[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Third inter-Korean talks feature VR, 5G technologies for immersive viewing

The third summit between South and North Korea held on Friday at Panmunjeom marked a major technological difference from the previous talks in 2000 and 2007. South Korea’s mobile carriers KT and SK Telecom actively supported the historical event with cutting-edge fifth-generation telecommunications technologies to promote their upcoming mobile services to international viewers.  The head mounted device installed by KT at 5G exhibition booth at Kintex. (Sohn Ji-young/The Korea Herald)Among others

April 27, 2018

LG spurs vehicle component biz with biggest M&A of light maker ZKW

LG Electronics and its holding company LG Corp. announced Thursday they had acquired a 100 percent stake in Austrian automotive light maker ZKW Group for some 1.44 trillion won ($1.33 billion), spurring its vehicle component business as a new growth engine. According to the announcement, LG Electronics bought a 70 percent stake in ZKW Group for 1.108 trillion won, while LG Corp. purchased 30 percent of the Austrian firm’s shares at 433.2 billion won.The acquisition plan was confirmed at a board

April 26, 2018

[Reporter’s Column] Lunch with Kakao’s new CEO Yeo Min-soo

I’ve never been one to have my numbers called in a lottery.　Naturally, I was pretty unfazed when Kakao announced at a recent press conference that four winners of a raffle would get a chance to have lunch with one of Kakao’s two new co-CEOs.　Despite my initial skepticism, I found that perhaps my fortune fares better when it doesn’t involve prizes like a new TV or rice cooker. My business card, to my utter surprise, was chosen. As a tech reporter, it was pretty exciting, to say the least.In South

April 26, 2018

Naver’s Q1 operating profit falls 11.6% on-year over AI investment costs

Naver, the operator of South Korea’s largest portal website and search engine, said Thursday that its operating profit in the first quarter fell 11.6 percent on-year to 257 billion won ($238 million), largely due to increased investment into new technologies like artificial intelligence.Revenue during the January-March period rose 21 percent on-year to 1.31 trillion won. Net profit during the quarter came in at 153.8 billion won, down 27.1 percent on-year, according to Naver’s earnings report.Na

April 26, 2018

Samsung mass produces DRAM for automobiles with high thermal endurance

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it had begun mass producing DRAM chips for automobiles, which can endure heat of up to 125 degrees Celsius.The chips are 10-nanometer-class 16-gigabit DRAM capable of enduring hot temperatures during automotive applications. The latest 16Gb DRAM is the industry’s first automotive solution, raising the temperature threshold from the current 105 degrees Celsius to 125 degrees Celsius, making them automotive grade 1-compliant.  16Gb DRAM (Samsung Electronics)The r

April 25, 2018

Naver ups regulation of news comment system after opinion-rigging scandal

Naver, the operator of South Korea’s main portal website and search engine, on Wednesday rolled out a new set of restrictions for its online news comment system in light of burgeoning controversy over an opinion-rigging scandal that involved abuse of the system.　Naver has capped the number of times a user can click “agree” or “disagree” on a comment at 50 times within a 24-hour timeframe. Until now, there had not been any restrictions on the number of times a user could click “agree” or “disagre

April 25, 2018

Nexon Korea CEO denies rumors of Bitstamp acquisition

Nexon Korea CEO Lee Jung-hun on Wednesday denied rumors that the company is considering the acquisition of Bitstamp, the world’s oldest surviving bitcoin exchange.　“Nexon Korea does not have anything to do with a Bitstamp acquisition,” Lee said during a press conference held at the Nexon Korea headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. “We do not have any plans to link cryptocurrencies with our game business,” he said, adding that this does not mean Nexon is ruling out the use of bloc

April 25, 2018

Samsung launches highest-spec consumer-focused SSD products globally

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it is launching the third generation of its consumer solid-state drive lineup Samsung 970 PRO and EVO for the global market, which will set new standards for nonvolatile memory express SSD products. NVMe refers to an interface enabling high-speed data processing. Samsung first introduced NVMe products in 2015. The Samsung 970 PRO and EVO are designed to provide large-volume storage with the fastest computing power so far by adopting Samsung’s latest 64-layer V-NA

April 25, 2018

Nexon targets blind spots in games with big data, AI

With aims to develop games that are fun to play for users, video game companies have been focusing primarily on building a strong game core design -- such as devising intricate internal rules or applying quality graphics and sounds.To achieve a fun gameplay model, however, developers are now pushed to focus more on the factors affecting users’ gaming experience, such as variations in the circumstances a user encounters in a game, which can often be difficult to detect. And the process of finding

