Wild tiger population on rise

After years of concerted efforts by the international community, the number of wild tigers has increased to 3,890 last year from the 2010 estimate of 3,200, World Wildlife Fund said Monday.The figure compiled by International Union for Conservation of Nature can be attributed to multiple factors including an increase in tiger population in India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan, and enhanced protection of the endangered animal in countries. (Wild Tiger, India © Joseph Vattakaven / WWF)“For the first ti

April 11, 2016

LG Electronics to give early heads-up on Q1 earnings

LG Electronics plans to issue its very first “earnings guidance” Monday, giving investors an early heads-up on its first quarter results slated to be out later this month. According to industry sources, the company will unveil its official prediction on revenue and operating profits for the January-March period after Monday’s local stock market close at 3 p.m. The Seoul-based firm is scheduled to make a full report at the end of April. Forecasts from Korea’s 20 brokerage houses have its Q1 reven

April 10, 2016

LG develops world’s first UHD TV chip

LG Electronics said Sunday it has developed the world’s first TV reception chip that allows streaming ultrahigh-definition content without a separate set-top box. The breakthrough comes as global broadcasters are bracing for the next-generation digital-based UHD terrestrial broadcasting that offers diverse additional services as well as boasting better picture quality.  The Korean government plans to start the broadcasting from February next year.  LG is a leading player in ROUTE, or real-time o

April 10, 2016

Samsung Galaxy sales up 30% in U.S.

Samsung Electronics’ flagship Galaxy S7 is off to a promising start, with its sales in the U.S., the home turf of its archrival Apple’s iPhone, soaring 30 percent in the first month of sales from a year ago. According to a survey by analyst firm Counterpoint Research, the Galaxy S7 and its Edge variant have sold more than 10 million units over the past month since their global launch on March 11.  The figure is up 25 percent from that of predecessor Galaxy S6 last year, found the survey based on

April 10, 2016

Sentinel to host evening yoga program

Fitness brand Sentinel is hosting an evening yoga program aimed at awakening the senses, it announced Friday.　Titled “Awaken Six Senses,” the program features activities like “Chocolate Meditation” and “Mirror Game” that stimulate the senses and the subconscious. 　“The program features both peaceful meditation and dynamic yoga positions that will allow participants to sweat and work together, communicating and receiving energy from each other. It is a community party,” said Lachlan Winner, Senti

April 8, 2016

[Photo News] President's visit to innovation center

PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO INNOVATION CENTER -- President Park Geun-hye (left) and LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo look at products made by venture companies based at the Center for Creative Economy and Innovation in North Chungcheong Province, a start-up incubation center run by the conglomerate, on Friday. (Yonhap)

April 8, 2016

[Photo News] KT, Nokia test compact base station

KT, NOKIA TEST COMPACT BASE STATON -- Executives and researchers from telecommunications firm KT and network equipment firm Nokia demonstrate a small cell base station based on the Long-Term Evolution-Wi-Fi aggregation technology for the first time in the world. The mobile network base station combines LTE and Wi-Fi signals to enable fast network communication in an efficient manner. (KT)

April 8, 2016

Samsung SDS likely to see drop in Q1 earnings

Information technology solutions developer Samsung SDS, once considered as a key Samsung Group affiliate in the inheritance process of the conglomerate’s owner family, is struggling as it is expected to see a significant drop in earnings in the first quarter of this year. Some analysts speculated the recent struggles are largely because the hype over its role in the family inheritance has fizzled.Chung Yoo-sung, chief executive of Samsung SDS. (Samsung SDS)Its share price dropped to a record low

April 8, 2016

[Photo News] LG HQS brightens with G5

LG HQS BRIGHTENS WITH G5 -- LG Electronics said Friday it has begun the G5 Time event, in which it turns on the lights at the firm’s head office in Seoul to depict the name of its flagship smartphone G5. The light show will run from 9 p.m. through midnight daily for the next two months. (LGE)

April 8, 2016

Media watchdog to consult U.S. FCC over SK-CJ deal

Korea Communications Commission chairman Choi Sung-joon said Thursday he will have discussions with top officials from the U.S. communications regulator over a proposed merger of IPTV firm SK Broadband and cable TV company CJ HelloVision this month.Chairman Choi and officials from the Korean regulator are scheduled to fly to the U.S. on Feb. 17 and meet with the Federal Communications Commission officials including chairman Tom Wheeler.Choi Sung-joong, the chairman of Korea Communications Commis

April 7, 2016

[Herald Interview] Shaping Korean start-up scene

Since its launch a decade ago, Pangyo Techno Valley in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, has grown to become the largest venture hub in South Korea. It houses more than 1,000 companies in different industrial categories -- ranging from information technology to biotechnology -- and employs about 70,000 people, generating 70 trillion won ($60 billion) in combined revenues last year. This accounts for more than 20 percent of the entire gross domestic product of the largest province in Korea.

