[Weekender] ‘No better time to quit’

If health warnings about smoking tobacco did not hit close to home before, they should now: Smokers are at higher risk of developing severe disease and death from the novel coronavirus, according to top health authorities. “COVID-19 preys on lungs -- while the (the use of) tobacco makes them more vulnerable,” the World Health Organization said in a Facebook post. The international health organization said in a May 11 statement that smoking impaired lung function, making it harder f

Sept. 5, 2020

KakaoPage to enter US, China and Southeast Asia markets by 2022

KakaoPage, an entertainment company specializing in online cartoons, web novels, film, and TV series, will expand its business overseas, according to the company’s announcement on Friday. KakaoPage will expand its investments in mergers and acquisitions to enter the market in the US, China and nations in Southeast Asia by 2022, KakaoPage CEO Lee Jin-soo said Thursday during a talk with Vivek Couto, an APOS organizer at Media Partners Asia. Lee‘s session was held as part of APOS

Sept. 4, 2020

Naver to recruit over 200 developers this year

Naver announced that it would start recruiting new platform developers and engineers starting on Friday. The IT firm said it would hire more than 200 developers this year. The business units that Naver are recruiting for include IT infrastructure unit Naver Business Platform, workplace collaboration tool developer Works Mobile, Snapchat-like camera app developer Snow, online cartoon platform operator Naver Webtoon and online financial platform operator Naver Financial. Those eligible to apply

Sept. 4, 2020

Market share of local app store increases

The market share of South Korean app store One Store has reached a record high of 18.4 percent in August with 68.9 billion won, according to a local market research agency here Thursday. One Store is the largest local app store platform developed by the nation’s three mobile carriers -- KT, SK Telecom and LG U+ -- and Naver in 2016. The market shares of Google Play and Apple Store in August were 71 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, the market research report added. The report sa

Sept. 3, 2020

Samsung tops global TV and video streaming device market in Q1: report

Samsung Electronics Co. became the top player in the global TV and video streaming device market in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Thursday, as more people use internet video streaming services at home amid the pandemic. Samsung accounted for 14 percent of devices in use for TV streaming in the January-March period, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics, which tracked quarterly deployment of such streaming devices across 27 major countries. Samsung, the world's l

Sept. 3, 2020

Samsung introduces Europe-focused home appliances at IFA

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday introduced an array of home appliances targeting the European market, through a virtual press conference held to kick off IFA 2020 this week. Entitled “Life Unstoppable,” the online press conference amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic showcased the consumer electronics that Samsung expects to boost sales in Europe. “Samsung will continue providing products that offer European consumers a motivation to make a life that is unstoppable throu

Sept. 2, 2020

Korea's ICT Ministry to invest W499b to boost big data

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced Wednesday that it would inject 499 billion won ($420.6 million) of supplementary budget this year to support artificial intelligence big data-powered businesses as part of the Korean New Deal. The budget will be provided to 2,103 local businesses, developers and institutions, according to the ICT Ministry. The ministry added the investment is expected to create around 28,000 jobs. Of the total, 292.5 billion won will be spent on constructing data set

Sept. 2, 2020

LG to unveil new dual screen smartphone project Explore

LG Electronics said Wednesday the company will hold a virtual show to unveil its new smartphone project dubbed “Explore” involving a whole new form factor on Sept. 14. The company sent a 30-second invitation video to global media and industry officials, hinting at a new dual screen form whose main display rotates clockwise to make a T shape. At the end of the video, LG says, “Life gets better in unexpected ways when you discover the unexpected.” Last week, an excl

Sept. 2, 2020

Galaxy Z Fold2 offers larger, fuller foldable screen

The Galaxy Z Fold2, the second edition of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Fold, and the 5G version of the Galaxy Z Flip were fully unveiled through a livestream event on Tuesday. The successor to Samsung’s first-ever foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold – and its third foldable device after the Galaxy Z Flip -- features a larger and fuller bendable display that aims to offer users greater immersion and the convenience of having a large-size screen. In comparison with the first

Sept. 1, 2020

Samsung back in gridlock upon indictment

Samsung Electronics is facing a harder time than ever before, finding itself at the center of another legal battle against prosecutors as its heir apparent Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday was indicted for his alleged role in a 2015 merger and fraudulent accounting. Legal representatives for Samsung released a lengthy statement upon the indictment questioning the legitimacy of the prosecutors’ decision that apparently ignored an independent panel’s opinion in June that they should not file

