Samsung CEO hints at joining RE100 ‘soon’

BERLIN – Samsung Electronics co-CEO Han Jong-hee on Thursday hinted that the South Korean tech giant will unveil a new sustainable growth strategy soon, possibly its delayed decision to join the RE100 global initiative. “We will announce a clearer goal that is also achievable,” he said at a press conference in Berlin held on the sidelines of the IFA trade show that kicks off Friday. The RE100 initiative sets a 2050 target for using 100 percent renewable electricity. Samsung's

Sept. 2, 2022

Samsung bets big on home connectivity

BERLIN – Samsung Electronics is betting big on its SmartThings smart home platform, declaring that a connected home is now a reality that creates new value for users. “This year will mark the beginning of mass adoption of SmartThings,” said Han Jong-hee, Samsung's co-CEO who oversees the smartphone and home appliance businesses at a press conference held on the sidelines of the IFA trade show that kicks off in Berlin on Friday. The SmartThings platform aims to connect not ju

Sept. 2, 2022

LG debuts chameleon refrigerator that changes color

BERLIN/SEOUL – LG Electronics on Thursday debuted the world’s first refrigerator that changes color at the touch of a smartphone button ahead of the IFA trade show that kicks off Friday in Berlin. The chameleon four-door fridge MoodUp is a newest addition to LG’s high-end Objet Collection. The self-illuminating doors use light sources from light-emitting diodes. Users can choose one among some 170,000 color combinations, based on the 22 color options for top doors and 19 choi

Sept. 1, 2022

IFA 2022: What to expect from Samsung, LG

BERLIN -- IFA, Europe’s biggest tech show, is being held in person again after two years of pandemic disruptions, with South Korean tech rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics among the largest exhibitors. The annual gathering will kick off in Berlin on Friday for a five-day run. After years of virtual business meetings and product launches, there may be skepticism about attending a giant face-to-face business event in this enduring pandemic era. But the IFA is ready to host more

Sept. 1, 2022

SK On hires COO from memory chip affiliate

South Korean lithium-ion battery maker SK On said Thursday it has hired former SK hynix President Jin Kyo-won as chief operating officer. Jin, who took the newly created role Thursday, will oversee the operation optimization, marketing, overseas manufacturing, research, purchase and next-generation technology of Korea’s second-largest battery manufacturer by global market share. Previously, Jin, a career engineer, had served as the chief product and production officer of SK hynix, the wo

Sept. 1, 2022

Samsung's OLED gaming monitor, new industrial tablet to debut in Europe

Samsung Electronics' new consumer electronics products like monitors and tablets are set to debut in Europe later this year, as Europe's biggest tech show IFA 2022 comes to a close. On Thursday, Samsung unveiled the plan for the release of newest gaming monitor Odyssey OLED G8 and rugged industrial tablet Galaxy Tab Active4. The Odyssey OLED G8 is Samsung's first gaming monitor that mounts a flat-panel display using organic light-emitting diode technology to achieve color accuracy and express

Sept. 1, 2022

Naver aims to expand metaverse presence in Thailand

Naver Z, the South Korean IT giant’s subsidiary that runs the Zepeto metaverse platform, has joined hands with Thailand’s largest telecommunication services provider to expand the virtual world’s ecosystem in the Southeast Asian nation, Naver said Thursday. Naver Z and True Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership between the two firms at True’s Bangkok office on Wednesday. “Through this partnership, we will look to lead Thailand into

Sept. 1, 2022

Korean IT leaders shy of expansion, investment: survey

South Korean corporate decision makers in the field of information technology have shown a lackluster appetite for expansion and investment compared with the global peers, a survey showed Wednesday. Fifty-five out of 100 Korean decision makers responded that their organizations are planning to expand in a new city, country or region within the next 12 months, which was lower than the global average of 72 percent, according to Nasdaq-listed digital infrastructure investment firm Equinix. Those wh

Aug. 31, 2022

S. Korea introduces 2 numbers in 1 phone service with eSIM

South Korea will begin embedded subscriber identity module, known as eSIM, services from Thursday, allowing Koreans to have two different numbers in one mobile device, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday. The eSIM service, an upgrade from the universal subscriber identity module, is based on downloading the electronic profile of subscribers to each device. Therefore, it does not require a physical USIM card change. The ministry said Koreans can now choose between the two types of SI

Aug. 31, 2022

Nexon’s HIT2 opens new world of MMORPG

HIT2, a recently-launched massively multiplayer online role playing game developed by South Korean game developer Nexon, is looking to change the nature of how MMORPGs are played by offering players chances to revise the playing rules. According to Nexon, HIT2 players get to vote on the rules of their game server under the name of “Altar of the Coordinator” each week. Players can obtain their voting rights by completing simple quests in game. The players can also opt to sell their v

