LG's floating speaker

LG Electronics’ Bluetooth speaker features levitating technology that enables the speaker portion to float in the air above the woofer station, allowing better sound quality in 360 degrees, the company said Tuesday. LG launched the product in Korea at the price of 369,000 won ($327), following its initial launch in the UK in August. (LG Electronics)

Oct. 24, 2017

[Newsmaker] Korean researchers develop blood test technology to predict Alzheimer’s

Researchers in South Korea have developed a new technology that can predict the onset of Alzheimer’s disease through a blood test before the physical symptoms start to show, paving the way for early diagnosis and treatment planning. 　　Alzheimer’s is a neurological disorder in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive dementia. It is a progressive disease without a cure, and dementia symptoms worsen over time.　Scientists do not have a clear answer yet as to what causes Alzhe

Oct. 24, 2017

Korean mobile carriers to face off in 5G at global forum

South Korean mobile carriers SK Telecom and KT are planning to showcase their efforts related to the fifth-generation network at an international forum in an ongoing competition to commercialize the network as an industry first, according to the two companies Tuesday. SKT will unveil its research achievements in the commercialization of the 5G network and core technologies at the Next Generation Mobile Networks conference set to kick off in Seattle on Wednesday. The NGMN is an international orga

Oct. 24, 2017

Samsung, TUV SUD develop testing program for automotive LED components

South Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it has developed a new testing program for automotive light-emitting diode components in partnership with TUV SUD, a global technical services provider of quality, safety and sustainability solutions. The two companies held a ceremony to unveil the testing program at the headquarters of TUV SUD Korea in Seoul. The Samsung-TUV SUD agreement marks the first time in the industry that an automotive LED component manufacturer has partnered w

Oct. 24, 2017

Samsung Electronics says OLED displays not suitable for TVs

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday the organic light-emitting diode technology is not suitable for use on television sets, apparently targeting its main rival LG Electronics Inc. while promoting its own QLED screens.The statement follows a YouTube video posted by the South Korean giant earlier, which also criticized LG Electronics' OLED displays. Samsung and LG have been promoting QLED and OLED as their next-generation TV technologies, respectively.The South Korean tech giant said OLED display

Oct. 24, 2017

[Graphic News] S. Korean HIV patients on rise

   The number of people with HIV in South Korea has nearly tripled over the past 10 years, data showed last week.   A total of 13,584 people had been diagnosed with HIV in 2016, up from 5,316 tallied in 2007, according to data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted to the National Assembly.   Patients in their 30s accounted for 27.2 percent of the total, followed by those in their 20s with 25.9 percent, those in their 40s with 21.3 percent, and those between 10 and 2

Oct. 23, 2017

Big data to lead Korea's future biohealth sector

South Korea must swiftly work to build up a strong medical big data system as it will form the backbone of future medicine led by personalized and predictive health care, biohealth experts in Seoul said Monday.　Large-scale datasets collected from wearables and biomedical sensors will be combined with artificial intelligence computing technologies to enable early diagnosis of diseases and guide treatment planning.“The biggest priority for Korea’s biohealth industry is nurturing a strong big data

Oct. 23, 2017

SKT prepares to launch 5G-like Wi-Fi service

South Korea’s SK Telecom said Monday it has developed Wi-Fi technology that is capable of transmitting data at a maximum speed of 4.8 Gbps and an application processor. At the company’s office in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, SKT said it had succeeded in demonstrating the highest Wi-Fi speed that is about four times faster than the current Wi-Fi used on smartphones. SKT’s upcoming Wi-Fi technology will use four antennas and a 160 MHz frequency bandwidth, double the current Wi-Fi service, which wil

Oct. 23, 2017

[Exclusive] Samsung invests in Chinese AI chipset startup DeePhi Tech: sources

Memory chip giant Samsung Electronics has invested in a Chinese artificial intelligence technology developer as part of its efforts to catch up in the intensifying global race for AI platforms and devices, according to sources Sunday. In August, Samsung made a significant investment in DeePhi Tech, a Tsinghua-based startup with deep learning technologies, a source told The Korea Herald. “Samsung made quite a large investment in DeePhi Tech, which a group of Korean developers who met the startup’

Oct. 22, 2017

Samsung Electronics to seek successor to CEO Kwon Oh-hyun this week

Samsung Electronics Co. may pick a successor to its CEO and Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun, as early as this week, after the top executive announced plans to retire, corporate sources said Sunday.Insiders familiar with the world's largest computer chip and smartphone manufacturer said there could be a move to appoint a new chief to head the device salutation and display business area that Kwon is in charge of.The vice chairman announced on Oct. 13 that he plans to step down in early 2018. Kwon Oh-hy

