Korea to not allow Google to use maps unless sensitive areas blurred out

South Korea will not give Google a license to use South Korean maps unless the company blurs out sensitive military installations on its mapping service, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Wednesday.Earlier this month, the United States search engine provider requested permission from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to access South Korea-supplied maps as part of efforts to upgrade its Google Maps service on South Korea. (Google Map)It was Google's second attempt to gain access

June 29, 2016

Samsung Display in talks with Indian firm to sell LCD equipment

[THE INVESTOR] Display maker Samsung Display is reportedly planning to sell its liquid-crystal display equipment at its L7 manufacturing line in Asan, South Chuncheong Province.“Samsung Display is currently negotiating with India-based Twinstar Display to hand over the LCD manufacturing equipment at the L7 line to Twinstar Display,” reported online news outlet iNews 24 citing an anonymous source. “The potential deal will likely involve Samsung’s technical support for the Indian company as the la

June 29, 2016

New tech complex to be built in Ilsan by 2020

[THE INVESTOR] Gyeonggi Province on June 29 announced the construction of a new tech complex, tentatively called “North Gyeonggi Techno Valley,” in Ilsan, Goyang City, to attract some 1,900 tech companies from 2020. The new facility is the fourth of its kind to be built in the province, following two in Pangyo and one in Gwanggyo. “The Pangyo Techno Valley has exceeded 70 trillion won (US$60 billion) in revenue last year with some 72,000 jobs being created. Its success story will be revived at t

June 29, 2016

LG tops US$2,000-plus premium TV sales in Q1: IHS

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics topped high-end TV sales in the first quarter, with its global market share exceeding a record 39.4 percent. According to the market research firm IHS, the Korean tech giant logged US$273.9 million in US$2,000-plus TV sales in the January-March period. The ratio of operating profit to net sales also soared to 10 percent, which compares to an industry average of 5 percent. Industry watchers say the current sales momentum is expected to continue in the second quarter.

June 29, 2016

Samsung develops key technology for compact 5G equipment and devices

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant Samsung Electronics said June 29 that it has developed a small-sized antenna and a power amplifier that will accelerate the research and development and commercialization of 5G network devices.The new network technologies can be applied to both 5G base stations and end-user devices which utilize 28 gigahertz millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum. The mmWave frequencies are expected to be one of the primary enablers of next-generation networks, according to Samsung.“This ach

June 29, 2016

SK Telecom, Ericsson demonstrate 5G network platform

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s leading network operator SK Telecom said June 29 that the company and network equipment firm Ericsson have demonstrated a network infrastructure platform, dubbed software-define telecommunications infrastructure, in Korea for the first time in the world.The SDTI platform allows mobile network infrastructure components, including CPUs, memory chips and storage devices, to be disaggregated and recomposed together to provide the optimal level of infrastructure scale for vario

June 29, 2016

Pantech to launch first smartphone under new ownership

[THE INVESTOR] Pantech, the nation’s No. 3 handset-maker, will launch its latest smartphone IM-100 on June 30, the first launch since its Vega Pop-up Note phablet in November 2014. The new phone, whose price starts at 449,900 won (US$386), is a budget smartphone that boasts 7-millimeter thickness and weighs 130 grams. It features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 processor and LG Display’s display screen. Pantech’s new budget smartphone IM-100 and the wireless charger Stone.One of the key features inclu

June 29, 2016

Samsung SDS, SAP to jointly develop cloud solutions for corporate customers

[THE INVESTOR] IT solutions firm Samsung SDS said on June 29 that it would join forces with German software firm SAP to develop cloud systems for businesses.The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding for the partnership at its head office in Seoul on June 29.“We are proud to announce our partnership with Samsung SDS in enterprise cloud, one of SAP’s core services,” said Bernd Leukert, member of SAP’s products & innovations unit.Chung Yoo-sung (left), president and CEO of Samsung SDS,

June 29, 2016

SK Holdings C&C, Siemens team up for smart factory tech

[THE INVESTOR] Korean IT solutions firm SK Holdings C&C and German industrial giant Siemens have teamed up to develop technologies and business models for smart factory. In a memorandum of understanding signed on June 29, the two companies agreed to develop information and communications technologies that improve efficiency and lower costs at manufacturing factories. From left are SK C&C smart factory business chief Park Jong-tae, Siemens’ head of business development industrial automation OEM m

June 29, 2016

Uber CEO declines again to stand trial in Seoul

[THE INVESTOR] Uber’s cofounder and CEO Travis Kalanick has again asked a Seoul court to postpone a trial slated for June 29 over the company's illegal taxi-hailing service that was suspended here in 2014. The Uber chief was expected to appear at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul after he was indicted on the charges. His legal represntative, the nation's top law firm Kim & Chang, had asked the court to designate a hearing date earlier this month. Established in 2009, Uber entere