Sept. 1, 2020

LG U+ forges AR, VR alliance with global tech firms, telecom firms

Korean mobile carrier LG U+ announced Tuesday that the company has forged an alliance to create augmented reality and virtual reality content. Joining the Global XR Content Telco Alliance are telecommunications firms LG U+, KDDI in Japan, Bell in Canada and China Telecom. Award-winning entertainment studios Felix & Paul Studios and Atlas V are also joining the alliance as partner companies. Alliance members and partner companies will bring together their resources and technologies to cre

Sept. 1, 2020

Study offers evidence of asymptomatic COVID-19 transmission on plane

Asymptomatic carriers may be capable of spreading the novel coronavirus to others on airplanes, a new study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed. The study, published in the peer-reviewed Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, found that a passenger on an evacuation flight from Milan to Seoul appears to have contracted the disease after sharing the same bathroom as an asymptomatic patient. That passenger, who was seated three rows away from the said patient,

Sept. 1, 2020

LG opens first 3D virtual exhibition for IFA 2020

For those who can’t physically check out the latest home appliances and TVs at IFA 2020, the biggest annual trade show in Europe, LG Electronics said Tuesday it has opened its first 3D virtual exhibition ahead of the show’s grand opening this week. The Korean tech company that previously would take one of the largest areas of the Messe Berlin building, Hall 18, for its exhibitions each year is now holding an online show that aims to provide a realistic experience of the same ha

Sept. 1, 2020

Study suggests children’s potential for ‘silent COVID-19 spread’

The novel coronavirus infection is relatively unnoticeable in children, leaving them less likely to get diagnosed. And despite their lack of distinct symptoms, children with COVID-19 can shed the virus for as long as over two weeks, a recent study found, highlighting their potential role in spreading the disease silently in the community. The study published Aug. 28 in the Journal of the American Medical Association assessed 91 children with COVID-19 in Korea to find that only 8.5 percent of t

Aug. 31, 2020

[News Focus] Semiconductor industry back in conservative mode

After successfully bolstering the supply side with aggressive investments over the last six months, the semiconductor industry is again in a conservative mode at least until the second quarter of next year, according to industry sources Monday. Such conservatism in making new investments is running deep across the memory market, in particular amid growing forecasts of slowing demand in the second half of the year. According to sources, the world’s two largest memory providers Samsung

Aug. 31, 2020

Samsung Display sold Suzhou LCD plant to CSOT

CSOT, a panel unit of Chinese home appliance maker TCL, acquired Samsung Display’s Suzhou LCD plant for $1.08 billion, making China the producer of half the world’s large LCDs, industry sources said Sunday. According to the sources, CSOT signed a deal with Samsung Display to acquire 60 percent of the Suzhou plant for $1.08 billion. The remaining 10 percent will be owned by the parent company, TCL, and 30 percent by the Suzhou city government. The Suzhou plant was responsible for

Aug. 30, 2020

SK Broadband moves to innovate pay TV service

As competition in over-the-top and pay TV services market intensifies, SK Broadband is seeking to overhaul its solutions. The company said Sunday it has changed the brand name to Lovely B tv, while adding new features and contents to its platform to increase user experience, including artificial intelligence recommendation engine and Supernova, which is designed to improve the quality of image and sound source based on AI-deep learning algorithms. The company has also transformed the user exp

Aug. 30, 2020

KT to hire new employees via virtual recruitment

Telecom operator KT said Sunday that it would hire around 400 new employees through virtual recruiting this fall. “The company decided to hire new employees to offer jobs to young people, although there are difficulties in operating a workforce amid the coronavirus pandemic,” the company said. KT said it would hire 400 new workers, including interns who will later get opportunities to become full-timers. The divisions that are open to applicants include marketing & sales, netwo

Aug. 30, 2020

Samsung mass-produces most-advanced DRAM with EUV process

Samsung Electronics began operating its second production line in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, the world’s largest chip plant, to mass-produce the most advanced mobile DRAM modules, the firm said Sunday. The assembly line has produced the industry’s first advanced third-generation 10-nano level (1z) LPDDR5 mobile DRAM using the extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, process technology for the first time, according to the tech giant. Samsung said the 16-gigabyte mobile DRAM has the hi

Aug. 30, 2020

Samsung sends invitation for unpacking Galaxy Z Fold 2

Samsung Electronics said Friday it has sent invitations to global media outlets and industry officials to the unpacking event for its third foldable smartphone Galaxy Z Fold2 on Sept. 1. Entitled as “Galaxy Z Fold2: Unpacked Part 2,” the event will explore in-depth the groundbreaking features of the second Fold edition. It will be livestreamed from Seoul though Samsung’s homepage (www.samsung.com), starting at 11 p.m. on Tuesday. The upgraded device from the first Galax

Aug. 28, 2020