Experts tout Korea’s 5G speed, coverage at SKT seminar

Global experts from around the world and industry officials agreed on supremacy of South Korea’s 5G network technologies at an online seminar hosted by SK Telecom on Wednesday. “Korea’s 5G achievements are special for the world,” said Alex Choi, vice president of Deutsche Telekom, during the seminar. “There are few countries that have 5G speed on 3.5 gigahertz as fast as Korea and coverage as wide as Korea.” Ross O’Brien, editor of MIT Tech Review,

Sept. 23, 2020

LG Wing to be most affordable expandable display phone

LG Electronics’ swiveling LG Wing smartphone will retail for 1.09 million won ($936), the company said Tuesday. “LG Wing’s retail price is the lowest among smartphones with multiple screens so far,” the company said in a press release. “The company has set the price at such an aggressive level in order to allow more consumers to experience the LG Wing’s new form factor.” The LG Wing features a 6.8-inch OLED main screen that can be swiveled horizont

Sept. 22, 2020

SK hynix invests in group's first AI entity Gauss Labs

SK hynix on Tuesday announced its investment in an artificial intelligence solutions company Gauss Labs that will lead SK Group’s future value creation. The chipmaker will invest $55 million in Gauss Labs as the sole investor through 2022. Last month, Gauss Labs opened its headquarters in California’s Silicon Valley, and plans to establish a Korean office later this month. Kim Young-han, a data scientist and tenured professor at the University of California, San Diego, will ser

Sept. 22, 2020

Mobile carriers step up partnerships for future mobility services

As the global transport sector braces for future mobility services like flying taxis, South Korean telecom operators are strengthening partnerships with both auto giants and startups alike to join the industry shift. Major local carriers have emerged as key players in the transport shake-up as network infrastructure and technology are crucial in developing future vehicles. Earlier this week, major telecom firm KT Corp. joined hands with the country's largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., as wel

Sept. 22, 2020

Samsung’s wearable robot meets global safety standards

Samsung Electronics’ first wearable robot, GEMS Hip, has been certified for its safety requirements by the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, the company announced Monday. Samsung first unveiled the GEMS robot, which stands for gait enhancing and motivating system, at CES 2019. The company has developed three types of the wearable robot: GEMS Hip, GEMS Knee and GEMS Ankle. Each one supports the particular body parts’ abilities, enabling wearers to move more easily.

Sept. 21, 2020

SK Telecom rolls out mobile app-based DNA test service

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Monday it has released a mobile app-based DNA testing service in partnership with bio firm Macrogen Inc. and the mobile carrier's joint venture Invites Healthcare Co., expanding its involvement in the digital health care sector. The subscription-based service, named care8 DNA, is offered through a mobile application, on which users can sign up for 29 types of genetic testing, such as for nicotine reliance and hair loss, according to th

Sept. 21, 2020

LG Electronics to release hair growth helmet

LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, said Monday it plans to launch a hair loss treatment device within this year. South Korea's drug safety ministry recently approved the LG Pra.L MediHair as a laser apparatus for medical use, according to the company. LG said its hair growth helmet is based on Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT), which was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. The wearable device combines 146 la

Sept. 21, 2020

Q3 tech earnings to improve on pent-up demand

South Korea’s tech industry is forecast to report a better performance in the third quarter than the second, owing to pent-up demand amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to financial sources on Sunday. Industry bellwether Samsung Electronics is expected to post over 10 trillion won ($8.58 billion) in operating profit in the July to September period, which would be up about 32 percent from the company’s Q3 operating profit last year. “Samsung’s mobile busines

Sept. 20, 2020

LG Uplus partners with Google Cloud for 5G mobile edge computing tech

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Sunday it is joining forces with Google to jointly develop 5G mobile edge computing (MEC) technology. Under the partnership, LG Uplus will work with Google Cloud, which will provide its artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, to develop new services that utilize MEC on the telecom operator's 5G network. MEC is a key technology in delivering ultra-low latency data communication in 5G networks, and it is expected to b

Sept. 20, 2020

Samsung globally launches Galaxy Z Fold 2

Samsung Electronics announced Friday that the company has officially launched the Galaxy Z Fold 2 in overseas markets. The company’s new foldable smartphone will be available in around 40 nations, including the US, Singapore, Thailand, England and France. The official launch date in the South Korean market has been delayed to Sept. 23 due to a large number of preorders, which currently stands at 80,000, the company said. Samsung Electronics said it plans to launch the new booklike fol

