KT turns to loss in Q4 on higher operating costs

KT Corp., South Korea's major mobile carrier, said Thursday it shifted to a net loss in the fourth quarter from a profit a year earlier due to an increase in operating costs. The company said in a regulatory filing it logged a net loss of 41.7 billion won ($31.4 million) in the last three months of 2023 on a consolidated basis, swinging from a profit of 242.7 billion won a year earlier. Operating income for the October-December period rose 75.4 percent on-year to 265.6 billion won, and sale

Feb. 8, 2024

FTC hints at review of anti-monoply platform act

South Korea's antitrust regulator on Wednesday said it would review its proposed act aimed at regulating monopolistic practices by major online platform players before making a further legislation push, as opposition voices grow. “We’re communicating extensively with the (related) industries here and abroad and stakeholders to legislate the platform act. … Rather than making the bill public shortly, it was deemed desirable to further collect opinions from the industry and

Feb. 7, 2024

Stage X defies skepticism, vows to launch service in H1 next year

Stage X, a consortium comprising Kakao affiliate Stage Five and other unidentified companies, selected as the new operator of the 28 gigahertz band of the fifth-generation network in South Korea, said on Wednesday it would launch a nationwide telecommunications service in the first half of 2025. “We aim to become a new deep-tech telecom company that innovates technology and services,” Seo Sang-won, representative of Stage X, said in a press briefing in Seoul, after the consortium b

Feb. 7, 2024

Samsung chief heads to Middle East after cleared of merger case charges

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong took off on a business trip to the Middle East and Southeast Asia shortly following Monday’s court ruling that cleared him of stock manipulation charges in a high-profile 2015 merger deal. According to industry sources on Wednesday, Lee took off to the United Arab Emirates on a private jet on Tuesday to inspect local operations and meet partners there. He is also expected to visit Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, to meet with employees and boost

Feb. 7, 2024

SK hynix to increase use of recycled materials to 30% by 2030

SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, on Tuesday announced that it would increase its proportion of materials accounted for by recycled materials to over 30 percent by 2030. The target, as part of the company’s carbon neutrality goal, is the first of its kind set by a semiconductor maker. Under the plans, the company aims to first increase recycled material usage to 25 percent by 2025. The company said the target is a part of its plans to implement its carbon neutral

Feb. 6, 2024

Court clears Samsung chief of all charges

A Seoul court acquitted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of all charges related to a 2015 merger fraud case on Monday, clearing the path for the country's biggest tech giant to push forward with investment for future technologies. In the final verdict handed down at 2:55 p.m., judges at the Seoul Central District Court found Lee and 13 other defendants -- former executives of Samsung -- all not guilty. The court dismissed the allegations proposed by prosecutors, who claimed that Lee and

Feb. 5, 2024

[Gadget Review] Real-time call translation: SKT A. vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra

More and more artificial intelligence services are becoming available for use in daily life, and one of the breakthrough applications is set to come in real-time translation built into phone calls. In its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung Electronics presented its Live Translate feature for the first time. This feature competes directly with SK Telecom's A., a mobile app developed by the mobile carrier to allow iPhone users in Korea to explore real-time translation

Feb. 5, 2024

CJ’s Miky Lee wins Abu Dhabi Festival Award

ABU DHABI -- Miky Lee, vice chair of CJ Group and its entertainment and media subsidiary CJ ENM, has won this year’s Abu Dhabi Festival Award, a top honor offered to individuals in recognition of their outstanding contributions to culture and the arts. The Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation held the award ceremony in the UAE capital Saturday. Lee attended the event in person to receive the award. The annual award, inaugurated in 2012 by the foundation in association with the Swiss luxur

Feb. 5, 2024

Court to rule on Samsung chief's alleged 2015 merger fraud

A Seoul district court is set to deliver a decisive ruling on Monday for Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong over the 2015 merger fraud case, under which he could face a prison term. The Seoul Central District Court will issue its decision on Lee, along with 14 current and former employees of Samsung, on charges of rigging company valuations and accounting fraud connected to the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates -- Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T Corp. The final ruli

Feb. 4, 2024

Merck to pour capital into Korea's AI chip industry

Merck, the science and technology juggernaut based in Germany, will continue to put capital into Korea in line with the growth of the country's semiconductors industry while expanding cooperation with key clients and the world's two largest memory chip producers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The German firm is seeking to leverage its capabilities to supply materials and equipment needed for chip manufacturing as its Korean clients increase their investments into artificial intelli

Feb. 2, 2024

Naver to rev up generative AI services

After logging all-time high earnings last year, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon expressed her determination to strengthen the tech giant's core search platform and commerce services using generative artificial intelligence technology this year. "Based on AI and data, Naver will focus on enhancing competitiveness in key businesses, including search engines and commerce platforms," Choi said during the company’s earnings conference held on Friday. Choi expected that Cue, a generative

Feb. 2, 2024

Will cheaper foldable phones become a reality?

