LG's webOS smart TV gets highest security level

The latest webOS smart TV by LG Electronics Inc. has been certified for its effective security capability and sustainability by a local agency, the company said Sunday.The tech giant said its latest version of the webOS smart TV platform received the Evaluation Assurance Level 2 by the IT Security Certification Center, becoming the first smart TV in the world to receive the cybersecurity level. (Yonhap)LG said the smart TV adopts a slew of the latest cybersecurity technologies to reduce malware

May 7, 2017

Prevalence of ovarian cancer among 20-somethings soars

The prevalence of ovarian cancer among South Korean women in their 20s has jumped nearly 50 percent over the past five years due to a change in their life patterns, data showed Sunday.According to the data by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, 20-something ovarian cancer patients stood at 1,218 last year, up a whopping 48 percent from 825 in 2012. (Yonhap)Last year's figure accounted for 6.7 percent of all ovarian cancer patients in the country, but the increase rate outpaced that

May 7, 2017

Naver launches new fine dust tracking service

Wary of growing concerns over worsening air quality, South Korea’s internet giant Naver on Thursday introduced a new visual mapping service that tracks the movement of fine dust in Korea, Japan and China.　The new fine dust mapping service can be accessed by searching for fine dust levels on Naver via either PC or mobile device.(Naver)Previously, Naver had provided only numerical figures that showed the level of fine dust in different cities in Korea. The new feature visually displays the changes

May 4, 2017

Rising number of seniors prefer smartphones over flip-phones

A rising number of seniors are purchasing the latest smartphones, industry data showed Thursday, breaking the perception that older users normally buy traditional handsets with buttons.According to the data compiled SK Telecom Co., 74 percent of its users aged 60 and above used smartphones as of April. The number compares to the 10 percent posted by a separate survey conducted by Gallup Korea in 2012. (Yonhap)The mobile carrier also said 40 percent of its clients aged 65 an above purchased Samsu

May 4, 2017

US to probe LG-Blu patent complaints

The US International Trade Commission began investigating whether the US smartphone maker Blu infringed standard patents of LG Electronics’ Long Term Evolution, according to the independent federal agency. Blu, established in 2009, is the sixth-largest handset maker in the North American market, selling low-end phones worth below $300. The firm sold around 5.2 million units last year -- a 68 percent growth from the previous year. LG Electronics is the third-largest handset maker in the US, with

May 3, 2017

Premium product sales help LG sidestep Samsung in Q1 TV earnings

Strong sales of premium products allowed LG Electronics to beat out its main rival Samsung Electronics in the first-quarter TV market earnings race, data showed Wednesday.According to LG, its Home Entertainment (HE) division, which focuses on TVs, posted a record-high operating profit of 382.2 billion won ($338 million) in the January-March period. Its operating profit ratio reached 8.8 percent, the highest ever for the first three months of any year.Samsung Consumer Electronics (CE) division, w

May 3, 2017

[Photo News] LG CNS introduces electronic labeling system for supermarkets

SMART LABELING -- A GS Supermarket employee uses a mobile manager program connected to LG CNS’ Electronic Shelf Label to digitally change the price labels for vegetables Tuesday. LG CNS has commercialized its ESL system, which displays prices on digital labels that can be altered to reflect special sales and promotions, at 100 GS Supermarket outlets nationwide. (LG CNS)

May 2, 2017

Samsung likely to become No. 1 chipmaker in Q2: IC Insights

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to emerge as the top chipmaker in the world by beating US rival Intel Corp. in the second quarter of this year, a report showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker IC Insights, Samsung is expected to post sales of $14.9 billion in the April-June period, up 7.5 percent from the previous quarter. The estimate is higher than the $14.4 billion expected for Intel.(Yonhap)In the first quarter, Intel posted sales of $14.2 billion, hovering abov

May 2, 2017

Samsung Pay available for Gear S3 smartwatch

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has incorporated its mobile transaction system on its Gear S3 smartwatch.Samsung said the Gear S3 smartphone will connect to Samsung Pay installed on smartphones, allowing users to make payments using the wearable instead of taking out their mobile devices. (Yonhap)The South Korean tech giant had originally planned to introduce the service on the Gear S3 smartwatch in September 2016, but the plan was delayed due to the slow pace of talks with local credit

May 2, 2017

[Election 2017] Presidential candidates vow support for ‘digital economy’

South Korea’s presidential candidates may differ in their campaign pledges on defense, labor and political reform, but they appear to have one common ground -- spurring growth through the “digital economy.” The digital economy, sometimes referred to as the “internet economy,” broadly refers to the economic activity that results from billions of everyday online connections among people, businesses, devices, data and processes, according to Deloitte.This new type of economy is backed by the growin

