Number of locally produced medical devices surpasses imports

The number of medical devices produced by local companies has surpassed those imported from other countries for the first time since 2011, according to a report released by the government, Monday. The number of local companies’ medical devices reported to the government last year reached 4,222, accounting for 51.6 percent in the market, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The total number of reported medical devices here, including imports, reached 8,183, slightly down fr

May 31, 2021

Record Q2 forecast puts LG on path to world top spot in home appliances

LG Electronics is on path to take the crown of the world’s No. 1 home appliance maker by sales, as it continues a stellar performance this year, local analysts predicted. According to market reports from securities companies here, the home appliance and air solution unit of LG Electronics is expected to post record high sales of around nearly 7 trillion won ($6.3 billion) in the second quarter, claiming the world’s top spot in terms of quarterly sales for a second consecutive quar

May 31, 2021

S. Korea to rev up space development after lifting of US missile

South Korea's science minister said Monday the country will expand investment and focus on the development of its space program after the United States lifted all restrictions on the country's missiles. During a bilateral summit on May 21, South Korea and the US agreed to scrap the restrictions on South Korean missiles, which was first put in place in 1979 and had limited Seoul's development of even non-military space projectiles. The guidelines, which have undergone revisions over the years,

May 31, 2021

Naver’s voice AI to call vaccine recipients in Jeonju to monitor health

Naver’s voice-powered AI will call up vaccine recipients in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, to monitor their health status, the company said Monday. The pilot program, dubbed the COVID-19 AI CareCall Service, has already been deployed in Busan, Seongnam and Suwon. Starting from June 1, calls are expected to reach COVID-19 vaccine recipients aged 75 and above residing in select areas of the city four days after inoculation to check if they are experiencing any adverse effects. If a sy

May 31, 2021

Celltrion's Humira biosimilar to arrive in Europe next month

Celltrion Healthcare, which is in charge of Celltrion‘s overseas business, is expected to launch sales of its adalimumab biosimilar Yuflyma in the European market in June, according to industry sources, Sunday. It will initially be launched in around six European countries, including Spain, the officials said. A Celltrion Healthcare’s official said the company would try to release Yuflyma in Spain by next month, but the schedule can be adjusted. Yuflyma is the world’s firs

May 30, 2021

SK Broadband strengthens efforts to reduce carbon emissions

Telecommunications provider SK Broadband has been making a host of new changes as part of its effort to speed up the environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, management, with a particular focus on reducing carbon emissions. SK Broadband has been replacing old infrastructure, developing energy efficient products, and reducing energy consumption at network stations to match its carbon-emission-free goal. According to company officials Sunday, the telecommunications company has to

May 30, 2021

[News Focus] Is ‘real 5G’ elusive goal for Korea?

Is 5G, the next-generation of wireless technology, worth the hype? This is a question frequently thrown out by multiple groups of 5G users here since the fifth generation mobile networks went into commercial service at 11:00 p.m. on April 3, 2019 in South Korea, in a loudly-trumpeted world first. Over the past two years, the number of 5G users in Korea has steadily grown to account for about 20 percent, or 14.48 million, of total mobile subscriptions in the country as of end March, governm

May 30, 2021

Naver aims for zero carbon emissions by 2040

Naver, the largest portal operator in South Korea, said Friday that it had a plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040. The internet company came up with the plan, “2040 Carbon Negative,” because greenhouse gas emissions are forecast to surge for the next 10 years in line with the growing data traffic at internet data centers. The company’s plan aims to reach the same carbon neutrality goal that the government is pursuing, but 10 years earlier. As an examp

May 28, 2021

Apple offers trade-in program for LG phone users

Apple Korea has launched a trade-in program to attract current users of smartphones made by LG Electronics, industry sources said Friday. The move is seen as part of the US phone vendor’s efforts to expand its presence in the South Korean market. According to sources in the telecom industry, Apple is running a smartphone exchange program with three Korean mobile carriers, which pay 150,000 won ($135) to those who replace their LG phones with iPhones. People who have used LG’s 4G

May 28, 2021

Korea joins US-led Artemis Accords for space exploration

South Korea has become the 10th member of an international program for peaceful exploration of the space led by the United States, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. Science and ICT Minister Lim Hye-sook signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of the Korean government as a follow-up measure of the Korea-US presidential summit last week, the ministry said. The Artemis Accords is an international agreement among governments participating in the Artemis Program, a US-led effort to

