed strong interest in most of general Korean culture. Among the attractive Korean content was Hangeul or Korean language with 91.5 percent, Korean food with 90.9 percent, traditional culture with 83 percent and dramas with 69.9 percent. The respondents were allowed to choose two or more in the category. Meanwhile, Big Bang and 2NE1, idol singer groups of YG Entertainment, were most popular among the French respondents. Among boy groups, Big Bang won 50 percent of the polled, followed by Super Junior with 45 percent, Shinee with 35.5 percent, and Beast with 33.8 percent. 2PM was the lowest with 24.2 percent. 2NE1 was the most popular girl groups with 64.8 percent, followed by Girl’s Generation with 45.4 percent, miss A with 31.5 percent, f(x) with 29.4 percent and T-ara with 25.9 percent. “The poll proves that hallyu fans are highly motivated to travel Korea,” said Park Jae-seok, Paris branch manager of the Korean tour promotion body. “We will make our efforts to increase the number of French fans of hallyu." An estimated 100,000 French people are fans of hallyu or Korean culture, according to the branch manager.