National Tax Service terminates Cyworld, ICT Ministry to investigate

The National Tax Service terminated the business registration of homegrown social networking service Cyworld on May 26, according to industry sources on Thursday. Meanwhile, the ICT Ministry said that Cyworld has not made a report to the NTS of a business termination and that it had expressed willingness to continue the business to the ministry. According to the Telecommunications Business Act, such an internet business is required to report to the ICT Ministry at least 30 days before perman

June 4, 2020

Lemonex develops new drug delivery system for siRNA therapeutics

Lemonex, a biotechnology company developing next generation RNA and immuno-oncology therapeutics, announced Thursday that it has developed a drug delivery system (DDS) highly effective for small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics based on its proprietary platform technology, DegradaBALL. DegradaBALL is an innovative modular DDS based on porous solid nanoparticle, having many favorable properties for RNA delivery such as convenient drug loading, effective intracellular uptake, biocompatibili

June 4, 2020

Purple Galaxy S20 edition devoted to BTS to hit market on July 9

Samsung Electronics plans to release a limited volume of purple Galaxy S20 smartphones devoted to South Korea’s top boyband BTS on July 9, according to news reports on Thursday. The purple color symbolizes BTS and its fan club Army. The anniversary of the day the fan club was officially named in 2013 falls on July 9. A video clip that hinted at the launch of the BTS edition Galaxy S20 was posted on Twitter and Instagram last week. The video delivered the message, “Find your

June 4, 2020

Samsung offers W38.8b for cutting-edge materials, biotech projects

Samsung Electronics will support 28 science and technology projects by providing 38.85 billion won ($31.88 million) this year, the tech giant said Thursday. The company has selected 14 projects in basic science, eight in materials science and six in the information communications technology sector to offer its funds. Samsung has provided a total of 758.9 billion won for 589 research and development projects in the three sectors since 2013 as part of corporate social responsibility. This ye

June 4, 2020

Korean tech firms join forces to reinforce AI capabilities

South Korea’s tech companies are moving to create coalitions to reinforce artificial intelligence technologies under the government’s initiative to make the country an AI powerhouse, according to industry sources Wednesday. Two competitive AI coalitions have been formed so far: One led by SK Telecom involving Samsung Electronics and Kakao, and the other by KT with LG Electronics and LG Uplus.  On Wednesday, KT, LG Electronics and LG Uplus announced they will make an open in

June 3, 2020

[Graphic News] Medical equipment output tops W7tr in 2019

　South Korea‘s output of medical equipment and related materials passed 7 trillion won ($5.7 billion) in 2019 on solid demand for dental treatment products, data showed. 　About 7.3 trillion won worth of medical equipment and materials were produced in the country last year, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. 　The sector’s annualized growth rate far outpaced the 2 percent increase in the country’s gross domestic product

June 3, 2020

Samsung’s top brass hears about labor relations from presidential council

Around 20 CEOs of Samsung Electronics and its affiliates on Monday attended a lecture by the head of the presidential council on economic, social and labor affairs, according to the company. The South Korean tech giant invited Moon Sung-hyun, chairperson of the presidential Economic, Social and Labor Council, and arranged a special lecture for the leaders of affiliates, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, Samsung C&T CEO Lee Young-ho and Samsung Life Insurance CEO Jeon

June 1, 2020

Samsung embarks on NAND flash line at 2nd Pyeongtaek fab

Samsung Electronics announced Monday it has embarked on creating the second production line for its advanced V-NAND flash memory chips in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, with a schedule to start rolling them out in the second half of 2021. The company has started working on the NAND cleanroom in May in order to respond to the rising demand for artificial intelligence and internet of things technologies amid the spreading non-contact lifestyles and services in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

June 1, 2020

Korean tech giants rethink full-fledged participation in IFA

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics -- the two biggest tech firms in South Korea -- are likely to scale back their participation in IFA 2020, amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, according to industry sources Sunday. However, the two firms have not yet finalized their plans to participate in the largest tradeshow for home appliances in Europe, slated for September. The IFA 2020 will be held onsite from Sept. 3-5 at the Messe Berlin exhibition hall as usual, the show’s organizer ann

May 31, 2020

SKT to develop AI-based post-production platform

SK Telecom said Friday it plans to develop an artificial intelligence-based post-production platform to help local firms to export cultural content products abroad. The South Korean telecommunications firm said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with local post-production firm New ID to collaborate on the project. “The latest partnership deal will meet increased foreign demand for Korea’s cultural productions,” the company said. “The two companies expect the

May 29, 2020

[Graphic News] Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)