Aug. 31, 2022

Samsung's connected home app SmartThings to power 13 home appliance brands

Samsung Electronics' integrated home appliances solution SmartThings is poised to be applied to Samsung plus 12 other major white goods brands by the first half of 2023, the company said Wednesday. This comes as Samsung's SmartThings is to make consumer electronics goods and mobile apps interoperable under the standard provided by the 13-member Home Connectivity Alliance, through an update of Samsung's smart home solution next year. The update will allow users of 13 HCA member bra

Aug. 31, 2022

[Photo News] KT marks 20th anniversary

KT Corp. CEO Ku Hyeon-mo speaks during an event celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary of privatization, titled “Digico KT Making a Better World,” in Seoul on Tuesday. During the event, Ku highlighted the contributions KT made in expanding South Korea's information and communication technology industry, and outlined KT's future road map on how it will foray into the global market as an international digital company.

Aug. 30, 2022

[Photo News] Smart shoe care

LG Electronics said Tuesday it will debut its new shoe care solution, consisting of LG Styler ShoeCase and ShoeCare, at the upcoming IFA trade show in Berlin this week. Using the steam technology of its popular Styler clothing care system, the new appliances aim to cater to the growing demand from young consumers, especially shoe enthusiasts. The ShoeCase, in particular, offers interior features such as transparent panels, a 360-degree rotating turntable and a modular design that makes it possib

Aug. 30, 2022

Scientists develop world's 1st therapy for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Researchers have developed the world’s first electroceutical technology that can be used to treat the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology said Tuesday. CMT disease is a group of inherited disorders that cause nerve damage. Its common symptoms are weakness in the legs and feet, loss of muscle bulk and curled toes. Although CMT is one of the most commonly inherited neurological disorders -- found in about one in 3,000 people -- there are no a

Aug. 30, 2022

[Advertorial] Barcelona lures visitors to Europe’s digital and technology capital

[Advertorial] Barcelona is among the most popular cities to live worldwide, and was recently ranked as best place in the world to visit by UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The city is also the first destination in the world to obtain Biosphere Platinum certification. Barcelona is ramping up its promotion targeting global visitors after it recently became the permanent home of the Mobile World Congress. The world’s largest mobile tech event has been held in Barcelona every year since 2006.

Aug. 30, 2022

LG Energy Solution, Honda to build $4.4b battery plant in US

LG Energy Solution said Monday it is building a new 5.1 trillion won ($4.4 billion) electric vehicle battery plant in the US in a joint venture partnership with Japanese auto giant Honda -- the first of its kind signed between a Korean battery maker and a Japanese carmaker. The world’s second-largest EV battery maker held a signing ceremony of the new deal in Seoul later in the day, with LG Energy Solution CEO Kwon Young-soo and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe in attendance. The plant, with an

Aug. 29, 2022

TV war looms as Samsung, LG head to IFA this week

South Korean tech rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are heading to Berlin this week to show off their latest home appliances, including flagship TVs, during the IFA trade show that kicks off Friday (local time). Keen interest is being paid to whether Samsung will showcase its latest OLED TVs during the annual gathering. After a nearly nine-year hiatus, Samsung started rolling out OLED TVs early this year, but no high-profile promotional event has been held, raising speculation abou

Aug. 29, 2022

Lotte grants W14b to KAIST for R&D

Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth largest conglomerate, has decided to donate 14 billion won ($10.4 million) to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology for various research and development efforts, officials said Monday. The announcement came about half a year after Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin met KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung at the university in Daejeon, South Chungcheong Province, in February. According to the officials, Lotte Group’s 10 subsidiaries inc

Aug. 29, 2022

[Weekender] Sleep-deprived Korea

Whether chasing a lifestyle of low sleep and high output or due to the sleep deprivation synonymous with parenthood, many South Koreans are sleep-deprived. For Kim Yu-ri, a nurse in her 30s with two children, sleep has long been a luxury. Raising a 3-year-old and 1-year-old while commuting two hours daily from home in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to Jamsil in Seoul, her days are already overpacked. “I think seven hours of sleep at night is what I really need, but it never seems to be a po

Aug. 27, 2022

Postech chip professor wins Merck Award

Professor Noh Yong-Young of Postech won an annual award given by Merck Korea in recognition of his innovative research into the development of semiconducting materials for backplane thin-film transistor technology of organic light-emitting diode displays. His research, Merck Korea says, could contribute to the commercialization of backplane p-type thin-film transistors for high-performance OLED displays if further developed. The Merck Young Scientist Award went to professor Kang Suk-ku for prop

Aug. 25, 2022