May 27, 2021

Samsung rolls out LED package with highest light efficacy

Samsung Electronics is rolling out a new mid-power LED package, the LM301B EVO, which boasts the highest light efficacy and innovative color quality for indoor and industrial applications, the company said Thursday. The latest Samsung LED package, built on the tech giant’s proprietary flip-chip design, features the industry’s highest efficacy of 235 lumens per watt, by applying a new reflective material inside the packaging mold and improving phosphor conversion efficiency. The p

May 27, 2021

S. Korea signs US-led moon exploration accord

South Korea has signed a US-led international program to send humans to the moon again and further explore Earth's only satellite, the science ministry said Thursday. Science Minister Lim Hye-sook signed the Artemis Accords as a follow-up on an agreement reached at a recent bilateral summit in Washington, becoming the 10th signatory to the pact, the ministry said. The Artemis Accords is an international agreement among governments participating in the Artemis Program, a US-led effort to return

May 27, 2021

SKC aims to be world’s largest copper foil producer by 2025

South Korean chemicals maker SKC is considering a plan to expand its production of copper foil to 250,000 metric tons with a goal of becoming the world’s largest provider by 2025, the SK Group affiliate said Wednesday. SK nexilis, the copper making unit under SKC, will build a new copper foil factory with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons in Europe later this year to meet growing demand for the material, a key component of rechargeable batteries. Copper foil is as thin as one-fifteent

May 26, 2021

Samsung ranks 2nd in Q1 chip sales: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the world's second-largest semiconductor vendor in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, after posting double-digit year-on-year sales growth. The South Korean tech juggernaut logged $17.07 billion in chip sales in the January-March period, up 15 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest McClean Report released by market researcher IC Insights. Samsung, the world's largest memory chip supplier, racked up $16.15 billion in integrated

May 26, 2021

Real-time search and booking of ‘no-show’ vaccines to launch Thursday

South Korea will introduce real-time search and notification alerts for COVID-19 vaccination no-shows, in a bid to not waste a single dose. The services will launch on the country’s largest web portal Naver and No. 1 messenger app KakaoTalk at 1 p.m. Thursday, allowing all Koreans to check on the real-time availability of leftover vaccines nearby. Due to limited supply of jabs, only priority groups are eligible for vaccination right now in Korea and no-show appointments are the only way

May 25, 2021

Naver unveils first ‘hyperscale’ AI platform

South Korea’s IT giant Naver unveiled a supersized artificial intelligence platform on Tuesday that can process massive amounts of data, saying it aimed to lead the era of “hyperscale” AI. Dubbed HyperCLOVA, the firm’s latest AI tool is not only the local industry’s most advanced but is also the first large-scale AI trained in the Korean language, Naver said. “As a company that represents Korea’s artificial intelligence technology, we will find our w

May 25, 2021

FTC to look further into Google and Facebook’s advertising practices

The Fair Trade Commission of South Korea is expected to survey the local digital advertising market to uncover any unfair practices on the part of major platform operators such as Google and Facebook. According to government officials Tuesday, the antitrust watchdog has commissioned research on potential antitrust issues in the local advertising market. It will include in-depth interviews with advertisers, ad agencies and consumers. The US-based internet giants Google and Facebook are among

May 25, 2021

S. Korea ranks 4th in number of AI patents, but impact falls short: report

South Korea ranks fourth in terms of the number of patents registered in the artificial intelligence sector, but an index showing the impact of the patents shows that the quality of patents from South Korea fell relatively short, according to a report, Tuesday. The report from Clarivate Analytics and KAIST Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy says that the number of patents that South Korea registered in the AI field has reached 6,317 between 2010 and 2019, the fourth highest among the 10

May 25, 2021

2G services in S. Korea to be terminated by June

South Korea's ICT ministry on Tuesday said it has approved LG Uplus Corp.'s plan to phase out its 2G services by the end of June, which will mark the complete termination of the country's old telecommunications network. LG Uplus, the country's third-largest mobile carrier, will begin closing its 2G network here on June 11 following the ministry's approval. SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest wireless provider, ended its 2G services in July last year, while rival KT Corp. shut down 2G operat

May 25, 2021

SK Bioscience wins additional funding for COVID-19 vaccine development

SK Bioscience said Monday that it will be receiving additional funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for the development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The grant of up to $173.4 million will be spent on global phase 3 clinical tests of GBP510, a protein-based vaccine candidate that the South Korean firm is developing in collaboration with the University of Washington. The amount is far greater than what the Oslo-based international organization has provided to

May 24, 2021