Samsung recalls washing machines in U.S.

The U.S. consumer protection agency on Friday announced a recall of some Samsung Electronics washing machines for a potential safety problem.　The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that 34 models of Samsung top-load washing machines sold since March 2011, totaling　2.8 million units, are subject to the recall because the washing machine top can unexpectedly detach from the washing machine chassis during use.“Samsung has received 733 reports of washing machines experiencing excessive vibratio

Nov. 5, 2016

Samsung betting on Tizen for home appliances

Samsung Electronics is seeking to take leadership in the home appliance operating system field after a failure to squeeze into the mobile sector, dominated by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.In 2012, Samsung unveiled Tizen with the ambition to take share from the mobile OS market and expand its presence in the software market. But the system has just 1 percent of global market share. Only some low-end smartphones sold in India are Tizen-powered. Seeing little chance in the mobile OS sector, the

Nov. 4, 2016

S. Korea to promote fintech ties with Silicon Valley

South Korea said Friday it will strengthen partnerships with Silicon Valley on financial technology, called fintech.The Fintech Center of Korea signed memorandums of understanding with two high-profile organizations -- 500 Startups and Silicon Valley Forum -- for the initiative on the sidelines of a South Korean Fintech Demo Day event in the tech-savvy US town, according to the Financial Services Commission.500 Startups is a leading global venture capital seed fund and startup accelerator, and S

Nov. 4, 2016

K-ICT Born2Global Center and Its Members ⑬ Freecore

Freecore launches ‘ongil.net,’ a business-matching platform based on travel itineraries shared by touristsFreecore, a DIY mobile platform startup, recently announced that it has launched “ongil.net,” a business-matching platform based on travel destinations sought out by tourists. The DIY mobile platform “Mobile Oven,” upon which ongil.net is based, allows individuals or business operators to create their own mobile applications, even if they have no knowledge in the area. Freecore CEO Peter Hon

Nov. 3, 2016

Luxrobo’s modular electronic devices top Kickstarter funding goal

Luxrobo, a member company of the Born2Global Center, announced on Oct. 27 that its modular smart device, MODI, surpassed its $30,000 goal on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter by twofold. The company, whose CEO is Sanghun Oh, achieved this within just two weeks of launching its Kickstarter campaign on Oct. 14.The attention Luxrobo has attracted via its crowdfunding campaign is a result of the innovative and original features of MODI, which is a set of modular devices -- each with their own unique

Nov. 3, 2016

Korean carriers collide over new IoT networks

South Korean mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus on Wednesday collided over the superiority of new networks for the Internet of Things technology as the latter two established a new alliance against the segment’s leader SKT.　　KT and LG Uplus on Thursday announced a new partnership for the swift commercialization and expansion of the Narrow Band-Internet of Things, or NB-IoT, network across the nation.　The two local carriers plan to cooperate in making the NB-IoT the standard network supp

Nov. 3, 2016

SKT to set up startup center with Facebook

SK Telecom and Facebook will create a center in Korea early next year to foster startup companies in the field of communications infrastructure, the local carrier said Thursday. This will be the first such center to be set up by Facebook in the world and the first collaboration between the global social media giant and South Korea’s largest mobile carrier.  SK Telecom’s chief technology officer Choi Jin-sung speaks at TIP summit held in Facebook’s headquarters in Silicon Valley. (SK Telecom)The

Nov. 3, 2016

A walk through Korea’s latest ‘smart home’

It’s a cold day on your way home from work. However, minutes before your arrival, the heating system and lights at your apartment automatically turn on -- all through a simple voice command of “initiate return home mode” via your smartphone.　After you park your car, the front gate of the apartment building automatically opens as it recognizes you via the smartphone in your hand. With a simple touch, the door of your warm apartment opens as the pre-set rice cooker announces, “The rice is ready.”　

