[Graphic News] Cancer still leading cause of death in S. Korea

　Cancer has been the No. 1 cause of death in South Korea since 1983. 　The statistics agency said 574.8 deaths were reported per 100,000 people here last year. It also said 158.2 per 100,000 had died of cancer. 　Heart disease is the second-largest cause of death here, with 60.4 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by pneumonia with 45.1 deaths per 100,000 people. 　The leading causes of death included cerebrovascular disease, suicide, diabetes and Alzheimer‘s disease. (Yonhap)

Oct. 7, 2020

[Power Korea] Can stem cells eradicate dementia?

How far has humanity come in preventing -- or rewinding -- neurodegeneration? Designed Cells, a Korean stem cell therapy company, has the ambitious dream of achieving something no one has ever yet succeeded in doing: curing dementia. Dementia, which can be but is not always a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, is a cognitive dysfunction commonly found in aged seniors. However, it is not a normal part of aging -- the destructive effects of dementia go beyond the ordinary forgetfulness that mi

Oct. 6, 2020

SK hynix rolls out DDR5 chips as world’s first

South Korean memory chipmaker SK hynix announced Tuesday the company will launch the fifth generation of DRAM chips, DDR5, as the first in the world. Compared to its predecessor DDR4, the latest edition is 1.8 times faster and consumes 20 percent less power, making it optimal for big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions. SK had embarked on development of the first 16-gigabit DDR5 in November 2018 and sought cooperation from customers like Intel to complete verificat

Oct. 6, 2020

Samsung, LG perform better in Q3 despite pandemic

Anticipations are high for South Korea’s electronics industry to announce earnings surprises for the third quarter, despite initial worries about the impact of COVID-19, according to industry sources Monday. Due to higher sales of semiconductors, smartphones and home appliances over the last three months, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are forecast to report increased operating profits for the July-September period. According to the latest forecasts by financial market research

Oct. 5, 2020

Samsung's Galaxy S20 FE smartphone to go on sale in S. Korea next week

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday the budget model of its Galaxy S20 smartphone will go on sale in South Korea next week as the tech giant aims to boost its handset sales amid the pandemic. The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE) will hit local shelves on Oct. 16 with a price tag of 899,800 won ($770), according to Samsung, the world's largest smartphone vendor. Pre-orders for the S20 FE opened Monday for local consumers, and they can receive the device starting Oct. 13. The S20 FE, which was un

Oct. 5, 2020

Korean chipmakers to benefit from US restrictions on China's SMIC: analysts

South Korea's chipmakers are expected to benefit from the United States' export restrictions against China's leading foundry firm, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), analysts here said Saturday, as the ban could give them more opportunities to secure orders. The US Commerce Department recently added SMIC to its blacklist, saying that exports to the Chinese firm pose an "unacceptable risk" of being used for Beijing's military activities. The move prevents US

Oct. 3, 2020

S. Korean bio firms in race for COVID-19 treatment, vaccine development

South Korean pharmaceutical companies have joined the global race to develop vaccines and treatments for the novel coronavirus, and several of them have received approval for clinical trials from the country's drug safety agency. Among the front-runners is Celltrion Inc.'s antiviral antibody treatment candidate called CT-P59 that is currently undergoing phase two and three trials both at home and abroad. Celltrion said it has completed phase one clinical trials on 32 healthy adults in the coun

Oct. 3, 2020

South Korea's first-ever smart project soon to be in action

South Korea’s first smart city project, involving an area of 2,743,000 square meters in Sejong, is expected to take shape soon as local firms have recently joined the bidding competition. Other smart city projects, including one in Busan, are expected to follow as well. Parties that placed bids include a group led by LG CNS and KT-Hyundai Motor consortiums, according to sources familiar with the pilot smart city project. The successful bidder will work on this 2.5 trillion won ($2.1 bil

Oct. 2, 2020

[Newsmaker] Smartphone market heats up with new arrivals

Suffering from stalled growth in recent years, the smartphone market remained dull until the first half of this year amid the gloomy sentiment driven by the pandemic. But starting with Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 20 launch in August followed by LG Electronics’ new swiveling form factor smartphone in September, the market is seeing consumer excitement grow again with the releases of new models. Among others, the launches of new form factors seem to be leading the overall recov

Oct. 1, 2020

[Feature] The dangers of drinking solo

More South Koreans are drinking unaccompanied in the comfort of their homes since the novel coronavirus pandemic began. A September report on local alcohol beverage markets by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs showed that for 87.3 percent of consumers surveyed, home was their primary place of drinking and 45.2 percent said they were drinking alone. Kang Sang-yun, 28, is part of that demographic. He said he’d barely gone out for drinks since QR-coded ID became mandatory