Samsung Electronics, a pioneer in foldable smartphones, is ramping up efforts to expand the still-nascent and high-priced segment, fueling speculation that the tech giant could come out with cheaper versions with mass-market appeal as soon as this year. A recent news report said Samsung is expected to launch two models for the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold6 later this year, including a cheaper one without the pricey S-Pen stylus. Foldable displays are priced higher to support the scribble function on t

Feb. 1, 2024

Samsung reduces chip deficit in Q4 on DRAM recovery

Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it narrowed the size of the semiconductor deficit in the October-December period, as a result of its ongoing chip production cut efforts. “As we revised down (the chip output), the chip inventories decreased rapidly in the fourth quarter, especially for DRAM memory chips,” Kim Jae-june, executive vice president in charge of memory marketing strategy, said in the fourth-quarter earnings call. He also said the tech giant will continue cutting its m

Jan. 31, 2024

LG CNS builds LLM for code generation

South Korean IT solutions provider LG CNS on Wednesday unveiled its own large language model for code generation, enabling developers to mitigate the possible security risks of artificial intelligence. In June 2023, LG CNS first launched "AI Coding,” a ChatGPT-based service that supports code generation for a system, application or service. Developers can ask AI Coding to convert, generate, recommend, and check the errors of codes in line with their requirements. The company had appli

Jan. 31, 2024

SK Networks, US tech tycoon team up for AI investments

SK Networks said Wednesday that it has forged a partnership with US tech tycoon and investor Vivek Ranadive to cooperate on investments in futuristic technologies with a strategic focus on artificial intelligence. The nonbinding agreement was signed in Seoul on Thursday upon the visit of Ranadive, founder and managing director of Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Bow Capital. He also owns the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. SK Networks President and Chief Operating Officer Choi Sung-hwan h

Jan. 31, 2024

Dog gone! KakaoTalk to remove all free character emojis

Kakao Friend emojis will gradually be discontinued on KakaoTalk, South Korea’s No.1 messaging app. The app’s operator Kakao decided to end all free Kakao Friends emoji services, but details of the plan are under consideration, according to local media reports Wednesday. The emojis are 34 non-moving images showing various expressions by the five initial member characters of Kakao Friends -- animal or fruit-based characters licensed by Kakao. The emojis have received broad love from

Jan. 31, 2024

Samsung Galaxy S24 hits shelves globally

Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday it is starting sales of its latest flagship smartphone the Galaxy S24 globally, largely buoyed by record preorders made at home over the past week. The new phone, dubbed the world’s first smartphone powered by artificial intelligence, is expected to hit the shelves first in key markets, including the US, Britain, Singapore, France, and India, from Wednesday. Ultimately Samsung aims to launch the phone in some 120 countries. “The launch of the Galax

Jan. 30, 2024

S. Korea, US discuss space cooperation

Senior officials from South Korea and the United States discussed cooperation in space exploration as Seoul pushes ahead with the establishment of its independent space agency in May, officials said Monday. First Vice Science Minister Cho Seong-kyung met with Pam Melroy, the deputy administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, during her visit to the US last week and discussed measures to expand space cooperation between the two countries, according to the Ministry of Science and I

Jan. 29, 2024

Mixed feelings as big firms announce hefty or zero bonuses

South Korea’s top conglomerates are announcing their plans for employee compensation for 2023 following mixed earnings reports last week. LG Electronics, which posted another year of record sales, pledged to give out hefty bonuses to employees, while the nation’s top two chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, hit hard by a chip slump last year, seem to be tightening their belts, reducing spending including on employee benefits. LG Electronics, the crown jewel of the nation&r

Jan. 29, 2024

[Herald Interview] Dell ready to empower Korea to unlock potential of AI

US tech giant Dell Technologies has jumped on the generative artificial intelligence bandwagon with a range of new AI offerings combining its hardware and software prowess. The firm is also setting its sights on Korea, a tech powerhouse aspiring to become a potent player in the burgeoning AI era. “Korean firms, from manufacturing giants to internet and cloud service providers, have embraced AI faster than their Asian rivals. We are confident in saying that Dell was at the center of the jou

Jan. 29, 2024