The Korea Herald

Ex-CEO, cofounder Lee to leave Kakao

Mobile messenger operator Kakao said Wednesday that former co-chief executive Lee Sir-goo would leave the company.His departure came after the former Kakao co-CEO was indicted without detention last week by the prosecution for neglecting the circulation of pornography on KakaoGroup, a group chatting application. Kakao’s co-CEO Lee Sir-goo (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)“Lee said he would like to take on new challenges,” said a Kakao spokesperson, adding the former co-CEO is scheduled to leave

Nov. 11, 2015

Samsung, LG receive CES innovation awards

Showing off their advanced technologies, Korean electronics giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have bagged a clutch of awards at the CES Innovation Awards, an annual competition program honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products. Samsung and LG won 38 and 21 innovation awards for their products, respectively, at the CES Innovation Awards, according to the companies on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. (Samsung)The award-winning produ

Nov. 11, 2015

Samsung, LG receive CES innovation awards

LG Electronics rolls out white color edition of G4

South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it has added a white color edition to its flagship G4 smartphones series in the latest effort to bolster sales amid the ailing handset business.The South Korean smartphone manufacturer said the new version of the G4 comes with a white cover with gold edges, adding it will appeal to female and younger consumers.The slightly curved G4 has a 5.5-inch in-plane switching (IPS) QHD display. It has a 16-megapixel camera whose performance is

Nov. 11, 2015

Samsung, LG win int'l awards for key products

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's top two tech firms, said Wednesday that they have garnered international awards for some of their latest home appliances, mobile devices and memory chips.Samsung won the Best of Innovation award for a total of 38 products, including the most recently released Galaxy S6 Edge Plus smartphone and the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch. The titles were awarded by the U.S. Consumer Technology Association (CTA). The winner of the innovation awards

Nov. 11, 2015

[Design Forum] ‘Tech gives consumers control in branding’

With the change of time and technology come new challenges for companies in running their businesses. Design gurus said companies should adapt to fast-changing business environments by building their own identity through design.“We have now arrived in the digital age, which poses a challenge against building a brand,” said Bob van der Lee, president of Amsterdam-headquartered branding agency Total Identity, in a speech at the fifth Herald Design Forum in Seoul on Tuesday. Bob van der Lee (Park H

Nov. 10, 2015

[Design Forum] ‘Tech gives consumers control in branding’

[Design Forum] ‘Design inspires people to dream bigger’

Design should be “meaningful, impactful and inspiring,” since it is at the center of every business decision and decides the fate of a company.That is the belief of Randi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media and social media pioneer.Participating in the 5th Herald Design Forum held at Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday, the Zuckerberg Media CEO shed light on the importance of design in running businesses. Randi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media and social media pioneer, delive

Nov. 10, 2015

[Design Forum] ‘Design inspires people to dream bigger’

LG Chem inks German battery deal

South Korea’s leading battery-maker LG Chem said Monday that it has secured a deal worth millions of dollars to supply its batteries for a project to build the world’s largest energy storage system for frequency regulation in Germany.The company’s lithium-ion batteries will be utilized in a project led by German power generator Steag to build the ESSs for frequency regulation in six regions in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Saaerland, Germany, in 2016.The ESS for frequency regulation is used to maintai

Nov. 9, 2015

[Photo News] Samsung smartwatch lures Middle East

SAMSUNG SMARTWATCH LURES MIDDLE EAST -- Samsung Electronics said Sunday that it would run the Galaxy Studio in Dubai until Oct. 21 to showcase its Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch featuring a round face for the first time in the Middle East. (Samsung)

Nov. 8, 2015

[Photo News] Samsung smartwatch lures Middle East

[Photo News] LG OLED eyes European market

LG OLED EYES EUROPEAN MARKET -- LG Electronics said Sunday it will run the OLED TV Roadshow until Nov. 16 at Beaugrenelle, a shopping mall in Paris, where the firm will promote its organic light-emitting diode TVs. (LGE)

Nov. 8, 2015

[Photo News] LG OLED eyes European market

Wireless carriers seek to gain upper hand in pay TV market

　Given the saturated wireless network market, Korean mobile carriers have been shifting their focus to pay TV in an effort to secure new revenue sources.　Pay TV services including Internet Protocol TV or cable TV are among those areas where the network providers have been competitively trying to increase their presence in recent years.　The latest move was made earlier this week by SK Telecom, the largest mobile carrier in Korea in terms of subscribers, when it announced that it would take over c