Nov. 2, 2016

Consumers opting for larger screen TVs on affordability

Sales of large screen TVs have increased over the past two years, apparently from a price drop that made them affordable to a bigger consumer base, industry data showed Wednesday.According to leading retailer E-mart, the proportion of 60-inch or larger flat TVs sold among total TV sales this year reached 13.7 percent, a leap from 1.9 percent in 2014. Comparatively, sales of 50-inch TVs fell from 31.6 percent in 2014 to 24.8 percent this year.The price tag on 60-inch plus TVs have dropped from we

Nov. 2, 2016

Mobile games mocking Choi Soon-sil emerge in Korea

As public anger grows toward Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye who allegedly meddled in key government affairs as a civilian, South Korean game developers have launched new mobile games mocking the woman at the center of the country’s roiling political scandal.Choi Soon-sil, 60, is a longtime friend of President Park who allegedly acted as the president’s secret adviser without holding a government title. She is accused of using her personal ties to the president to wield un

Nov. 1, 2016

Foreign firms unfazed by presidential scandal

Foreign companies operating in South Korea generally shared views that the presidential scandal does not directly affect their business -- yet. However, if the political issue is prolonged, it may pose stronger risks as it could slow the country’s economic activity, the executives said. Korea is currently reeling from a political scandal involving Choi Soon-sil, who is accused of peddling influence and interfering in state affairs as a secret adviser to President Park Geun-hye.  (Yonhap)Amid gro

Nov. 1, 2016

DRAM prices surge in October on rising demand for PCs and servers

The global price of dynamic random access memory chips surged in October from a month earlier, data showed Tuesday, boding well for South Korea's leading chipmakers.According to the data compiled by market tracker DRAMeXchange, the average contract price of the DDR3 4GB, mostly used for PCs, rose 25.3 percent on-month to US$1.88 in October, marking the highest gain since March of 2013 when the prices advanced 18.52 percent on-month.The DRAM prices have risen sharply since July this year advancin

Nov. 1, 2016

Huawei jumps into high-end smartphone market in Korea

Chinese tech giant Huawei is expected to launch its premium smartphones for the first time in Korea, targeting the gap in the market left by the Galaxy Note 7. Huawei’s premium smartphones P9 and P9 plus gained radio equipment approvals from the National Radio Research Agency on Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, respectively, the tech firm’s Korean unit confirmed Monday. The phones are expected to be rolled out in December via Huawei’s local partner LG Plus and priced from around 700,000 won ($612) to 800,00

Oct. 31, 2016

Samsung BioLogics share sales to begin Wednesday

Shares of Samsung BioLogics will be offered for sale to interested investors on Wednesday and Thursday, as the South Korean contract drug manufacturer prepares to go public on Korea’s main bourse on Nov. 10.　The company has priced its shares at 136,000 won ($118.83) apiece. This pricing scheme values the share sale at 2.25 trillion won and sets Samsung BioLogics’ market value at 9 trillion won. Samsung BioLogics employees work inside a lab at the company`s headquarters in Songdo, Incheon (Samsun

Oct. 31, 2016

SKT, Intel partner for autonomous vehicles

South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom said Monday that it has joined hands with US chipmaker Intel Corp. for the development of next-generation technologies for autonomous vehicles.　The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul last Thursday, pledging to cooperate for the development of “Vehicle-to-Everything,” or V2X, technology as well as video recognition based on deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence, SKT said. The chief of SK Telecom’s Corporate R&D Center Choi Jin

Oct. 31, 2016

More smartphones feature high-quality front cameras for selfies

Competition is intensifying in South Korea's market for smartphones equipped with high-quality front cameras to meet the booming trend of selfies, company officials said Monday. A smartphone's high-quality front camera, mainly used to take selfies, is increasingly appealing to plenty of young consumers, they said.  SK Telecom Co.'s Luna S smartphone (Yonhap file photo)Earlier this month, SK Telecom Co., the nation's top mobile carrier, began selling its Luna S smartphone, fitted with a 13-megapi

Oct. 31, 2016

[Graphic News] Chinese smartphone makers threaten Samsung’s dominance

The combined production volume of China’s top three smartphone makers - Huawei, Oppo and Vivo - in the third quarter surpassed that of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics for the first time, industry data showed.According to market research firm IDC, Samsung Electronics manufactured 72.5 million smartphones, giving it a 20 percent market share of the global smartphone market, during the July-September period.Meanwhile, the three Chinese firms together produced 80.1 million smartphone uni

Oct. 30, 2016