East Asian medical encyclopedia, Korea’s first coin telephone under review as scientific heritage items

The National Science Museum, operated by the Science and ICT Ministry, said Monday that it was reviewing a list of eight items that may qualify for official recognition as part of South Korea’s scientific heritage. They include an early coin-operated public telephone and a series of books about East Asian medicine that was recognized as a national treasure in 2015. Donguibogam, compiled and edited by Joseon-era physician Heo Jun, is an encyclopedia of East Asian medical knowledge and tec

Nov. 30, 2020

Ministry's frequency redistribution price still higher than carriers' offer

The ICT ministry said Monday the redistribution price for past generation network frequency bands used by the country's major mobile carriers should be at least 3.17 trillion won ($2.9 billion). The ministry and the three telecom operators -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- had been locked in a fierce debate in recent months over the redistribution price of 2G, 3G and 4G frequency bands that are set to expire next year. The Ministry of Science and ICT's final price offer, howeve

Nov. 30, 2020

Apple to make harder push in Korea with 2nd Apple Store

Apple Korea announced Monday it would open its second South Korean store in Yeouido, the financial district in northwestern Seoul, as part of a strategy to expand its sales and services in the country. Although the Seoul branch didn’t reveal an official date for the opening of the new Apple Store, the second shop is likely to open within the year. The second Apple Store of the global tech giant will be located in the first basement floor of the IFC Mall in Yeouido. Apple is opening

Nov. 30, 2020

Will rumors of ‘no Galaxy Note in 2021’ turn out to be true?

Several moves recently made by Samsung allude to a major change in the tech giant’s smartphone lineup strategy for 2021, according to various news reports on Monday. One of the biggest changes would be a reduction of the Galaxy Note, which used to be Samsung’s flagship smartphone model along with its signature S Pen and has been released in the second half of each year for the past 10 years. High-profile tipsters like Max Weinbach and Ice Universe, as well as smartphone-focus

Nov. 30, 2020

S. Korea's 5G users near 10m in Oct.: data

South Korea's number of 5G users reached nearly 10 million as of end-October, ministry data showed Monday. The number of 5G subscribers stood at 9.98 million as of the end of October, up 735,113 from the previous month, according to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The 5G subscribers accounted for 14.2 percent of the country's mobile subscriptions totaling 70.4 million. South Korea commercially rolled out 5G in April 2019 for the first time in the world. The latest figure comes as

Nov. 30, 2020

Apple to open 2nd store in S. Korea

Apple Inc. said Monday it will open a new store in South Korea, expanding its presence in the country dominated by local tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. Apple said on its homepage that it will soon open a new store in Yeouido, western Seoul, its second official store in the country. Despite the US tech giant's popularity in the local market, it currently operates one official store in South Korea in southern Seoul. Apple's new iPhone 12 series has sold around 600,000 models since its launc

Nov. 30, 2020

IPhone 12 sales estimated at 600,000 in S. Korea

Apple Inc.'s iPhone 12 models have drawn a keen response in South Korea, with sales of the newest models estimated to be some 600,000 here since their launch late last month, industry sources said Monday, almost on par with the feat of Samsung Electronics Co.'s flagship models. The country's three major carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- are estimated to have sold around 500,000 iPhone 12 series models since Oct. 30, according to the sources. Considering that unlocked m

Nov. 30, 2020

[Chew on IT] Major M&As reshape global chip market

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has proven the importance of semiconductors. While the novel coronavirus has roiled many other industries, the chip industry has not just survived, but thrived owing to a surge in demand for noncontact businesses. Despite the border shutdowns, the world’s leading chipmakers -- regardless of which specific segments of the markets they are playing in -- have been silently preparing for a new chapter in the industry’s growth after the COVID-19 crisis.

Nov. 29, 2020

LG Uplus’ CEO creates new biz unit for growth

LG Uplus, the third-biggest mobile carrier by subscriptions in South Korea, said Sunday that it has created a division for new businesses that it hopes will propel the company’s growth. The telecom company said it has decided to combine small business units scattered across the organization -- covering areas ranging from smart health to security, education, advertising and data -- and form one group that will be the carrier’s core unit for new growth. It was part of the first org

Nov. 29, 2020

OECD highlights S. Korea's COVID-19 response

South Korea's COVID-19 pandemic response was highlighted in a report compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the ICT ministry said Friday. The OECD included South Korea's use of technology to combat the pandemic this year in its Digital Economic Outlook report, such as the country's mobile application that monitors those under quarantine and its epidemiological investigation system, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The report shares policy mea