Oct. 1, 2020

Samsung tops global smartphone market in Aug.: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the world's top smartphone vendor in August, a report showed Tuesday, as it widens the gap with China's Huawei Technologies Co. amid the pandemic. The South Korean tech giant accounted for a 22 percent share of the global smartphone market last month, beating Huawei with a 16 percent share, according to industry tracker Counterpoint Research. The gap of 6 percentage points between the two sides is the largest since February, when China's smartphone market was se

Sept. 29, 2020

Samsung joins hands with Microsoft for cloud-based 5G network solutions

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has joined forces with Microsoft Corp. to provide cloud-based private 5G network solutions as the South Korean tech giant tries to expand its presence in the next-generation communications sector. Samsung will deploy its virtualized radio access network (RAN), virtualized core, and multi-access edge computing technologies on Microsoft‘s cloud platform Azure, which will better support private 5G networks in enterprises. “The collaboration hig

Sept. 29, 2020

[Newsmaker] Google goes ahead with controversial in-app payment policy

Google said Tuesday that the company is updating its billing policies to require app developers distributing software through Google Play Store to use its own in-app payment system. All developers who are already distributing their software will have to use Google Play Store’s in-app purchase system instead of third-party payment systems, starting in October next yaer. The billing system charges a 30 percent fee to app developers. As for developers newly launching their applications

Sept. 29, 2020

S. Korean app developers cry foul over Google's 30% fee on all apps

Google Inc. faced strong backlash from South Korean developers after it announced Monday (US time) it will enforce its app market's billing system, which charges a 30 percent fee to all app developers. While Google has taken a 30 percent cut for all in-app purchases on the Play store through its billing system, some apps have circumvented the rule by using other systems, such as direct credit card payments. "We have clarified the language in our payments policy to be more explicit that al

Sept. 29, 2020

[Photo News] FTC chief visits Samsung

Fair Trade Commission Chairperson Joh Sung-wook (center) tries out Relumino -- Samsung Electronics’ visual aid application for people with low vision -- during a visit to the gallery of C-Lab, the tech giant’s in-house incubator program, in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Joh joined Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, and other executives during an event where Samsung announced programs to help partner firms. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Sept. 28, 2020

S. Korea on track for 1st lunar mission in 2022

South Korea is on track for its first lunar mission, with its first launch of a lunar orbiter slated for the second half of 2022, the country's space research institute said Sunday, after the country's lunar project suffered multiple delays. South Korea, a relative latecomer to the global space race, has been working on a lunar orbiter program since 2016. The spacecraft is expected to reach the moon by Dec. 16, 2022, and conduct a yearlong mission that could even be extended, according to the

Sept. 27, 2020

Mobile carriers launch services, events to support noncontact Chuseok holidays

Korean mobile carriers are preparing a variety of communication services and events for people staying at home during the Chuseok holidays next week. KT, the country’s No. 2 telecom company by subscribers, said Friday it will launch a challenge using the rich communication service, known as RCS, which is aimed to encourage people to send messages to loved ones. The RCS, which is a free messaging service launched between the country’s three major mobile carriers, can open gro

Sept. 25, 2020

S. Korea censored over 200,000 pieces of online data last year: report

South Korea censored over 200,000 pieces of online data in 2019, a report showed Friday, marking a slight decline from the previous year. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the country's censorship body, took action against 206,759 pieces of online data last year, such as blocking public access or deleting them, down from 238,246 in 2018, according to an annual report from the Clinical Legal Education Center under the Korea University's School of Law. The Korea Internet Tran

Sept. 25, 2020

Samsung Display receives highest UL grade for zero waste

Samsung Display said Thursday the company has received the highest level of certification for its efforts to produce no industrial waste from Underwriters Laboratories as the first Korean manufacturer. The Korean panel maker’s production site (line No.1) in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, obtained a platinum grade in the zero waste to landfill segment. Underwriters Laboratories grants the platinum level for manufacturing sites that recycle all of their industrial waste, while givin

Sept. 24, 2020

LG, Hyundai Motor co-work on homelike future car interior

LG Electronics unveiled a collaboration on future car interiors with Hyundai Motor Company, the tech giant said Thursday. Dubbed the “Ioniq Concept Cabin,” the model offers a glimpse of the inside of how future vehicles could look like if they go fully electrified. The two companies focused on maximizing the benefit of greater space inside of future electric vehicles than conventional combustion engine cars, aiming to make passengers feel at home. The Ioniq Concept Cabin feat

Sept. 24, 2020