Nov. 8, 2015

Wireless carriers seek to gain upper hand in pay TV market

Samsung tops smartphone sales in 5 major global markets

Samsung Electronics topped smartphone sales charts in five global markets in the July-September period, according to an industry report Sunday.The tech giant took the top spot in five regions -- Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Central and South America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa.Samsung shipped a total of 83.8 million smartphone units during the three-month period -- 15.3 million in Western Europe, 23.2 million in Asia-Pacific, 11.8 million in Central and South America, 69 mill

Nov. 8, 2015

Samsung tops smartphone sales in 5 major global markets

Samsung faces probe over merger deal

Authorities are poised to slap sanctions on Samsung Group for violating equity investment regulations when it merged Samsung C&T with Cheil Industries in September. The Fair Trade Commission said Friday it was investigating whether the merger deal has created any new cross-shareholdings among Samsung affiliates or strengthened their existing cross-shareholding structure. (Yonhap)The current antitrust rules prohibit conglomerates from creating a new circular ownership among affiliates through eq

Nov. 6, 2015

Korea to ease tech, medical regulations

The South Korean government Friday unveiled plans to ease regulations on drones and self-driving cars, paving the way for the futuristic technologies to spur related industries. The plans were given in a brief when President Park Geun-hye presided over the fourth regulatory reform ministerial meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. “Deregulation is crucial to secure our future growth engines and to revitalize the economy,” said the president, calling for parliamentary support for the passage of related bills

Nov. 6, 2015

Instagram appeals to marketers in Korea

Instagram, the photo-sharing mobile application owned by Facebook, is aiming high with its advertising business in Korea, one of its fastest-growing markets. “Korea is one of the fastest-growing markets for Instagram, with the number of users soaring 100 percent over the past year,” said Benjamin Jo, head of Facebook Korea, at a media event in Seoul on Thursday, declining to give detailed numbers. “The service’s flexibility allows us to expand ties with diverse Korean companies, both big and sm

Nov. 6, 2015

Korea to speed up tech, medical regulations

The South Korean government Friday unveiled plans to ease regulations on drones and self-driving cars, paving the way for the futuristic technologies to spur related industries. The plans were given in a brief when President Park Geun-hye presided over the fourth regulatory reform ministerial meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. “Deregulation is crucial to secure our future growth engines and to revitalize the economy,” said the president, calling for parliamentary support for the passage of related bills

Nov. 6, 2015

Korea to begin road test of self-driving cars in Feb.

South Korea will soon begin a road test of self-driving cars as part of efforts to develop and commercialize new growth engines that include unmanned aerial vehicles, the government said Friday. The road test of self-driving cars will begin as early as February as the government designated small sections of expressways for the purpose late last month, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The plan comes as part of government efforts to develop and foster new industries part

Nov. 6, 2015

3-4 shots of soju a day can help prevent strokes: experts

A few shots of soju, the most popular liquor in South Korea, a day can significantly lower the risk of strokes among males, a team of lcoal researchers said Friday. According to the team of neurologists at Seoul National University hospital in Bundang, drinking three to four shots of soju reduced the possibility of suffering a stroke among males by around 50 percent. It is the first time that soju, a diluted beverage containing ethanol and water, has been found to be helpful in preventing stro

Nov. 6, 2015

Court rules Apple not liable to compensate for tracking users' location

An appeals court on Thursday ruled against South Korean iPhone users who filed a damages suit against Apple Inc. for collecting their location information without their consent.The Busan High Court, upholding a lower court's ruling, dismissed the complaint filed against the U.S.-based tech firm and its local unit, Apple Korea, seeking 1 million won (US$879) each in compensation, saying there was no leakage of private data.While acknowledging the illegality of Apple's collection of data, the cour

Nov. 5, 2015

Kakao to launch mobile chauffeur service

Kakao, operator of Korea’s most-used mobile messenger, announced on Thursday its plan to launch a mobile chauffeur service Kakao Driver.The new smartphone-based service is in line with the company’s efforts to integrate offline services into mobile businesses. 　Kakao’s chauffeur application Kakao Driver. (Kakao)Kakao Driver is aimed at “creating a healthy business environment through competition and providing more choices for users,” the company said in a press release. Kakao had previously deni

Nov. 5, 2015

Kakao to launch mobile chauffeur service

[Photo News] LG nurtures global talents

LG NURTURES GLOBAL TALENTS -- LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo (left) poses with one of Global Challenger 2015 winners in Seoul on Thursday. The annual Global Challenger competition grants winners a range of benefits including scholarships for overseas expeditions, and employment and internship opportunities. (LG Group)

Nov. 5, 2015