Nov. 27, 2020

KT to support homegrown parts suppliers amid pandemic

South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. said Friday it will invest 9 billion won ($8.1 million) over the next three years to reduce its reliance on overseas suppliers amid the pandemic. KT said it will make the investment until 2023 to help its local suppliers manufacture homegrown materials and parts for equipment used by the telecom operator. The move comes as KT seeks to strengthen partnerships with local companies as uncertainties from the COVID-19 pandemic weigh on global supply chains. The

Nov. 27, 2020

LG Electronics to establish new biz center in US to seek future growth engines

LG Electronics, a major home appliance maker in South Korea, on Thursday said it will set up a new business unit in the United States to seek future growth opportunities. LG's North American Innovation Center will be based in Silicon Valley, California, with the task of exploring new business opportunities and cooperating with leading tech firms there, the company said. Rhee Sokwoo, who served as an associate director at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will head

Nov. 26, 2020

Study says woman was reinfected with COVID-19 shortly after recovering

A young, previously healthy person who caught and recovered from COVID-19 was infected again with a different strain of the pathogen, a recent study in South Korea shows. A 21-year-old woman who had been admitted to a hospital with mild COVID-19 symptoms in Seoul in March tested positive again in April, six days after being discharged on March 30, according to the study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. She was screened again after she reported a cough that kept getting wo

Nov. 26, 2020

S. Korean mobile carriers eye more cloud gaming users as demand grows

South Korean telecom operators are targeting wider market penetration of cloud gaming services by expanding availability, industry officials said Thursday, amid strong demand from mobile gamers. The country's three major carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- have in recent months opened up their subscription services that stream console games on smartphones to other carrier users and networks. Last week, LG Uplus expanded its 5G cloud gaming service GeForce NOW's availabil

Nov. 26, 2020

KT announces first IPTV export to Thailand

South Korean mobile carrier KT said Thursday the company’s Internet Protocol television service is now available in Thailand, marking the first export case of IPTV platform technology to a foreign country. Dubbed the “3BB GIGA TV,” KT’s IPTV platform combined with over-the-top media service is being made available in the Southeast Asian country staring Thursday under a 24 billion won ($21.7 million) deal. KT worked with 11 local partners over the past 15 months via

Nov. 26, 2020

SK Telecom spins off mobility business

  SK Telecom announced Thursday the mobile carrier’s shareholders approved the spinoff of its mobility business unit as part of enhancing the carrier’s future mobility solutions. Approved by 99.98 percent of its shareholders, a new mobility business dubbed as T Map Mobility will be established on Dec. 29 as a wholly owned subsidiary. The unit has been operating SKT’s T Map service, the largest mobile navigation service whose users doubled from its rival Kakao’

Nov. 26, 2020

S. Korea to roll out more digital services amid pandemic

South Korea will start to unveil more digital services, from mobile identification to artificial intelligence (AI) doctors, as the pandemic limits face-to-face contact, the ICT ministry said Thursday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it has named key services to support for digital transition amid the pandemic, including rolling out mobile identification for public servants from this year and mobile driver's licenses from next year. The ministry said it will also pursue a test service for

Nov. 26, 2020

Samsung maintains top spot in Western Europe smartphone market in Q3: report

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained the top spot in the Western Europe smartphone market in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Thursday, despite sales decline. The South Korean tech giant shipped 10.3 million smartphones in Western Europe in the July-September period for a 35.6 percent market share, according to industry researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). The figures were slightly down from a year ago when the company shipped 11 million smartphones for a 35.8 percent marke

Nov. 26, 2020

Is COVID-19 like the flu?

Perhaps one of the most frequently posed questions since the pandemic’s onset is how the new virus may compare to seasonal influenza. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Oh Myoung-don, who leads the National Medical Center’s committee for clinical management of emerging infectious diseases, said during a press conference Tuesday that complications from “COVID-19 might not be more severe than the flu.” “Certain cardiovascular and neurological complications have been

Nov. 25, 2020

SK Telecom enters semiconductor biz with new AI chip

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's leading wireless carrier, unveiled Wednesday a new artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor for data center operations, expanding its business to the semiconductor market. The new SAPEON X220 is the first AI chip developed by the mobile carrier and also the country's first AI chip for data centers. SK Telecom said its new semiconductor will target the global AI chip market set to grow to 50 trillion won ($45 billion) by 2024, citing data from market researcher

Nov. 25, 2020