Oct. 22, 2017

[News Focus] Naver faces growing calls to become more transparent news platform

Naver, which operates South Korea’s largest portal website, is facing growing calls to heighten transparency after it was found to have removed a negative news article upon request by the involved organization.　Naver admitted on Friday that it had taken down a news article criticizing the actions of the K League from the main page of the portal’s sports tab in October 2016. The confirmation came after allegations were raised by a local media outlet.It is the first confirmed case of media meddlin

Oct. 22, 2017

[Photo News] KT, WEF to leverage ICT for infectious disease control

ICT IN DISEASE CONTROL -- South Korean mobile carrier KT said Sunday that it has partnered with the World Economic Forum to leverage its internet and communication technologies to help the WEF’s project to fight the global spread of infectious diseases. World Economic Forum’s Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab (second from left) and KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu (second from right) shake hands after signing the partnership agreement at the WEF headquarters in Geneva on Friday. (KT)

Oct. 22, 2017

Korea's 5G market to reach W35tr in 2025

The market of fifth-generation network services in South Korea will reach some 35 trillion won ($31 billion) in 2025, as the faster network technology is anticipated to be used in many areas from mobile phone networks to smart homes and connected cars, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by Digieco, a research center run by South Korea's mobile carrier KT Corp., the country's 5G network technology market is expected to hit 3.1 trillion won in 2020 but swell to 34.7 trillio

Oct. 22, 2017

35% of smartphones to be shipped with AI by 2020: report

More than one in three smartphones in 2020 will be shipped with an artificial intelligence chipset capable of real-time translation and malware detection, giving health care advice and recognizing user behavior, a report said Friday.The ratio of AI chipset-equipped smartphones is expected to rise to 35 percent or more than 500 million units in the cited years from just three percent in 2017.Numbers are forecast to move up to 16 percent in 2018 and 26 percent in 2019, according to the report of C

Oct. 20, 2017

Self-taught, 'superhuman' AI now even smarter: makers

The computer that stunned humanity by beating the best mortal players at a strategy board game requiring "intuition" has become even smarter, its makers said Wednesday.Even more startling, the updated version of AlphaGo is entirely self-taught -- a major step towards the rise of machines that achieve superhuman abilities "with no human input", they reported in the science journal Nature.  (DeepMind-Yonhap)Dubbed AlphaGo Zero, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) system learnt by itself, within days,

Oct. 19, 2017

Korean washers top US product evaluation reports amid moves toward protectionism

South Korean washers topped product reviews by major US consumer evaluators, industry watchers said Thursday, as Washington's trade commission moves to take protectionist steps.Earlier this month, the US International Trade Commission determined that products made by Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. are exerting an adverse impact on the domestic industry. The announcement was made after a safeguard petition was proposed by US-based Whirlpool Corp. (Yonhap)Samsung and LG, along wit

Oct. 19, 2017

Google uses AI to make email smarter

Google Inc. is applying its artificial intelligence technology to not only prevent spam emails but also as an email reply tool for users, a company engineer said Wednesday. Google said its machine learning model can ferret out spam and phishing messages with 99.9 percent accuracy, even spam that are carefully crafted to deceive people, "Our goal is to make Gmail the most productive email in the world," said Paul Lambert, Google's product manager. Paul Lambert, an engineer from Google Inc., talks

Oct. 18, 2017

Naver, YG Entertainment begin work on new global music service platform

South Korean internet giant Naver and YG Entertainment said Wednesday that they would begin preparations to jointly build a new global music service platform by pooling their technologies, resources and global influence.The move came seven months after Naver, Korea’s largest portal website operator, invested 100 billion won ($88.52 million) into YG Entertainment, which is home to big-name K-pop artists like Psy and Big Bang, seeking to tap YG’s strength in content. Under the partnership, Naver a

Oct. 18, 2017

[Graphic News] 1 out of 6 Korean youths are obese

　According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1 out of 6 South Korean children and youths (elementary, middle school, and high school students) are obese with the rate increasing every year. 　The obesity rate increased from 11.2 percent in 2008 to 14.3 percent in 2010, 14.7 percent in 2012, 15 percent in 2014 and moved up to 16.5 percent in 2016, the data showed.　Also, the data showed that 77.1 percent of children and teens drink soft drinks at least once a week, up from 74.2 percent in 2014

Oct. 17, 2017

Samsung CEO’s resignation viewed as ‘unfortunate’ by semiconductor industry

Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh-hyun’s resignation will inevitably impact the semiconductor business of the world’s largest memory chip provider in the short run, industry watchers said at a semiconductor tradeshow Tuesday. “It is unfortunate, since he has done a good job to build the company,” said Len Jelinek, director and chief analyst at IHS Markit. “His resignation would impact the company in the short term, but I don’t think Samsung will fall from the No. 1 position to (say) No.5.” He also

Oct. 17, 2017