[Weekender] Emoticons eclipse Koreans, fueling character market boom

Like many others here in South Korea, 26-year-old office worker Park Na-young frequently exchanges mobile messages with her friends and colleagues through her smartphone.However, it’s not just text being exchanged. Conversations are taken over by colorful character emoticons -- or virtual “stickers” -- such as a blank-faced bear crying in a puddle of tears or a rabbit blissfully skipping around and blowing kisses.“I think I use them in most of my mobile conversations,” said Park, who owns dozens

June 9, 2017

Kakao, Venture Square to nurture AI startups

Kakao Investment, the venture capital arm of South Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao, has set out to discover and nurture local startups with promising artificial intelligence technologies and support their entry into global markets. 　The Kakao-owned investment company has teamed up with Seoul-based Venture Square and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency to initiate the fifth round of its startup accelerator program “Startup Nomad.” Applications are open until June 30.Initiated by Venture

June 9, 2017

Moon’s push for telecom market intervention faces hurdles

The Moon Jae-in government’s push to scrap base rates for mobile bills is under criticism, from both consumer activist groups and the telecommunications industry due to conflicts of interests. Abolishment of the mobile tariffs was one of President Moon’s key pledges, which was supported by young and low-income voters who have been suffering high mobile costs.  (Yonhap)However, the Green Consumer Network in Korea said in a statement on Thursday that Moon’s committee on planning national affairs i

June 9, 2017

Mobile carriers enhance focus on home IoT business

South Korea’s mobile carriers are teaming up with home builders in the arena of Internet of Things services, industry officials said Friday. KT, the country’s second-largest telecom firm, said it signed a contract with construction project executor Daewon Plus R&D to apply KT’s GiGA IoT Home Plug to 646 studios in a new office building, to be built by 2019 on Incheon’s Yeongjong Island. Residents will be able to control the entrance door and windows via a smartphone app when away, in addition to

June 9, 2017

Korea unveils road map to upgrade robot technology

The South Korean government Friday unveiled a road map to develop robot technologies and utilize them in various industrial sectors, the industry ministry said.The plan was a follow-up of the government-led project to upgrade the country's robotics sector set up in November last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Yonhap)The ministry and state-run research centers, including the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and the Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence

June 9, 2017

Xiaomi gears up for official entry into Korean market

China’s smart device maker Xiaomi seems about to officially enter the South Korean market as a Korean language-version of its homepage has been launched. Dubbed “Mi Korea,” Xiaomi created the Korean-language website at the end of May. It introduces its flagship products and official sales channels in Korea, but information about smartphones and laptops is not available in Korean yet.  Mi Korea homepage screenshotThe website also has details of the corporation, including profiles of its founders

June 8, 2017

LG Innotek LEDs lght up FIFA U-20 game in Suwon

LG Innotek said Thursday the company’s 10-watt high-power light-emitting diode package was used for the main lights of the Suwon Word Cup Stadium, where the finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea 2017 will be held Sunday. The high-power LED package emits bright light with power consumption of 1 watt or more, providing optimal lighting that will allow players, spectators and TV viewers to focus on the match, the company said. Its color temperature is 5,000 Kelvin and it is used for sports stadiu

June 8, 2017

Nexon to release ‘Dark Avenger 3’ mobile action RPG in July

Nexon on Thursday announced that it would begin offering its mobile action role-playing game “Dark Avenger 3” next month. The game is slated for official release on July 27.　“Dark Avenger 3” is an action RPG developed by Nexon-owned game development studio Boolean Games, the original creator of the globally popular “Dark Avenger” mobile game series which has racked up more than 35 million downloads worldwide.Nexon Vice President Lee Jung-hun introduces the company’s upcoming mobile action role-p

June 8, 2017

LG Chem lands $12.6m from Gates foundation for polio vaccine

South Korea‘s leading chemical firm LG Chem was offered financial support worth $12.6 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop its inactivated polio vaccine used to prevent infantile paralysis, the company said Wednesday.　With the funds provided by the foundation, LG Chem will boost its clinical research overseas and expand its vaccine producing facility in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, the company said. LG Chem’s vaccine facility in Osong, North Chungcheong Province (L