April 7, 2016

Samsung profits beat estimates thanks to Galaxy S7

Samsung Electronics performed better than expected in the first quarter, largely driven by the upbeat sales of its flagship Galaxy S7 smartphone. The Korean tech giant said Thursday in a regulatory filing that its operating profit in the first three months this year was likely 6.6 trillion won ($5.7 billion), well above the average 5.6 trillion won estimate by local analysts.  Pedestrians pass a Samsung Electronics retail store in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, on Thursday. (Yonhap)The figure is u

April 7, 2016

Mind those extra pounds?　

Let’s say you’re trying to avoid sugar. And you’re at work one morning, when someone puts out that irresistible pink box of doughnuts. (Or a bowl of chips, or whatever your weakness may be.) 　It’s a common scenario -- and likely pitfall -- for anyone who is trying to eat healthier.　Here’s an uncommon solution from Instagram star Tiffany Cruikshank, author of the new book “Meditate Your Weight: A 21-Day Retreat to Optimize Your Metabolism and Feel Great.”　“Before reaching out for the doughnut, as

April 7, 2016

[Photo News] Ultimate stability

ULTIMATE STABILITY--Professional card stacker Bryan Berg builds a 3.3-meter-tall house of cards, the tallest of its kind built in 12 hours and a new Guinness World Record, on LG Electronics’ running front-load washing machine Centum, at an event organized by the tech giant in Seoul last month.　(LGE)

April 7, 2016

Samsung names 33 research projects to sponsor

Samsung Group on Thursday announced 33 research projects it intends to fund in the first half of this year. The group has sponsored a total of 231 research projects in basic science and material and information and communications technology fields since August 2013 as part of its efforts to help the nation secure futuristic fundamental technologies.The group plans to spend 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) by 2022. This year’s list includes a study on sustainable amino acid synthesis by Seoul Nati

April 7, 2016

Kakao in chaebol dilemma

In July last year, when President Park Geun-hye invited 17 business leaders to Cheong Wa Dae for a luncheon meeting, people within the Internet industry felt they were now living in a different world. Among the high-profile figures from conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai were heads of Naver and Kakao, the nation’s top two Internet companies and the most successful venture firms.  　President Park Geun-hye (right) listens to Kakao board chairman Kim Beom-soo on the company’s Internet-based

April 6, 2016

Mobile motel booking firm draws W15b investment

Yanolija, a local motel booking company, has pulled fresh investment worth 15 billion won ($13 million) from investors from the U.K. and Korea, it said Wednesday.SL Investment Management of the U.K. and a Seoul-based investor, Partners Investment, have decided to invest in the motel booking business, which has been logging growth in recent years. The logo of motel booking service Yanolja (Yanolja)Established in 2007, the motel booking business posted 36.7 billion won in sales in 2015, up 82 perc

April 6, 2016

LG Display to build OLED display module factory in Vietnam

LG Display, one of Korea’s leading display manufacturers, said Wednesday it has signed a deal with the city government of Hai Phong, the third-largest city in Vietnam, to build a display module factory there.The Korean display firm will first spend $100 million to establish a local office in the city and begin construction of the factory later this year. It will start operating the factory next year.Jeong Cheol-dong (fourth from left), LG Display chief production officer, and Le Van Thanh (fourt

April 6, 2016

Ho-Am Prize winners named

The Ho-Am Foundation on Tuesday announced the six recipients of its annual prize, often referred to as the Korean equivalent of the Nobel Prize. The winners include: Kim Myung-sik, professor of Imperial College of London; Oh Joon-ho, professor of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; Larry Kwak, director of the Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center at City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles; poet Hwang Dong-kyu; and Kim Hyun-soo and Cho Soon-sil, cochairmen of Wahaha, a charitable organizat

April 5, 2016