Samsung Electro-Mechanics develops largest-storage MLCC for 5G phones

Samsung Electro-Mechanics said Tuesday the company has developed a multi-layer ceramic capacitor with the largest storage capacity for 5G smartphones. Known as MLCC, the component enables stable supply and control of electric charge within electronic devices. It is as thin as human hair. At least 1,000 capacitors are needed for today’s smartphones per unit. The Samsung unit said the latest MLCC is 1.0 millimeter by 0.5 millimeter and is capable of storing 27 microfarads of electric c

June 29, 2021

Korea to offer 5G frequencies to non-telcos

South Korea will offer additional frequency bands for further 5G deployment and non-telecom companies are eligible to join the bid, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced Tuesday. 　 The wireless spectrums to be provided are a 600 megahertz block of a 28 Gigahertz frequency band and another 100MHz block of 4.7GHz. According to the ministry plan, the government will divide the 28GHz band into 12 blocks, and the 4.7GHz band into 10 blocks for the frequency rollout and companies or institution

June 29, 2021

LG's OLED TVs support Dolby Vision Gaming at 4K, 120Hz

LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday its OLED TVs now support an advanced video processing technology for gamers at 4K resolution with 120Hz refresh rate as the South Korean tech giant tries to beef up its presence in the gaming community. Through a software update, LG said its 2021 OLED TV models, including the G1 and C1, are compatible with Dolby Vision Gaming at 4K, 120Hz, becoming the industry's first TV products to support the solution in such picture settings. Previously, LG's TV supported

June 29, 2021

Samsung SDS signs partnership with US software firm ServiceNow

Samsung SDS Co., an IT service unit of Samsung Group, on Tuesday said it has signed a partnership with US-based software firm ServiceNow Inc. to expand cloud-based businesses. Under the deal with ServiceNow, Samsung SDS will utilize its IT service management solutions to help enterprise customers' digital transformation efforts. The two also agreed to join forces to develop technologies in the field of artificial intelligence and natural language understanding to seek growth opportunities.

June 29, 2021

SK Telecom teams up with Genesys to launch AI call centers

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Tuesday it has teamed up with US call center technology company Genesys to launch a contact center service powered by artificial intelligence (AI). AI call centers have recently risen in popularity as they can reduce tasks handled by traditional call center agents by using speech recognition and natural language processing technology to respond to simple and repetitive user queries. SK Telecom said it has partnered with Genesys, which

June 29, 2021

Samsung unveils new smartwatch interface

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday unveiled its new smartwatch interface that will run on the upcoming unified wearable operating system (OS) with Google as the South Korean tech giant eyes to expand its presence in the wearable device market. Samsung introduced One UI Watch at its virtual session of this year's Mobile World Congress, saying the new interface aims to deliver a more connected experience between the Galaxy Watch and smartphones. One UI Watch will be available for new OS jointl

June 29, 2021

[News Focus] Netflix’s net neutrality logic loses ground in Korea

A Seoul court’s decision last week that effectively confirmed Netflix‘s obligation to pay network usage fees to mobile carriers suggests that the global video streaming giant might have to change its business strategy in South Korea, according to industry sources Monday. The US-based content provider that raised 415.5 billion won ($367.6 million) in revenue in Korea alone last year has not been paying network fees to provider SK Broadband, the internet protocol TV subsidiary of SK

June 28, 2021

S. Korea to test mmWave 5G tech in Seoul subways

South Korea's ICT ministry said Monday it will work with the country's wireless service providers to test millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G technology in the Seoul subway system in a move to improve network services and speed up commercialization. South Korea's 5G networks are currently deployed on the mid-band spectrum, leading to relatively slower speeds than on the high-band mmWave spectrum, which can theoretically be up to 20 times faster than 4G LTE. The ministry said it would work with the cou

June 28, 2021

Krafton invests $9m in Indian streaming platform

Krafton Inc., a South Korean gaming giant behind the global smash hit "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG), said Monday that it has invested $9 million in India-based streaming platform Loco. The funding includes other investors, such as Lumikai, India's first gaming and interactive media fund, as well as Hashed, Hiro Capital, North Base Media, Axilor Ventures and 3one4 Capital, it said. Krafton said Loco, which was spun off as a separate entity from parent company Pocket Aces, has

June 28, 2021

[Weekender] Invitation to Metaverse

To those who have difficulty in grasping the characteristics of the younger generations of millennials and Gen Z -- pay attention to the “metaverse.” A combination of “meta” and “universe,” the term refers to a virtual world shared by people from the real world. Built on the convergence of all things sci-fi such as augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality, artificial intelligence, fifth-generation networks, edge computing and so on, this digita

