ICT Ministry’s 2021 R&D budget set at W21.6tr, up 9.7%

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced Friday that the ministry’s research and development budget for 2021 is set at 21.6 trillion won ($18 billion), up 9.7 percent from 19.7 trillion won in 2020. The ICT Ministry said the additional funds would be spent on high-priority areas such as disease research and cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, fifth-generation wireless networks, self-driving vehicles and next-generation semiconductors. The budget for infectious

June 26, 2020

Google to correct unfair subscription practices for YouTube Premium service in S. Korea

Google LLC will correct unfair subscription practices related to its YouTube Premium service in South Korea, Seoul's telecommunications regulator said Thursday. Local consumers will be able to cancel the YouTube Premium service immediately and will be eligible for refunds based on their remaining subscription period, the Korea Communications Commission said after receiving Google's voluntary corrective measures. Previously, YouTube Premium users had to wait until the end of their monthly subs

June 25, 2020

Unlicensed frequency band to boost Wi-Fi speed, smart factory penetration: ministry

South Korea's move to offer an unlicensed 6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band will lead to superfast Wi-Fi services across the country and the building of 5G network-based smart factories, the science ministry said Thursday. The spectrum, ranging from 5,925 MHz through 7,125 MHz, will open for indoor use in September, with the entire frequency to be made available by 2022, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea, the first country to begin commercial 5G services in April 3 last

June 25, 2020

For children, COVID-19 detected longer in feces than saliva: study

The novel coronavirus causing COVID-19 is detected in higher concentration for a longer period of time in feces than saliva, according to a recent study of children with mild case of the disease. The study, published June 4 in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Disease journal, shows COVID-19 tests using rectal swabs on pediatric patients yielded positive results at a much higher rate, 92 percent, than oral or nasal swabs, 73 percent. The viral load

June 24, 2020

Korean IT firms mobilize AI to tackle hateful comments online

An increasing number of IT companies in South Korea are developing artificial intelligence-based software to counter abusive online comments. The AI-based profanity filters help them to improve user experience by hiding unpalatable comments on their platforms, according to industry sources. One of them is the nation’s top game company Nexon, which in 2017 created an in-house AI research and development team called Intelligence Labs. The team of around 200 engineers has developed its ow

June 24, 2020

Princeton’s AI scholar to head Samsung Research

Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday that Sebastian Seung, an artificial intelligence expert, will head its AI research arm, strengthening its prowess in the sector. The computer engineering professor at Princeton University will lead Samsung’s 15 R&D centers in 13 countries, including Korea, and seven AI centers, to develop future technologies. The scholar joined Samsung as chief research scientist in 2018 soon after Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong announced his plan to recruit to

June 24, 2020

Samsung heir reiterates urgency during visit to consumer electronics unit

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday highlighted the importance of timing again during his visit to the consumer electronics headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Lee met with Kim Hyun-suk, CEO of the consumer electronics business, and other top executives to discuss artificial intelligence and internet of things strategies, sales expansion of the premium lineup and reinforcing online businesses. “The business environment is testing our limits,” Lee said.

June 23, 2020

Korea sees delays in ‘real 5G’ commercialization

Despite a steady growth in the number of 5G mobile network subscribers who pay higher bills than with LTE services, South Korea’s plan for its full-fledged commercialization seems to be facing delays, according to industry sources Tuesday. The so-called “real 5G,” which requires operation of the higher-frequency bandwidth of 28 gigahertzes to make data processing 20 times faster than the 4G LTE, is still not ready for commercialization, due to unexpected circumstances such a

June 23, 2020

Cyworld’s fate hinges on court’s decision

The future of Cyworld, a social media platform that was very popular years ago, depends on a final court ruling on CEO Jeon Jae-wan, according to industry sources Tuesday. Jeon has been indicted on charges of failing to pay a total of 1 billion won ($830 million) to his former employees after the company suffered financial difficulties. The trial is scheduled on July 25 at Seoul Eastern District Court. If the court next month rules that Jeon is largely responsible for the payment delays, it

June 23, 2020

KT unveils Wi-Fi service for wide coverage at home amid pandemic

KT Corp., South Korea's telecommunications giant, on Monday released a new Wi-Fi service that reaches the corners of homes as telework has increased during the pandemic. The new service, named the GiGA Wi, incorporates two Wi-Fi routers. An extra wireless router allows the Wi-Fi signal to reach remote corners of homes where the main router cannot cover, while sharing a single Wi-Fi network name, according to KT. The carrier said it developed the new service due to increasing demand for better