Sept. 18, 2020

Tech competition heats up over remote work in S. Korea during pandemic

  South Korean tech firms are joining the race for the growing remote work market, industry officials said Friday, as businesses brace for a drawn-out fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's workplaces have been reshaped this year as many companies opt to keep their workers out of offices to avoid infection risks. A July survey by the Korea Economic Research Institute found that 75 percent of the country's largest companies have introduced flexible working systems, reflecting

Sept. 18, 2020

LG Uplus to release self-driving 5G robot next year

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Friday it plans to roll out its 5G-powered autonomous robot next year.The robot -- which is being developed in partnership with autonomous mobility firm Unmanned Solution -- has recently demonstrated its abilities at local refiner Hyundai Oilbank Co.'s facility in Seosan, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, LG Uplus said. The robot was able to roam around the compound on its own with a margin of error of 10 centimeters and carry out safety p

Sept. 18, 2020

[Gadget Review] Swiveling LG Wing shows what we may have been missing

Before getting my hands on the LG Wing, I had no idea why we would need a screen that spins around. But once I got to swivel the main screen -- with the transition so incredibly suave thanks to the built-in hydraulic damper -- it was, indeed, a whole new experience. With the 6.8-inch P-OLED Full Vision display swiveled 90 degrees to set it horizontally, the LG phone offered the best conditions that vertical square-shape smartphones can offer for watching movies and taking photos or v

Sept. 17, 2020

[Herald Interview] Pandemic brings virtual care front and center

Health care is definitely an industrial sector that has been greatly influenced by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Rianne Meijerman, head of consumer marketing at multinational health care solution provider Royal Philips, sums up the latest changes in the market as an “acceleration of virtual care” and the “health continuum.” “This pandemic has brought virtual health care to the front and center,” Meijerman said in a virtual interview with The Korea Herald

Sept. 17, 2020

KT to develop companion robot for children and elderly

KT Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Thursday it has signed an agreement with Kakao Corp.'s telecom unit Stage Five to develop an artificial intelligence-powered companion robot targeting children and the elderly. Under the agreement, also signed by Taiwan-based Nuwa Robotics Corp. and the nongovernmental organization Ashoka Korea, the companies aim to release the companion robot in the first half of next year. KT said the robot will feature basic movement, such as nodding its

Sept. 17, 2020

Kakao launches corporate messenger Kakao Work

Kakao, operator of South Korea’s top mobile messaging platform, announced Wednesday that the company has launched a new enterprise messenger. The new corporate messenger developed by Kakao’s artificial intelligence unit Kakao Enterprise has combined existing user interface of popular messenger app Kakao Talk with AI and cloud technologies to support digital transformation of work environment and to improve work efficiency, according to the company. Kakao Enterprise has made the b

Sept. 16, 2020

US expresses concerns over Korea’s ‘Netflix law’

US officials expressed concerns over South Korea’s revised Telecommunications Business Act, which would require foreign platform operators to share the cost of ensuring stable services, business community representatives and government officials said Wednesday. According to the sources, the concerns that the rules unfairly targeted foreign platofrms were raised don Sept. 10 during a videoconference on information and communication technology policy attended by officials from both n

Sept. 16, 2020

KT to build 5G test facilities in S. Korea

KT Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Wednesday it will build 5G test facilities nationwide as part of the government's initiative to support companies developing new services on the high speed network. The 28.5 billion-won ($24.2 million) project is expected to be completed by 2023 and targets to provide small and medium-sized firms access to research versions of the 5G network to test nascent services, such as connected vehicles, drones and smart factories. The testing sites

Sept. 16, 2020

SK Telecom launches cloud gaming service with Microsoft

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top mobile carrier, said Wednesday it launched a cloud gaming service in partnership with Microsoft Corp., joining other telecom operators to compete for the growing local cloud gaming market. The mobile carrier's 5GX Cloud Game service is powered by Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, allowing gamers to stream and play the US tech titan's Xbox console titles on Android smartphones and tablets. Microsoft officially released its cloud gaming service simultaneousl

Sept. 16, 2020

[Monitor] China biggest semiconductor market for Korea

As the new US sanctions on China’s Huawei came into effect Tuesday, South Korea has stepped up monitoring on the impact of the ban on chip sales to the Chinese company. According to data by Korea International Trade Association, China was the biggest market for Korea to export semiconductors. From January through July, Korea exported a total of $22.49 billion worth semiconductor products to China, which accounted for 41.1 percent of the country’s total chip exports. And chip exp

Sept. 16, 2020