May 1, 2017

SK Telecom launches 3 IoT devices

South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Monday that it has launched three gadgets using Internet of Things technology. The IoT tech, which allows everyday appliances to link to the Internet, is seen as one of the major technological developments of the Internet and a new revenue source for telecoms firms.  (Yonhap)"Keyco" is an IoT-based keychain with an embedded GPS chip for pets that can be controlled by a smartphone, allowing the owner to pinpoint the location of their pets, the

May 1, 2017

Consumer complaints over Galaxy S8 quality continue

Suspicions about Samsung Electronics’ latest flagship Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones are continuously being raised on online communities, with some saying the quality of the handsets falls behind their design. On a South Korean internet community Monday, a Galaxy S8 user uploaded a post showing his smartphone that appeared to have a burn-in on the screen. The writer highlighted it had been just over a week since he started using the new phone.  (Yonhap)A burn-in refers to a permanent discoloratio

May 1, 2017

First Korean expert appointed head of Institut Pasteur Korea

Ryu Wang-shick, an infectious disease expert in South Korea, was named the new chief executive officer of Institut Pasteur Korea, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced Monday. Ryu, who holds a Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison, has worked in close partnership with the IPK on research on the hepatitis B virus and other infectious diseases for more than a decade.  Ryu Wang-shick (Institut Pasteur Korea)He is the first Korean expert to lead the institution. “New emergi

May 1, 2017

Samsung to start full-fledged service of Bixby AI program

Samsung Electronics Co. said it plans to start the full-fledged service of Bixby, an artificial intelligence program installed in its latest flagship Galaxy S8 smartphones.While Samsung officially released the Galaxy S8 smartphone last month, the Bixby service was still in launch preparations.Through deep-learning technology, Samsung said Bixby will learn users' speaking habits as well as other information to provide them with accurate voice assistance.(Yonhap)Market watchers said Bixby is likel

May 1, 2017

Google to commercialize artificial intelligence to detect diseases

With the recent advances in artificial intelligence, Google has been working to apply a form of high-level AI computing known as deep learning to the field of medicine and health care.　　Though further developments are underway, Google said Thursday that it has successfully developed new deep learning algorithms that can detect and diagnose diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease which can lead to blindness, as well as locate breast cancer.　Lily Peng, product manager of the medical imaging team at G

April 30, 2017

Korea to help local software firms make headway in global stage

South Korea will inject a total of 38.6 billion won ($33.9 million) over the next two years to support local small and mid-size software firms become more globally competitive, the ICT ministry said Sunday.Under the so-called Global Creative Software project spearheaded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, 16 companies in various software sectors such as security and system software will receive support. (123RF)The government has been making various efforts to assist promising so

April 30, 2017

Samsung regains top spot in Q1 smartphone market

Samsung Electronics Co. regained the top status in the global smartphone market in the first quarter of the year, even before the release of its latest Galaxy S8, data showed Saturday.The South Korean tech giant sold about 7.9 million smartphones during the January-March period to account for a market share of 22.8 percent, the data compiled by industry tracker IDC showed. Its US archrival Apple Inc. came in second with a 14.9 percent share. (Yonhap)The latest figure marks a turnaround from the

April 29, 2017

ZOIT launches IoT-enabled fitness bike in Beijing

Health care startup ZOIT announced Friday that it recently signed a business collaboration contract with its Chinese partner company PURE SPORTS, and released its new, independently developed fitness bike in Beijing. The new product is the IMBIKE, a successor to the Z-BIKE released in Korea in 2016. Compared to its predecessor, the IMBIKE is more durable and has a more streamlined design. Visitors try out the IMBIKE at a hands-on demonstration booth at the Beijing National Aquatics Center. (Phot

April 28, 2017

Mobile carriers see modest growth in Q1, explore non-telecom sector

South Korea’s three mobile carriers posted moderate growth in their earnings in the first quarter of this year, but they seek steeper growth by shifting from their traditional mobile communications business to new content, software and artificial intelligence businesses. According to earnings announcement by KT on Friday, the No. 2 telecom business recorded an 8.3 percent on-year increase in its first-quarter operating profit, reaching 417 billion won ($366.7 million). Revenue stood at 5.6 trill

April 28, 2017

Fin2B opens accounts receivable discount platform

Fintech startup Fin2B on Thursday announced that it has opened an accounts receivable discount platform, serving as a supply chain finance solution, and is moving beyond the domestic market to enter the Asian market. “Currently, our accounts receivable discount platform is in its pilot phase, working together with affiliates of large conglomerates in Korea,” said Fin2B’s CEO Park Sang-soon. “We are also planning to operate this platform in cooperation with Vietnamese companies in the second half

April 27, 2017