[Herald Interview] Korea needs to secure ‘irreplaceable technology’

South Korea must work toward securing irreplaceable technologies in critical industries as the country looks to become a tech powerhouse, a top government official at the Ministry of Science and ICT says. “Our country wants to become a strong country, but we are not a big country in terms of the (physical) size. So it’s impossible to have all technologies inside the house,” said Joo Young-chang, vice minister and the ministry's top innovation strategist, in an interview wi

Dec. 4, 2022

Hanwha Aerospace to lead homegrown space rocket project

Hanwha Aerospace, the space business arm of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha, has been tapped as the company to lead the project of upgrading the homegrown Nuri rocket and launching it four more times through 2027, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said Friday. According to Hanwha Aerospace’s regulatory filing, the company on Thursday signed a contract worth approximately 286 billion won ($220 million) with the state-run institute. The official selection came about two months after th

Dec. 2, 2022

Samsung foldable phone sales for corporate use double

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday sales of its foldable phones for corporate use more than doubled on-year, partly because more companies have adopted remote working policies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. From January to October, sales of Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip phones jumped by 105 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, the world's largest smartphone maker said. The Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4 -- the latest versions rolled out this year -- led to t

Nov. 30, 2022

Samsung to expand 5G network solution supply to Japan's NTT Docomo

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it will boost the supply of 5G network solutions to Japan’s No. 1 mobile operator NTT Docomo. After being chosen as a 5G network solution provider for Docomo in March, Samsung will provide additional 5G network radio units, which can send out major frequency bands operated by the Japanese mobile operator. Docomo has nearly 84 million users across the neighboring country as of March. The Japanese telecom company launched 5G services in March 2020. With str

Nov. 30, 2022

SK Telecom, Singapore's Singtel join hands for metaverse push

South Korean telecom giant SK Telecom said Tuesday it forged a partnership with Singapore’s largest mobile carrier Singtel to expand its metaverse service into the Asia-Pacific region. Singtel operates in 21 countries to provide mobile communication and high-speed internet services to about 770 million users around the world. Under their partnership, the two sides agreed to work together on initiating a metaverse project in Singapore and extend the project in the Asia-Pacific region overal

Nov. 29, 2022

[Photo News] In support of Busan's Expo bid

A Samsung Electronics banner promotes Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo as well as its latest foldable smartphones, on the wall of the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris on Monday. The banner is being displayed this week at the general gathering of the Bureau International des Expositions, the intergovernmental body that oversees the World Expo.

Nov. 28, 2022

Korean users spend less time on Twitter taken over by Musk

South Korean users spent less time on Twitter compared to the month before billionaire Elon Musk took over the social media platform in a drama-plagued $44 billion deal, industry data showed Monday. According to local data tracker Mobile Index, the average time a local user spent on Twitter was 43.94 minutes for the four weeks of Oct. 28 to Nov. 24, down from 45.9 minutes marked a month prior to the highly publicized purchase. The number of daily active users on the platform in that period, howe

Nov. 28, 2022

LG taps two female CEOs in unprecedented move

South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate LG has tapped two female CEOs in its groupwide year-end reshuffle that ended Thursday. Consumer goods arm LG H&H named Executive Vice President Lee Jung-ae as the new chief executive officer, replacing Cha Suk-yong after nearly 18 years of service. Lee is one of two female CEOs to have been nominated for the first time in LG's history. Since joining LG H&H in 1986, the 59-year-old Lee has been dedicated to consumer goods marketing, and

Nov. 24, 2022

[Newsmaker] Long-awaited insurance bill reignites debate on Samsung’s ownership structure

The long-awaited bill to revise the Insurance Business Act is reigniting debate over Samsung’s ownership structure, under which its insurance arm is the largest shareholder of Samsung Electronics. The National Assembly on Tuesday for the first time put forward the revision bills in the parliament's National Policy Committee. The bills, proposed in June 2020 respectively by main opposition Democratic Party lawmakers such as Rep. Park Yong-jin and Rep. Lee Yong-woo, were the first bills to b

Nov. 24, 2022

Will Korea host Tesla 'gigafactory'?

Business tycoon Elon Musk's confirmation that South Korea is among the top candidates for Tesla's second electric vehicle production plant in Asia highlights the robust automotive parts ecosystem in Korea for cutting-edge autonomous driving technology, as well as the brand's popularity here. All eyes are on whether the fourth-largest economy in Asia could outdo other regional candidates such as Japan and Indonesia, which have richer EV consumer bases than Korea. On Wednesday, President Yoon Suk-

Nov. 23, 2022

[Photo News] Robots at hospital

An LG CLOi Servebot, a delivery robot developed by LG Electronics, delivers medicine at a hospital in Yongin, Gyeonggi province. The company said Tuesday it supplied seven CLOi robots to aid medical staff by carrying out tasks such as delivering medications and medical equipment, guiding visitors and making late-night security rounds.