June 29, 2016

Electronic payment amount grows in Q1 despite cut in number of uses

The amount of payments made electronically continued to increase at a fast clip in the first quarter despite a drop in the number of payments made through such unconventional means, central bank data showed Tuesday.The daily average amount of electronic financial transactions came to some 300.3 billion won ($253.74 million) in the January-March period, up 8.6 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The Q1 reading marks a slight deceleration from a 9.6 on-q

June 28, 2016

Samsung's dryer gets top marks from U.S. consumer reviewer

A clothes dryer manufactured by Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. has received the best evaluation from a U.S. consumer magazine, beating those by foreign rivals, its publication showed Tuesday.Samsung's dryer, the DV22K6800E, clinched the top spot with 70 points out of 100 in the most recent review by Consumer Reports in the compact category. (Yonhap)U.S. rival General Electric's DCVH480EKWW came in second, followed by Bosch's WTG86402UC and Asko's T754CW, the magazine saidThe magazine

June 28, 2016

Korea ranks 14th in mobile internet connectivity: report

Korea ranked 14th among 134 countries in terms of mobile internet connectivity, a global association of mobile operators said on Tuesday.According to the Global System for Mobile Communications, Korea scored 80.7 out of 100 in four key areas of mobile internet connectivity --infrastructure, affordability, consumer readiness and content. (Yonhap)Australia topped the list, followed by the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Finland, the United States, Iceland and the U.K., the assoc

June 28, 2016

K-ITC Born2Global Center and its Members ⑤ JD SOUND

Sound equipment company JD SOUND announced Monday that it will be holding a crowdfunding campaign through the U.S. crowdfunding platform Indiegogo on July 6. Its goal is to secure $2 million in funding for its new portable DJ device. In June 2016, JD SOUND managed to raise approximately 53 million yen ($520,667) through Makuake, a Japanese crowdfunding platform.JD SOUND has created a portable and mobile app version of its DJ device, enabling users to create and listen to premium quality music no

June 27, 2016

DiYPRO to feature holographic display at KCON Los Angeles in July

Optics company DiYPRO announced Monday that it will be featuring a holographic display at the KCON festival next month in Los Angeles. DiYPRO’s display panel produces a holographic screen by combining multiple two-dimensional videos. CEO Kim Myung-joong said that the company will be featuring the display at CES next January as well.Holographic technology, which has been gaining attention for its potential applications to next-generation displays, is based on optics—in other words, lens technolog

June 27, 2016

[Photo News] Telecoms' cooperation to improve human life

KT chairman Hang Chang-gyu speaks about the need for cooperation among global telecommunication companies to develop new technologies that contribute to human life during the U.N. Global Compact Leaders Summit 2016 in New York on Thursday. (Yonhap)

June 24, 2016

UHD TVs outstrip full HD TVs in global market

The global sales of ultra-high-definition TVs worldwide has exceeded those of full HD ones, an industry tracker said Friday.According to the data compiled by IHS, the market share of UHD TVs, also known as 4K TVs, jumped to 47.3 percent in the second quarter of this year from 42.1 percent in the previous quarter.In contrast, that of full HD TVs declined from 42.9 percent to 38.7 percent over the cited period. IHS predicted that the gap will further widen in the third quarter with UHD TVs expecte

June 24, 2016

Sungjoo Group seeks to make MCM 'new school luxury' brand

Korean fashion giant Sungjoo Corp., which owns and runs German luxury bag brand MCM, on Friday said it will adopt the latest technology to create an innovative fashion code and lead the new luxury trend. "We will combine technology and fashion to create the new framework in the luxury market," Sungjoo Group said in the newly published book, titled "The Story of Sungjoo." Sungjoo Group is a fashion retail group that operates franchise stores for leading British retail group Marks & Spencer, Yves

June 24, 2016

K-ITC Born2Global Center and its Members ④ Twinword

Big data start-up Twinword announced Tuesday that it would unveil its key word research platform “Twinword SEO” next month. Key word research is a marketing technique that uses big data to identify and analyze words associated with a particular search term. The objective is to find the best words to use in the introduction of a product or company in order to achieve the highest rankings possible on Internet search engines.Twinword is a venture company that collects, analyzes and utilizes big dat

June 24, 2016

Samsung releases new Gear Fit 2

Samsung Electronics Co.'s newest wearable fitness tracker went on sale in South Korea on Friday, featuring multiple functions like a "personal trainer."The Gear Fit 2 got off to a smooth start, drawing largely positive feedback from consumers and media. The sporty and stylish wrist band has an embedded GPS and improved sensors, making itself far smarter than the Gear Fit released in 2014, according to sources.It automatically detects the type of users' activities and provides them with tailored

June 24, 2016