April 24, 2018

SKT to provide blockchain-based asset management service

SK Telecom will provide an asset management service by using blockchain technologies within this year, and build a platform that will help match blockchain startups with investors for growth of the techs and related industry, the mobile carrier’s blockchain unit head said Tuesday. Oh Se-hyeon, executive vice president of SKT’s blockchain business unit, said the company is planning to launch a blockchain-based asset management and payment service, which will ensure trust for peer-to-peer transact

April 24, 2018

Mobile carriers prepare cutting-edge ICT tech to support upcoming inter-Korean talks

South Korea’s mobile carriers on Monday are preparing their cutting-edge network infrastructure to make the historic third summit between South and North Korea via the fifth-generation network as immersive as possible to viewers around the world. KT has been installing broadcasting and telecommunicating network systems at Panmunjeom. The company said Monday it signed an agreement with Cheong Wa Dae’s preparatory committee for the summit to provide technological support for the inter-Korean talks

April 23, 2018

SK Holdings C&C releases white paper detailing AI’s use across industries

Artificial intelligence is considered a transformative technology promising vast improvements for businesses across all sectors. While we understand that AI is useful, exactly what kind of benefits can it bring to companies? 　SK Holdings C&C, the information technology services unit of South Korea’s SK Group, aims to help answer the question with the release of a new white paper detailing where and how AI solutions can be leveraged to improve various tasks for business organizations.SK Holdings

April 23, 2018

[News Focus] Mobile carriers face mounting 5G costs, falling profits

South Korean mobile carriers are feeling the pinch as they are facing rising costs due to the establishment of the fifth-generation mobile network infrastructure while being pressured to cut mobile service fees, industry insiders said Sunday. Amid the increasing pressures on the country’s three telecom companies to cut households’ mobile costs, the upcoming auction for 5G frequencies in mid-June is predicted to charge the operators huge costs, making it harder for them to seek margins. On Thursd

April 22, 2018

Samsung mulls launching new Galaxy phone in China

Samsung Electronics is considering the release of new Galaxy smartphones in China to restore its market share there, according to the tech titan on Sunday. Samsung recently won certification from Chinese authority TENNA for the new SM-8750 model, which has raised speculations globally about what will be the name of the new model. According to a Samsung official, the new model will be released as a variant of the Galaxy S series. However, the name has not been confirmed yet.  Chinese consumers lo

April 22, 2018

Samsung Display joins move to halt disclosure of workplace reports

Samsung Display, the display unit of South Korean tech giant Samsung Group, said Friday that it has filed an administrative suit at the Daejeon District Court seeking to nullify the government’s order to disclose workplace assessment reports on the firm’s production plant.The display maker confirmed that it had filed the suit on April 17, challenging the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s mandate to publicize assessment reports on its production facility in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, on t

April 20, 2018

[Photo News] Line concludes global developer’s conference in Seoul

LINE DEVELOPER CONFERENCE -- Park Eui-vin (left), Chief Technology Officer at Line, delivers a keynote speech concluding the “2018 Dev Week Global Workshop” hosted by Line Plus, the Korean unit of Line, in Seoul on Friday. The annual event invites developers from Line’s offices worldwide to discuss the latest IT trends and issues. This year, the conference invited more than 1,000 of Line’s developers from seven countries to partake in various workshops. The four-day conference took place from Ap

April 20, 2018

[What’s happening at SK Telecom] Young blood in lead of SKT’s new ICT businesses

The Korea Herald is running a series of articles titled “What‘s Happening” to look into the culture and trends of companies operating in South Korea. -- Ed.Seeking to be a “new ICT company,” South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom is increasingly hunting for younger talents in the engineering field around the world in a bid to enhance its software capabilities. Those now at key technology posts at SKT leading information and communication technology initiatives were all born in 1970. The

April 19, 2018

Raonsecure aims for US operation momentum with RSA presentation

Raonsecure, a biometric technology solution provider to financial firms in South Korea, offered a theater presentation at RSA Conference 2018 in San Francisco, California, highlighting the “momentum for overseas business in America,” the company said Thursday. Raonsecure‘s presentation was made on Wednesday along with some 30 companies at the conference. Raonsecure was the only Korean company to be invited by US company Intel to give presentation.  (Raonsecure)The 30-minute session involved an o

April 19, 2018