June 26, 2021

Naver’s chief operating officer resigns over employee’s suicide

Choi In-hyuk, chief operating officer of Naver, the country’s largest portal operator, on Friday announced that he will step down from his post, apologizing for an employee’s suicide. Choi is one of co-founders of Naver, which was established in 1999. He is a close ally of Lee Hae-jin, the de facto chief of the internet company. The executive, however, will maintain his CEO post at Naver Financial. Naver released a statement regarding the employee’s death after an interna

June 25, 2021

Samsung Electronics and affiliates to vaccinate workers from July

Samsung Electronics and its affiliates will start vaccinating its workers at their in-house clinics starting next month, according to industry sources on Friday. The flagship electronics unit and affiliates, including Samsung Display, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, will run an in-house vaccination program as part of efforts to beef up antivirus measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Samsung Electronics notified its employees on Friday the company will start the vaccination progra

June 25, 2021

DataStreams suggests blockchain-based trading of big data

South Korean big data firm DataStreams said Thursday that it has presented a system for brokerless trading and circulation of big data using a blockchain solution. Ahn Hyun-joo, head of the firm’s product services department, and his two co-authors presented the research paper at a conference organized by the Korea Society of Management Information Systems on June 18. In their study, the trio offered a way to use blockchain technology to build an exchange platform for big data, enabling

June 24, 2021

Medytox to start phase 3 clinical study of new botulinum toxin treatment

Medytox will begin a phase three clinical trial of its next-generation botulinum toxin treatment MBA-P01, according to an announcement from the company Thursday. The firm’s investigational new drug application for the new botulinum toxin treatment gained approval the previous day from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Medytox will carry out the study at four local medical institutes on a total of 318 people with moderate to severe glabellar frown lines. The firm has been developi

June 24, 2021

[Newsmaker] LG’s iPhone plan faces controversy

LG Electronics’ plan to start selling Apple’s iPhones at its stores is facing backlash from local phone distributors and a private consensus-based panel on shared growth on Thursday threw weight behind opponents, saying LG would be breaking its word if it pushes ahead with the plan. The Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership cited the firm’s pact with the commission signed in 2018 in which LG pledged to strive for co-prosperity with small players in the industry. LG,

June 24, 2021

LG CNS-RaonSecure to develop Korea’s 1st mobile ID

A consortium of LG CNS and RaonSecure said Thursday that it has won a state-led project to develop South Korea’s first digital identification. The IT solution affiliate of LG Group and the local cybersecurity solutions provider will together develop a digital version of the driver’s license by the end of this year for a project commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corp. Currently, three major telecom

June 24, 2021

KAIST teams up with SM Entertainment for metaverse research

KAIST, South Korea's top science university, said Thursday it is teaming up with K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment Co. to conduct joint research on digital avatars for virtual concerts in an effort to boost development in metaverse technology. The metaverse -- a virtual environment where users interact through digital avatars -- has recently grown in popularity as the pandemic limits in-person contact. K-pop artists have been at the forefront in adopting the technology, holding virtual meetups

June 24, 2021

Winia to launch vaccine refrigerator in S. Korea.

Winia Dimchae, a South Korean home appliance brand specializing in kimchi fridges, announced Wednesday that the company would begin local sales of its ultra-low temperature freezer for COVID-19 vaccines, named Medibox. According to Winia, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has recently granted approval for the company’s Medibox, developed by WInia‘s telecommunications apparatus affiliate Dayou Plus. The new vaccine storage system has been categorized as a blood bank refrigerato

June 23, 2021

Samsung offers 6G vision, private network

Through its first event to introduce an array of 5th generation network technologies late Tuesday, Samsung Electronics has put its emphasis on preemptive investments in 6G to cement its position in the global network industry. Samsung is increasing its efforts on the 6th generation of wireless connections, to bring hyper-connected experiences to users, the tech giant announced during the virtual event streamed live from Seoul to the world. Called “Samsung Networks: Redefined,”

June 23, 2021

Samsung unveils 3 new 5G chips, one antenna radio

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday unveiled a set of innovative 5G solutions, three chips and one antenna radio, at its first virtual showcase event. Called “Samsung Networks: Redefined,” the show was streamed live from Seoul at 11 p.m., Korean time. It was the first event hosted by Samsung’s network business. The virtual event was held ahead of Mobile World Congress 2021, an offline event slated for June 28 in Barcelona, Spain. Last year’s congress was canceled due to th

June 22, 2021