Nov. 22, 2022

LG Chem to build $3.2b battery material plant in US

South Korean battery material supplier LG Chem announced Tuesday plans to build a $3.2 billion facility to manufacture 120,000 metric tons of cathode materials used for electric vehicle batteries annually in Tennessee, the United States. Once construction of the facility on the 1.7-square-kilometer land is completed by 2027, the plant will be able to power batteries mounted on 1.2 million pure electric vehicles that can run 500 kilometers on a single charge. Construction is set to start in the

Nov. 22, 2022

SK hynix reaches settlement in chip cluster dispute

South Korean memory chip manufacturer SK hynix has reached a compromise with Yeoju city over a dispute surrounding the chipmaker's right to use freshwater for new fabrication plants in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the government announced Monday. The settlement, with a memorandum of understanding signed on Monday at the National Assembly, opens the doors for SK hynix to proceed the chip cluster project as planned by 2027 on the 4.15 square-kilometer site, which would cost at least 120 trillion won

Nov. 21, 2022

[Photo News] Metaverse cooperation

Ryu Young-sang (left), chief executive officer of South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom, poses for a photo with NTT Docomo CEO Motoyuki Ii at a signing ceremony on Friday in Seoul. SK Telecom announced Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with its Japanese counterpart to seek a strategic partnership in the fields of the metaverse, sixth-generation telecommunication infrastructure and media content development.

Nov. 21, 2022

Nexon becomes largest shareholder of 'Avengers' directors' production firm

South Korean game developer Nexon said Monday it has become the largest shareholder of US production company Agbo, co-founded by Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors of Marvel’s global megahits. After initially investing $400 million to acquire 38 percent of Agbo’s shares in January, Tokyo-listed Nexon recently invested an additional $100 million to acquire 11.21 percent. The latest acquisition made the game developer the No. 1 shareholder of the US firm, with 49.21 percent of its sh

Nov. 21, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘You can start making changes for gamers with disabilities tomorrow’

BUSAN -- Korean game developers should begin creating accessibility for people with disabilities as it can be easily done with some of the existing guidelines, says a longtime activist who has led the US movement for gamers with disabilities. “You can start making real change tomorrow with the resources out there,” said Mark Barlet, founder and executive director of the AbleGamers Charity, in an interview with The Korea Herald at South Korea’s game exhibition, G-Star, in Busan

Nov. 20, 2022

[Herald Interview] Why Korea is set up for success in console games

BUSAN -- South Korea is poised to succeed in the global console game market despite having a relatively shorter resume in that particular area of gaming, according to an expert specialized in creating successful console games. “Many years ago, I first found out how excited Korean players were for video games when StarCraft became a global sensation. It was very fascinating to see that Korea was so excited about that,” said Steve Papoutsis, chief development officer at Striking Distan

Nov. 20, 2022

Neowiz looks to lead Korea's console game industry with awards-winning Lies of P

BUSAN -- Game developer Neowiz is hoping to take the lead and set an exemplary case for Korean console games on the global stage with its awards-winning title Lies of P. “(For Lies of P) we really received good feedback at Gamescom including good graphics, high level of completion, no bugs, smooth play and great optimization of the frame,” said Choi Ji-won, the chief producing director of Lies of P in a press conference held Thursday on the sidelines of G-Star, South Korea’s bi

Nov. 20, 2022

Samsung tops global brand ranking, outpacing Google, YouTube

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics was ranked the highest in United Kingdom-based market research firm YouGov's annual Global Best Brand Rankings in 2022, data showed Sunday. Of 380 brands in 38 markets including the United States, the UK, China, India and South Korea, Samsung scored 127 points overall to take the top notch, followed by Google's 106 points, YouTube's 85 points, Netflix's 59 points and Shopee's 51 points. The score was based on YouGov's esti

Nov. 20, 2022

[Weekender] Revived G-Star back with bang

BUSAN -- For Ji Young-hoon, a 22-year-old South Korean who had just finished his mandatory military service duty in September, this year’s G-Star -- the country’s largest annual gaming exhibition felt like seeing an old friend after a long time. “I was here three years ago right after I took Suneung (Korea’s national college entrance exam). I have been looking forward to this year’s G-Star because the last two years’ events were not enjoyable,” Ji told T

Nov. 19, 2022