Google to make improvements for stable services in S. Korea

South Korea's ICT ministry said Monday that US tech giant Google will take measures to provide stable services, becoming the first company to come under the country's revised law that holds online content providers accountable for service errors. On Dec. 14 last year, multiple Google services, including YouTube, Gmail and Google Calendar, went down for around an hour globally, prompting the Ministry of Science and ICT to look into the matter. According to the ministry, Google experienced an au

Feb. 8, 2021

AI takes center stage in telcos' tech drive

South Korean mobile carriers are expanding services integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) technology as they shift focus from telecommunications to find new growth drivers. Last week telecom giant KT Corp. joined hands with Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corp. to establish an AI call center at the retail company's headquarters in Seoul. The service incorporates voice recognition and text analysis technology so that AI can help customers with simple questions and can carry out tedious tas

Feb. 7, 2021

Kakao introduces remote work solution, digital wallet at OECD event

Kakao introduced its newly developed mobile-based remote work solution and digital wallet during the second roundtable meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Digital for SMEs global initiative, the company said Friday. Kakao was the only official partner company from Asia to join the two-day event held online to promote discussions on how to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to make the most of the ongoing digital shift. At the meeting, Kakao intr

Feb. 5, 2021

S. Korea approves Celltrion's COVID-19 treatment for conditional use

South Korea‘s Drug Safety Ministry announced Friday it has approved Celltrion’s COVID-19 treatment candidate for conditional use. Conditional approval of Celltrion’s CT-P59, an anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment candidate, has become the country’s first homegrown COVID-19 treatment. Celltrion’s CT-P59 will be administered only to COVID-19 patients at higher risk, including those over the age of 60 or with vascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases,

Feb. 5, 2021

Samsung Bioepis biosimilars sales in Europe grow 7.8%

Sales of biosimilars developed by Samsung Bioepis in European countries reached 866 billion won ($795 million) last year, the South Korean drugmaker said Friday, citing an earnings report from US partner Biogen. Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Biogen and Samsung Group’s biopharmaceutical unit Biologics. Its biosimilar sales are shared by the two companies. According to Biogen’s earnings report, sales of Samsung Bioepis’ three major autoimmune biosimilars -- Bene

Feb. 5, 2021

Korean tech employees complain about insufficient bonuses from profit-sharing programs

Tech industry employees in South Korea are outraged at the opaque payment systems that some companies use when administering profit-sharing programs. Employees at leading tech companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Energy Solution were observed Friday to have posted complaints on online communities and social media about their bonuses and how they were calculated. The conflict came in the wake of an announcement by SK hynix that it would provide profit-sharing bonuses equivalent to 20

Feb. 5, 2021

Samsung applies for tax breaks for new chip plant in Austin

Samsung Electronics has asked local governments in Texas to provide tax breaks for its new chip plant in Austin, raising speculation that it is about to expand its production capacity in the US, according to news reports Friday. Reuters reported that the South Korean chipmaker is seeking combined tax abatements of $805.5 million over 20 years from Travis County and the city of Austin, among other tax breaks, citing documents filed with Texas state officials. There were rumors that Samsung

Feb. 5, 2021

Naver to shut down portal's trending search chart this month

South Korean search giant Naver Corp. said Thursday it will shut down its online portal's real-time search chart service this month amid a yearslong controversy over whether it could be prone to advertising or be used to rig public opinion. The portal giant, which draws 30 million users everyday, said in a blog post that it will shut down the service on Feb. 25 as user searches have become more diversified and specific. The search chart first appeared in 2005 and has served as a major part of

Feb. 4, 2021

S. Korean research team develops technology able to track down disease onset

A South Korean research team funded by Samsung Electronics has developed a system that can be used to calculate the time that has elapsed since the onset of disease. The research, titled “Recording of elapsed time and temporal information about biological events using Cas9,” has been published in Cell, an international journal publishing research papers regarding life sciences. It is the first time for research funded by Samsung Future Technology Development Project to be publish

Feb. 4, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Pandemic shows bridging social inequities is public health issue’

This interview is the final installment in a three-part series of conversations with former directors of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- now the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency -- as the country looks back on a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. -- Ed. The novel coronavirus crisis shows that social inequities are a public health matter, and that bridging the gaps should be among the country’s post-pandemic goals, says former director of the Korea Centers

Feb. 3, 2021

[Eye on Business] 10th anniversary of Styler: Electronic closet invented by LG creates new market