  Timeline of reported cases Late April: An unidentified children’s illness reported in Europe May 9: Illness claims three children in New York, US, and one in France May 13: Casualty occurs in the UK; UK, France, US together confirm over 100 cases May 23: Mystery children’s illness spreads to 13 countries (25 states in the US) May 25: Korea launches disease surveillance systems May 26: Korea sees two suspected cases of the rare pediatric condition, both in Seoul　

May 29, 2020

Naver reshuffles internet cartoon business, seeks global expansion

Naver on Thursday said that it plans to make its US-based unit Webtoon Entertainment the head office for online cartoon businesses. The latest restructuring plan comes amid the South Korean internet giant’s efforts to expand its online cartoon business abroad. As part of the plan, California-based Webtoon Entertainment will purchase all stocks of Line Digital Frontier, the company’s Japanese internet cartoon unit. It will cost the US unit some 232 billion won ($187 million). The t

May 28, 2020

SK Broadband launches ‘ZEM Kids’ on B tv

SK Broadband said Thursday it has launched children-targeted “ZEM Kids” content on B tv Cable, the new name of Tbroad cable television that has been merged with the operator last month. ZEM Kids is a self-learning content aimed for children from toddlers to elementary school students. The content carries some 4,000 programs that include story-telling, English classes and sessions for parents. The story-telling program, for instance, has over 350 story options for kids aged 3 and u

May 28, 2020

Samsung’s health app slips into TVs in Korea, US, UK

Samsung Electronics said Friday it has expanded its mobile device-based health platform to televisions as demand for in-home fitness content and services is growing in the wake of the global pandemic. The Samsung Health app is now available on the company’s smart TVs launched this year in South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom. The app is designed as a wellness management platform that enables users to customize their personal health journeys by connecting them to premi

May 28, 2020

ULikeKorea introduces COVID-19 body patch monitoring system

South Korean ICT company specializing in smart livestock health management uLikeKorea said Wednesday it has successfully developed a COVID-19 body patch system that can monitor symptoms, activity level and location related to the virus in real-time. According to uLikeKorea, the system was made with non-toxic and environmentally friendly materials that can be attached to the chest. It can detect temperature, pulse, activity level and location in real-time, it said. “ULikeKorea used the

May 27, 2020

Local telecom firms bid for fifth-largest cable TV operator Hyundai HCN

South Korea’s three major telecommunications firms have submitted nonbinding indicative offers to acquire Hyundai HCN, the nation’s fifth-largest cable TV operator owned by Hyundai Department Store Group, according to industry sources Wednesday. The three local firms -- KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus -- are expected to compete for acquiring the cable TV operator, which has a 4 percent market share with 1.3 million subscribers. The cable TV unit’s total revenue last year was 292

May 27, 2020

[Herald Interview] JANDI: Usurping KakaoTalk in Korea’s work communication

Toss Lab, the maker of innovative collaboration tool JANDI, has established itself at the top of South Korea’s growing work communication platform market. The fledgling company, in just six years, has managed to go head-on with not only domestic competitors such as Flow and Collabee but also global companies like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Ironically, however, these direct competitors offer far less of a challenge than that of the immensely popular messenger service KakaoTalk, in JANDI

May 27, 2020

S. Korea’s first suspected MIS-C cases coronavirus-negative: KCDC

South Korean health officials are straining to contain a new flare-up of infections traced back to nightclub revelers in Itaewon, central Seoul, earlier this month. Of the 40 new patients confirmed positive Wednesday, 37 were linked to the nightclub cluster, while the other three were travelers from overseas. Since the first infected nightclub visitor was identified on May 6, an extensive testing of over 41,000 people with possible ties to the nightclubs has been carried out to find 259 positi

May 27, 2020

Hanwha Techwin launches world’s first 8K CCTV

Hanwha Techwin announced Wednesday the launch of the world’s first 8K closed-circuit TVs, featuring the highest resolution. The South Korean surveillance solution provider said it will roll out the CCTVs with 8K network camera featuring 33 million pixels. The 8K CCTVs provide images that are four times clearer than those of current 4K CCTVs, the company said. It enables recognition of a person sitting about 150 meters away in a baseball stadium, the firm explained. It is possible to

May 27, 2020

Mysterious children’s illness with potential links to COVID-19 arrives in S. Korea

The first suspected cases of a rare inflammatory disease striking children and young adults have been reported in South Korea, health authorities said Tuesday, issuing special warnings as preschools and primary schools are set to resume in-person classes Wednesday. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Deputy Director Kwon Jun-wook said in a Tuesday press briefing that two pediatric patients at health care institutions in Seoul might have the little-known condition, now

May 26, 2020