June 7, 2017

Competition heats up in AI-powered smart speaker market

Competition is heating up in the global market for AI-powered smart speakers, as more global tech companies introduce new devices to rival forerunning voice-activated home speakers -- Amazon’s Echo and the Google Home.　This week, US tech giant Apple unveiled HomePod, the firm’s first voice-activated standalone speaker running on Apple’s artificial intelligence software Siri. It is equipped with Apple-engineered audio technology and advanced search algorithms.The $349 Apple HomePod, available in

June 7, 2017

[Photo News] ETRI develops smart wear for golfing

IN MOTION -- A researcher at the Korea Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute corrects his golf swing posture using “Smart Wear” developed by the institute, which analyzes motions captured by 17 sensors attached to joints in the human body. (ETRI)

June 7, 2017

[Photo News] LG supplies premium TV set to luxury resort hotels

LG AT RESORTS -- A family looks at the industry’s first wallpaper type LG Signature OLED TV W installed at the 6th-floor lobby of Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul in the central part of the city. LG said Wednesday it supplied the premium TV set to luxury resort hotels like Banyan Tree and South Cape Spa and Suite. (LG Electronics)

June 7, 2017

Bezel-less, dual-camera phones due in H2

Heated competition is expected in the premium smartphone market in the second half of the year, as three new handsets are set for release starting from August. They are Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 8, Apple’s 10th anniversary iPhone 8 and LG Electronics’ V30.  (Yonhap)The upcoming smartphones are predicted to have significant reductions in the bezels and adopt dual cameras following the latest consumer trend of preferring larger displays and wide-angle photos. According to a recent video lea

June 7, 2017

Smartphone giants brace for competition in H2

Global tech giants are set to engage in another round of competition in the second half of 2017 as major smartphone brands will release high-end models armed with top-notch technologies, industry watchers said Wednesday.Samsung Electronics Co., Apple Inc. and LG Electronics Inc. are expected to release the tentatively named Galaxy Note 8, iPhone 8 and V30, respectively, in the second half of this year, which are expected to come with smaller bezels and dual cameras. (Yonhap)Tech giants have been

June 7, 2017

Samsung, SK beef up foundry biz to meet growing demand

South Korea's chipmakers are expanding their foundry businesses in line with rising global demand amid the fourth industrial revolution that centers on the information and communication technologies, industry watchers said Wednesday.The foundry business refers to making chip designs for other companies that do not have a semiconductor fabrication plant. (Yonhap)Last month, Samsung opened a new department under its chip division focusing on the foundry business, as part of its efforts to expand i

June 7, 2017

[News Focus] Facebook in dispute over Messenger app, network maintenance costs in Korea

Social networking giant Facebook continues to be mired in controversy in South Korea after clashes with local users, telecom companies as well as the government over the nature of some of its business activities in the country.The US-based social networking company is set to face an investigation by the state-run Korea Communications Commission after a local consumer rights group claimed that Facebook violated the law by sending out fake notifications designed to lure users into downloading its

June 6, 2017

Talks about phone price cuts begin as LG suggests disclosure

Initial talks about cutting the retail prices of smartphones and mobile bills are underway under the administration of Moon Jae-in, who pledged to make mobile costs more affordable, industry sources said Tuesday. LG Electronics said it had submitted its opinion to the Korea Communications Commission in late May on regulations for device makers and mobile carriers to help uncover illicit retail practices.  (Yonhap)“The company gave the opinion at the request of the KCC that is currently collectin

June 6, 2017

Samsung, Kepco to launch pilot energy project in July

Samsung Electronics and Korea Electric Power Corp. will launch a pilot project for a joint business on the Internet of Things, the companies announced Monday. From next month, Kepco will apply an automatic energy management system to Samsung’s wind-free air conditioner and T9000 refrigerator, which will help cut energy use during peak periods.  A model stands next to the Samsung T9000 refrigerator and wind-free air conditioner at a Samsung store in Seoul. (Samsung Electronics)The Samsung air con

June 5, 2017

IBM develops manufacturing process for 5 nm chip

US technology giant IBM said Monday that it has developed a groundbreaking transistor manufacturing process for 5 nanometer (nm) semiconductor chips.In partnership with Samsung Electronics Co. and GlobalFoundries, IBM said it has created the breakthrough process to build the world's first chip that will pack 30 billion 5 nm switches. (Photo courtesy of IBM Corp.)The new chip, a follow-up to IBM's 7 nm chip developed in July 2015, will carry 30 billion transistors on a chip the size of a fingerna

June 5, 2017