“Do you have a Styler at home?” Just like global brands such as Jeep, Post-it and Hotchkiss, the name “Styler” has blossomed into a proper noun for a clothing care system in modern society. Invented by South Korea’s LG Electronics, the LG Tromm Styler has innovated a new category in the home appliance market over the past decade and become one of the essential home appliances, along with TVs, refrigerators and washing machines. The development story of Styler

Feb. 3, 2021

S. Korea’s major mobile carriers enjoy expanding 5G business in 2020

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic crippled markets worldwide last year, South Korea’s three major mobile carriers have seen improved results from their investments in media and platform services, along with expanded 5G network businesses. According to the latest report from market research firm FnGuide, the combined revenue of South Korea’s three major mobile carriers in 2020 are expected to reach 55.7 trillion won, up 2.4 percent on-year. The combined operating profit of the three mob

Feb. 3, 2021

S. Korea to invest over W200b in VR industry this year

South Korea will invest 202.4 billion won ($181.8 million) this year in virtual reality (VR) technology and devices to support the growth of the country's digital content industry, according to the ICT ministry on Wednesday. The move comes after the government unveiled a broader interagency investment plan for the industry last year, setting aside over 400 billion won for this year, in line with its digital New Deal program, which aims to spend 58.2 trillion won in key tech industries to create

Feb. 3, 2021

Telcos likely to offer teleconferencing for free during Lunar New Year amid pandemic

South Korean mobile carriers will likely provide videoconference services for free during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, according to industry officials Wednesday, as in-person contact is limited to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the country's three major telecom operators -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- are considering such telecommunication support measures during the holiday period, which falls on Feb. 11-13 this year, as t

Feb. 3, 2021

Cyworld to restart service

Cyworld, South Korea’s first-generation social media platform from the early 2000s, will restart its service next month, according to local industry sources on Tuesday. Cyworld has been recently acquired by a consortium of five local entertainment firms. Cyworld Z, an entity established by the five to take over Cyworld, said that the company plans to bring back the Cyworld service in March after two weeks of beta testing. It plans to introduce a mobile version of the social network dur

Feb. 2, 2021

Samsung Electronics among world's 50 most admired firms

Samsung Electronics has regained a spot on the Fortune list of the world’s 50 most admired companies, according to the survey published by the US economic magazine on Monday. The tech behemoth this year ranked 49th, becoming the only South Korean company to make the top 50 this year. Samsung Electronics this year received 7.56 points, slightly up from 7.50 a year earlier. Samsung Electronics marked top scores in five evaluation categories, including innovation, global competitiveness

Feb. 2, 2021

Seoul has fastest 5G network speeds: report

Seoul boasts the world’s fastest 5G network services, according to a broadband speed test conducted with iPhone 12 devices. According to Ookla’s speed test data published last month, Seoul ranked first with a median download speed of 472.28 megabits per second, followed by Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh, Sydney and Helsinki. Seoul had the fastest upload speed, reaching 49.09 megabits per second, the data also showed. Ookla’s report noted that

Feb. 2, 2021

Naver doles out hefty bonuses to executives

Naver gave out hefty stock bonuses to its 98 executives worth a combined 3.1 billion won ($2.78 million), the company said Tuesday, after the tech giant raked in record-high profits last year. CEO Han Seong-sook received 1,000 treasury stocks of the firm, amounting to 355 million won based on Thursday’s closing price of 355,000 won apiece. Chief Operating Officer Choi In-hyuk, Chief Communications Officer Chae Sun-joo and Chief Financial Officer Park Sang-jin received 700 shares each,

Feb. 2, 2021

S. Korea to spend nearly W3tr for overhead cable maintenance

South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday it will invest 2.85 trillion won ($2.55 billion) until 2025 for the maintenance and replacement of aged and messy overhead electrical and telecommunications cables across the country. Over five years, the ministry plans to spend 1.4 trillion won for cable maintenance, while investing 1.45 trillion won to put them underground, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The move comes after the country spent 2.6 trillion won for cable maintenance in aro

Feb. 2, 2021

S. Korea to offer info on 'virus-safe' restaurants via Kakao platform

South Korea said Tuesday it has teamed up with the mobile giant Kakao Corp. to provide local consumers with information on restaurants that have strictly followed sanitary guidelines to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The service offers locations of restaurants that have employees wear protective masks at all times and provide separate utensils for communal dishes and pots, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Kakao operates South Korea's most popular mo

Feb. 2, 2021