Japanese movie ‘Your Name’ Korea’s top searched term on Google in 2017

Google Korea said Thursday that “Your Name,” a Japanese animated drama movie that hit South Korea’s theaters in January, was the most-searched term by users in Korea in 2017, with many other films and media content filling the local Top 10 search list. Google announces its annual rankings for the top Google searches each year, offering a glimpse into what people were most interested throughout the year. In Korea, Google’s search engine comes third in usage after local players Naver and Kakao-own

Dec. 14, 2017

Korea's ICT exports rise for 12th straight month in Nov.

South Korean exports of information and communication technology products increased for the 12th month in a row in November on upbeat sales of semiconductors, government data showed Thursday.A total of $18.62 billion worth of ICT products were shipped overseas last month, up 25.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT.The shipment of ICT products is the second highest tallied so far, trailing only the $19.2 billion reached in September. (Yo

Dec. 14, 2017

Koo says LG will concentrate on electric vehicles, energy 　

South Korean conglomerate LG’s second-in-command Vice Chairman Koo Bon-joon on Tuesday said the group will put its top priority on electric vehicle and energy businesses in the next 30 years, with an enhanced focus on business-to-business markets. Koo, the third son of honorary Chairman Koo Cha-kyoung, is currently at the forefront of leading LG’s new businesses that will drive future growth, although his older brother Chairman Koo Bon-moo is at the helm of the group. The younger brother preside

Dec. 13, 2017

Korea to form new body for discussing fair IT policy direction

South Korea’s media regulator said Wednesday it would form a new body to oversee key policy issues affecting the internet business sector, including the establishment of equal regulations for Korean and foreign firms alike. They will also discuss deregulation to support firms seeking to introduce novel technologies and business models to the market.The Korea Communications Commission met with the heads of Korea’s eight representative internet companies, including Naver, Kakao, Google Korea, Face

Dec. 13, 2017

Korea to start digitizing hospital prescription forms next year

A visit to the hospital typically ends in a doctor prescribing a particular set of medications, the details of which are printed on a physical form and handed to the patient. The patient must then take the form and submit it to a pharmacist. Looking to overturn this traditional model, South Korea has set out to start digitizing prescription forms and make them accessible via mobile devices. The Korea Internet & Security Agency said Tuesday that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Se

Dec. 12, 2017

[Photo News] KAIST’s humanoid robot carries 2018 PyeongChang Olympics torch

HUMANOID ROBOT CARRIES OLYMPICS TORCH — Hubo, a humanoid robot developed by a team of researchers led by Professor Oh Jun-ho at Korea’s top science and technology research university KAIST, receives the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics torch from Dennis Hong, the founding director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at UCLA, in Daejeon, Monday. It is the first time that a robot has carried the Olympic torch. (Yonhap)HUMANOID ROBOT CARRIES OLYMPICS TORCH — Hubo, a humanoid robot developed by a tea

Dec. 12, 2017

Samsung, Amazon to start streaming premium video content

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it will start the streaming of videos that utilize the latest High Dynamic Range 10 Plus technology via its premium TVs with the US-based Amazon.com.Under the agreement, users of Samsung's high-end QLED and UHD TVs can enjoy quality content through the Amazon Prime Video streaming application starting Wednesday. The HDR 10 Plus technology is a next-generation standard for high-resolution video content promoted by Samsung. Shown in this picture, released by Sa

Dec. 12, 2017

US safeguard against Samsung, LG to halve washer imports: panel

If a US safeguard is implemented on products manufactured by South Korean appliance makers, the number of washing machines imported to the country is expected to half, according to a report compiled by a US trade watchdog.In the final report on its Section 201 investigation to US President Donald Trump last week, the US International Trade Commission stated that a broad tariff will increase the retail prices of large residential washers (LRW) sold in the US market compared to 2016 while benefitt

Dec. 11, 2017

Samsung newly invests in Chinese machine vision firm

Samsung Electronics continues to make investments in foreign artificial intelligence technology businesses, especially focusing on Chinese firms, according to sources Monday. The South Korean tech behemoth recently invested $20 million in Vion Technologies, a Chinese AI firm specializing in machine vision, in partnership with Swiss automation company ABB, Chinese venture firm Tsing Capital and Hong Kong’s Waterwood, reported a Chinese news outlet. Vion Technologies is an AI solutions and product

Dec. 11, 2017

LG Electronics may adopt iris scanner for next flagship: sources

LG Electronics Inc. has filed a patent related to iris-scanner technology to the UN agency dealing with intellectual property issues, a report said, an indication that the South Korean smartphone maker may adopt an iris scanner for its next flagship smartphone.The Netherlands-based LetsGoDigital said in a report that LG Electronics took the step with the World Intellectual Property Organization.The move suggested that LG Electronics may adopt iris-scanner technology for its upcoming flagship, pr