June 22, 2020

[Monitor] Mobile shopping in Korea reaches all-time high

According to Digieco, an economic research institute affiliated with KT, the size of mobile shopping in South Korea in the first quarter this year reached an all-time high at nearly 25 trillion won. The report was based on DMC Media’s data. Online transactions for food delivery services, in particular, showed a large growth reaching 3.5 trillion won as of the first quarter, compared to around 500 billion won in the first quarter of 2017. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

June 22, 2020

Leaders of KT and GSMA hold online summit

South Korean telecommunications firm KT’s CEO Koo Hyun-mo on Friday held a video conference with Global System for Mobile Association Director General Mats Granryd to share ideas on future of ICT industry in post-coronavirus era, the company said Sunday. During their first official one-on-one meeting between the two, Koo stressed the increasing importance of telecommunications firms in the ICT sectors. Koo said 5G network and artificial intelligence technology will be the key factors tha

June 21, 2020

LG, Samsung claim clothes refreshers can disinfect face masks

  If used face masks could be disinfected, and then possibly reused, that would be a good thing for people suffering shortages of masks. South Korea's two largest electronics firms -- Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. -- are saying that their clothes refreshers can disinfect face masks using sanitization features amid the coronavirus pandemic.  LG claims that its Tromm Styler, a clothes care appliance, can kill over 99.9 percent of the virus found in face masks whe

June 20, 2020

Tech firms support virus fight with mobile QR-code apps

    Major South Korean tech firms are supporting the country's virus fight with their own smartphone applications for QR code-based registration, a scheme meant to stem further spread of the new coronavirus and trace potential cases, industry sources said Saturday. Starting on June 10, the country has enforced QR code-based entry logs at facilities with high risks of infections in the greater Seoul area and selected cities in its latest efforts to track and contain the COVID

June 20, 2020

Samsung heir checks out semiconductor business

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the company’s semiconductor headquarters in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, to check on its operations, the tech giant said Friday. The heir apparent discussed Samsung’s road map for next-generation semiconductor development, including memory and system-on-chips, strategies for manufacturing facilities and materials and long-term measures to respond to the COVID-19 impact. Lee also visited the chipmaker’s research and de

June 19, 2020

Samsung inks 5G deal with Canada’s Telus

Samsung Electronics said Friday it has been selected as the 5G network infrastructure supplier for Canada-based telecom firm Telus, laying the groundwork for its presence as one of the primary vendors in the country. Telus, founded in 1990, has 13.4 million mobile subscribers with annual revenue of C$14.4 billion ($10.4 billion). Canada plans to invest C$40 billion to deploy 5G networks across the country in addition to C$200 billion investments made in establishing wireless networks, freq

June 19, 2020

[Graphic News] Number of animals used for experiments triples in decade

　The number of animals used for experiments in South Korea nearly tripled in 2019 from 10 years earlier, data showed, with private firms carrying out most of the related research. 　South Korea used 3.71 million animals for research purposes last year, up sharply from just 1.32 million in 2010, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The figure, however, remained nearly flat from 3.72 million in 2018. 　Rodents accounted for the majority at 87 percent in 2019, follo

June 19, 2020

[Photo News] 50th anniversary of KT SAT

The first satellite built by KT SAT in 1970 at its center in Geumsan, South Chungcheong Province (left), and engineers at the Geumsan Satellite Center in South Chungcheong Province (right). The center operated by KT SAT marked its 50th anniversary on Thursday when the division of mobile carrier KT announced it plans to launch the sixth communications satellite by 2024 at the earliest. “Koreasat 6A will be able to handle the sharp increase in data traffic in the 5G era,” the company

June 18, 2020

LG Tromm Styler capable of killing viruses in masks

LG Electronics said Thursday a study found its flagship steam-based home appliance Tromm Styler is capable of disinfecting viruses in masks. According to a recent test by a research team at Chonnam National University, the anti-virus clothing care course of the Tromm Styler removes over 99.99 percent of viruses such as influenza A, adenovirus, herpes and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, the company said. The PEDV is another type of coronavirus, which is different from the novel coronavirus

June 18, 2020

Samsung launches blood pressure monitoring app in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. launched a blood pressure monitoring mobile application in South Korea on Thursday.  Samsung said users of its smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch Active2, will be able to access the Samsung Health Monitor app, which can measure and track their blood pressure. The software leverages the smartwatch's wrist sensors and conducts pulse wave analysis to check a person's blood pressure. To measure blood pressure, users must have the app installed on both the Galaxy Watch Activ

June 18, 2020