Google fined W210m for data gathering

Korea’s communication regulator decided to fine Google Inc. Tuesday for collecting data of unspecified people by taking pictures for its Street View service. Holding a meeting to discuss the alleged data collection by Google, the Korea Communications Commission decided to impose a fine of 210 million won ($196,000) on the Internet giant. The commission has also ordered the California-based firm to delete all personal data it had gathered without consent, and to notify the progress on its Web-sit

Jan. 28, 2014

Samsung’s smartphone sales fall in Q4

Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphone shipments are estimated to have declined in the fourth quarter as competition intensified with its U.S. rival Apple Inc., market research data showed Tuesday.The world’s top smartphone maker sold 86 million smartphones around the globe in the October-December period, down from the 88 million units in the previous quarter, according to figures from Strategy Analytics.Samsung’s market share, which achieved a record high of 35.2 percent in the third quarter, fel

Jan. 28, 2014

SK Telecom net halves in Q4

SK Telecom Co., the country’s top mobile operator, said Tuesday its fourth-quarter net profit halved amid rising competition among local telecommunications firms.Net profit came to 293.6 billion won ($272 million) in the October-December period, compared with 519 billion won tallied a year earlier, SK Telecom said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 3.3 percent on-year to 4.2 trillion won, while operating profit edged down 5.4 percent to 509.7 billion won.For all of 2013, the company posted a ne

Jan. 28, 2014

Ancient DNA points to modern peril

PARIS (AFP) ― “In some cases death came immediately; in others, after many days,” the historian Procopius wrote as a terrifying disease scythed through Constantinople in 542.“With some, the body broke out with black pustules about as large as a lentil and these did not survive even one day, but all succumbed immediately. Vomiting of blood ensued in many, without visible cause, and immediately brought death.”What Procopius observed first hand was the Plague of Justinian, named after the Eastern R

Jan. 28, 2014

SK Telecom net halves in Q4

SK Telecom Co., the country's top mobile operator, said Tuesday its fourth-quarter net profit halved amid rising competition among local telecommunications firms.Net profit came to 293.6 billion won ($272 million) in the October-December period, compared with 519 billion won tallied a year earlier, SK Telecom said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 3.3 percent on-year to 4.2 trillion won, while operating profit edged down 5.4 percent to 509.7 billion won.For all of 2013, the company posted a ne

Jan. 28, 2014

Samsung to scrap new employment plan amid criticism

Samsung Group, the top South Korean conglomerate and one of the most preferred employers, said Tuesday it has decided to scrap the new recruitment plan announced earlier this month amid public criticism that it favored some universities over others.Samsung had announced a new employment system from this year allowing local college presidents to recommend their students for jobs with the business group, a means it said would help to hire diverse array of applicants with varying talents.While all

Jan. 28, 2014

Samsung's smartphone sales fall in Q4

Samsung Electronics Co.'s smartphone shipment is estimated to have declined in the fourth quarter as competition intensified with its U.S. rival Apple Inc., market research data said Tuesday.The world's top smartphone maker sold 86 million units of smartphones around the globe in the October-December period, down from the 88 million units in the previous quarter, according to figures from Strategy Analytics.Samsung's market share, which achieved a record high of 35.2 percent in the third quarter

Jan. 28, 2014

KT posts net loss in Q4

South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. said Tuesday it posted a net loss in the fourth quarter last year amid intensified competition at home with two rivals including top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co.Net loss came to 300 billion won ($277 million) in the October-December period, compared with a net profit of 106.6 billion won a year earlier, the country's top fixed-line operator said in a regulatory filing.Revenue remained almost unchanged on-year at 6.2 trillion won, while the company turned to a

Jan. 28, 2014

Want to get the flu? Volunteers sneeze for science advancement

BETHESDA, Maryland (AP) ―Forget being sneezed on: Government scientists are deliberately giving dozens of volunteers the flu by squirting the live virus straight up their noses.It may sound bizarre, but the rare type of research is a step in the quest for better flu vaccines. It turns out that how the body fends off influenza remains something of a mystery.“Vaccines are working, but we could do better,” said Dr. Matthew Memoli of the National Institutes of Health, who is leading the study that a

Jan. 27, 2014

LG Innotek posts net loss in Q4

LG Innotek Co., an electronics parts maker affiliated with South Korea's LG Group, said Monday it posted a net loss in the fourth quarter despite improved operating profits.Net loss came to 12.5 billion won ($11.6 million) in the October-December period, improving from the net loss of 30.5 billion won posted a year earlier, LG Innotek said in a regulatory filing.Revenue edged down 5.1 percent on-year to 1.54 trillion won in the fourth quarter, while operating profit came to 28.8 billion won, soa

Jan. 27, 2014

LG Electronics' net loss narrows in Q4

South Korea's tech giant LG Electronics Inc. said Monday its net loss narrowed in the fourth quarter of 2013 from a year earlier on improved smartphone sales.Net loss came to 63.4 billion won ($58.76 million) in the October-December period, improving from the net loss of 478.1 billion won posted a year earlier, LG Electronics said in a regulatory filing.Revenue edged up 0.8 percent on-year to 13.9 trillion won, and operating profit surged 103.8 percent to 238.1 billion won, it said.For all of 20

Jan. 27, 2014

SK Telecom teams up with global players for M2M

South Korea's No. 1 mobile carrier, SK Telecom Co., said Monday it has joined hands with 10 global telecommunication firms to seek cooperation in developing machine-to-machine technologies.SK Telecom said it has joined the so-called Bridge M2M Alliance with players in a handful of Asian countries such as Singapore, Vietnam and India, as well as with an Australian mobile carrier.The M2M technology allows both wireless and fixed-line systems to communicate with other machines, providing customized

Jan. 27, 2014

LG to launch next G Pro line-up in February

LG Electronics Co., a South Korean smartphone maker, said Monday it plans to launch "the G Pro2" phablet in February, aiming to narrow the gap with industry leader Samsung Electronics Co.LG's awaited phablet, a cross between a smartphone and tablet PC, is expected to feature a wider screen and faster speeds compared to its predecessor, the G Pro, industry sources said. The next model is equipped with a 6-inch screen and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor with 3GB RAM and is powered by Google's

Jan. 27, 2014

Samsung clinches patent deal with Google

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it and U.S. Internet giant Google Inc. have agreed to share their intellectual properties and avoid necessary patent disputes, a step giving Samsung a much needed edge in an ongoing patent war, especially with U.S rival Apple Inc.Under the cross-license agreement, Samsung and Google will share their existing patents as well as those obtained over the next 10 years, allowing the two industry leaders to tap into deeper research and devel

Jan. 27, 2014

Study: New Madrid fault zone alive, active

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― The New Madrid fault zone in the nation’s midsection is active and could spawn future large earthquakes, scientists reported.It’s “not dead yet,” said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough, who was part of the study published online by the journal Science.Researchers have long debated just how much of a hazard New Madrid poses. The zone stretches 300 km, crossing parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.In 1811 and 1812, it

Jan. 26, 2014