Dec. 11, 2017

Korea nurtures 2nd Pangyo techno valley

The government said Monday that it will expand a second startup complex near Seoul in a bid to further boost promising local startups and attract foreign companies.The "2nd Techno Valley" in Pangyo, just south of Seoul, is designed to nurture some 1,400 startups, offering workspace and consulting services for funding at cheap prices, according to the finance ministry.Pangyo -- South Korea's answer to Silicon Valley in the US -- is already home to many technology companies, including NCsoft Corp.

Dec. 11, 2017

NCSoft’s ‘Lineage M’ arrives in Taiwan

South Korean game company NCSoft said Monday that it had launched “Lineage M,” a mobile remake of its megahit online role-playing game “Lineage,” in Taiwan via its local publishing partner Gamania Digital Entertainment Co.“Lineage M” is now available for download in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau through the Google Play app store and Apple’s App Store, according to NCSoft.Developed by NCSoft, “Lineage M” is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game for mobile devices. It aims to recreate the

Dec. 11, 2017

Samsung Electronics ranks No. 4 in R&D spending

Samsung Electronics Co. ranked No. 4 among 2,500 major global companies in terms of expenditures on research and development projects over the 2016-2017 period, data showed Monday.According to the 2017 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard released by the European Commission, the South Korean tech giant spent 12.2 billion euros ($14.3 billion) in R&D projects over the period, down two notches from the previous year.The report said the findings are based on the 2016 calendar year, but added sig

Dec. 11, 2017

Foodie camera app tops Korea’s 2017 Google Play App Awards

Foodie, the mobile camera app created by Snow Corp., a subsidiary of Naver, was awarded Best App of the Year by Google Play in South Korea, Google Korea said. Foodie is a camera app equipped with more than 30 filters designed for taking better pictures of food. Since its launch in February 2016, the app has racked up more than 10 million downloads on the Google Play app store.Best Game of the Year went to “Lineage II: Revolution,” the hit mobile role-playing game developed by Seoul-based Netmarb

Dec. 10, 2017

[Newsmaker] Korea to crack down on Tumblr for failing to manage profane content

South Korea’s media regulator has set out to strengthen its watch on US-based microblogging website Tumblr which has been criticized for its passive attitude in stopping the circulation of profane and inappropriate content on its platform.　The Korea Communications Commission on Wednesday announced a new set of policies to curb the prolfieration of profane content on the web, citing plans to amend current communications law to ensure they can be applied equally to both Korean and foreign internet

Dec. 7, 2017

Korea aims to become global player in drone sector by 2030

South Korea unveiled a long-term plan Wednesday to develop unmanned vehicles, such as first passenger drones, with an aim of emerging as a global leader in the sector by 2030, the science ministry said Thursday.Under the road map crafted and announced by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Seoul will concentrate efforts to boost the development of future-oriented drones, self-driving cars, unmanned ships and agricultural machines.The ministry earlier designated the sector as one of the key strategi

Dec. 7, 2017

Korea maintains dominance over global DRAM market in Q3

South Korean tech giants maintained their strong dominance over the global market for dynamic random-access memory chips in the third quarter, data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by IHS Markit and other industrial sources, Samsung Electronics Co. accounted for 44.5 percent of the market in the third quarter in terms of revenue, followed by SK hynix Inc. with 27.9 percent. The combined revenue of the sector around the globe is estimated at $19.7 billion for the July-September peri

Dec. 7, 2017

What will Samsung Galaxy S9 look like?

Samsung Electronics is expected to unveil its new flagship smartphone Galaxy S9 early next year with similar yet upgraded features to its predecessor Galaxy S8. The Korean tech giant is likely to unveil Galaxy S9 during the Mobile World Congress in February or its own launch event in March, according to industry watchers. Samsung took the wraps off Galaxy S5, S6 and S7 at MWC and Galaxy S8 at its own launch events in New York and London in March. Some media outlets have reported Samsung may show

Dec. 6, 2017

Naver CEO pledges to improve communication between IT sector, government

Naver CEO Han Seong-sook pledged Tuesday to improve understanding and communication between the internet technology sector and the South Korean government in 2018, reflecting on the hardships that have hit the local IT industry this year. 　“The year 2017 was a difficult one filled with many hardships and regulatory issues that impacted the general IT industry, including internet companies, startups and game companies alike,” Han said during the 2017 Startup x Internet Corporations Night event in

Dec. 6, 2017