Conglomerates compete on next-generation cars

Dec. 9, 2015 was a big day for South Korea’s top two conglomerates -- Samsung and Hyundai Motor. Samsung announced it would set up a new team dedicated to car parts for infotainment systems and self-driving cars, while Hyundai said it would start developing automotive chips through its own electronics unit.Technological convergence across industries has become an increasing trend in recent years, with the automotive sector becoming a fierce battlefield for tech firms and carmakers in the era of

Dec. 31, 2015

Samsung to showcase venture projects at CES

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it will showcase venture projects such as a virtual keyboard for virtual reality headsets and a belly fat-tracking smart belt at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week. Samsung launched a venture-accelerating program, called C-Lab, in 2012 to support diverse venture ideas within the company.  It will be the first time that the company has unveiled some of the projects at CES, the world’s largest electronics trade show. Key projects to be showcased

Dec. 31, 2015

One gadget to rule them all: LGE touts smart appliance gateway

After releasing an eye-catching gadget that transforms home appliances into connected products earlier this year, LG Electronics on Wednesday unveiled a new device that serves as a gateway to those smart products.Dubbed the SmartThinQ Hub, the device shows the statuses of connected devices either on its display placed on the top of the cylindrical body or via users’ smartphones. A models poses with SmartThinQ Hub, a cylinder-shaped gadget that collects the data of smart home appliances and shows

Dec. 30, 2015

Creative economy center supports start-ups to go global

Despite the influx of Chinese tourists, small shops and restaurants in Korea often fail to cater services to travelers due mainly to budget constraints. Below-par services have disappointed many Chinese visitors, curbing their plans to visit the country again.Born and raised on the southern resort island of Jejudo, Lee Min-seok, cofounder and general director of mobile travel application start-up TNDN, wanted to break what he called an “endless vicious circle” in the Korean tourism industry. Lee

Dec. 30, 2015

Samsung mass-produces first all-in-one bioprocessor

Samsung’s all-in-one bioprocessorSamsung Electronics said Tuesday it has started mass-producing the world’s first all-in-one bioprocessor that collects and analyzes biological information such as heart rate and body fat in a single chip. In recent years, global device-makers have been piling into the soaring health care device market, but most of their fitness trackers have not gone much beyond heart rate or sleep quality monitors. With the unprecedented one chip solution, Samsung said it aims t

Dec. 29, 2015

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Service names new chief executive

Korea’s third-largest electronics-maker Dongbu Daewoo Electronics said Tuesday that it had named Park Kwang-ho as the new chief executive of its subsidiary and after-sales service company Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Service.The incoming CEO served as the president of pesticide and fertilizer business Dongbu Farm Hannong in 2014 and led express bus operator Dongbu Express as president in 2013. Park Kwang-ho (Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Service)The CEO, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from

Dec. 29, 2015

LG takes on Dyson with motor tech 　

LG Electronics has recently made strides in the vacuum cleaner business by successfully developing a next-generation motor for the cleaning device, which the firm said was more powerful and energy efficient than those of Dyson, the world’s top vacuum cleaner-maker.The latest motor, dubbed the BrushLess Direct Current motor, is the successor of the smart invertor motor installed in the firm’s cordless vacuum cleaner lineup Cord Zero, which was released earlier this year. The latest vacuum cleaner

Dec. 29, 2015

Two models rumored for Galaxy S7 release

With the launch date of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S7 nearing, market speculation is rampant about the looks and specifications of the latest smartphone model.A local media outlet reported Monday that Samsung’s new Galaxy smartphone will come in two variants -- one equipped with a 5.2-inch display and the other with a 5.5.-inch curved display.Samsung’s move for the next flagship handset is aimed at beating its archrival Apple, which has also deployed a two-track strategy by releasing two produc

Dec. 28, 2015

SK Telecom bets big on media content

In a bid to brace for cutthroat competition with global media content platform companies including Netflix, mobile carrier SK Telecom has been trying to beef up its capabilities in the media segment through mergers and acquisitions.SKT, which wholly owns Internet Protocol TV operator SK Broadband, announced earlier this year that it would take over CJ Hellovision, the No. 1 cable TV firm in Korea.Following the planned acquisition of the CJ Group affiliate, the mobile carrier will merge the two e

Dec. 28, 2015

After FTC probe, Samsung to sell off shares

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog on Sunday said that the recent merger of Samsung affiliates has tightened cross-shareholdings among group companies, ordering its battery unit to reduce its stake in the holding company. “The number of cross-shareholding links may have been reduced to seven from 10 following the merger of Samsung C&T with Cheil Industries (on Sept. 1),” the Fair Trade Commission said in a statement. “But we have found the ties have been further strengthened.”The current antitrust

Dec. 27, 2015

[Photo News] Innovation for disabled

 

Dec. 27, 2015

Handset-makers feel sting of enhanced competition

Samsung and LG, the nation’s top two smartphone-makers, are feeling the pinch of enhanced competition on their home turf, a market that used to be called a “tomb” for foreign handset-makers. Despite being squeezed between Apple’s iPhone and cheaper phones from Chinese runners-up in the global market, the two Korean tech giants have long enjoyed dominant market positions at home. But more recently foreign brands are fast gobbling up their market shares, forcing Samsung and LG to turn to less prof

Dec. 27, 2015

Let’s finally end debate over tech bubble

Jeff ImmeltLet’s finally end the debate over whether or not we are in a “tech bubble.”There has been talk of a bubble going back to 2011 and it continues to rage today.I believe that this is shortsighted and rooted in the belief that at some point the tech industry must undergo the same unfortunate “burst” as in 2000.This line of thinking ignores the immense value that digital technologies have already created in the consumer world: the “app economy” alone is worth an estimated $300 billion.More

Dec. 25, 2015

Kakao merges game subsidiaries

Kakao, operator of Korea’s most-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday two of its game subsidiaries ― Daum Games and Nzin ― will be merged next year, in a bid to beef up its sluggish game businesses.The board members of Nzin and Daum Games agreed Wednesday to merge the two companies. The process will be completed after an extraordinary shareholders meeting in February next year, according to Kakao. Nzin CEO Namkoong Whon (Kakao)“Kakao expects that the merger will create synergy for growt

Dec. 24, 2015

‘Korean start-ups still in need of trailblazers’

PALO ALTO, California ― After 20-year-old Pak Se-ri triumphed as the youngest winner of the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open in her rookie year, her success, followed by 24 more tour wins, inspired a wave of young Koreans looking to follow her lead. Today, Korea dominates women’s golf, as a new generation of players including Choi Na-yeon and Park In-bee ― called “Seri Kids” by the Korean media ― have followed the World Golf Hall of Famer’s footsteps in the LPGA.Korea’s start-up industry is a lot like the

Dec. 23, 2015