KT ditches Oracle’s database management system

KT has recently changed its database management system operator from Oracle to a third-party business, according to industry sources Monday. The mobile carrier has reportedly chosen Rimini Street as its database management system provider. A deal was signed considering costs and more efficient services, the sources explained. The partnership indicates KT’s attempts to opt out of overall reliance on Oracle products for its database system. It has not renewed Oracle’s DB license i

Feb. 3, 2020

Korean Battery makers forecast better 2020

All three South Korean lithium-ion battery makers saw alarming falls in their operating profits in 2019, but showed hopes that they could reap bigger profits from the growing electric vehicle battery market this year, according to the companies on Monday. Joining the announcements by Samsung SDI and SK Innovation last week, LG Chem said Monday its annual operating profit plunged 60.1 percent from 2018 to 895.6 billion won ($749 million) last year. Although the company posted its best sales

Feb. 3, 2020

Korean telcos to take part in MWC amid coronavirus fears

South Korea's three major telecommunication companies said Saturday they will participate in the upcoming mobile technologies trade fair as planned despite growing fears over the spread of the new strain of coronavirus. The three -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- said they have no plans to skip the Mobile World Congress 2020 in Spain. The event is scheduled from Feb. 24 to 27 in Barcelona. The MWC is one of the top three tech events in the world, along with the Consumer Electr

Feb. 1, 2020

Samsung’s earnings nosedive on weak chip, display markets in 2019

Samsung Electronics posted a 52.84 percent on-year decline in operating profit in 2019 due to the sluggish memory and display panel markets, according to its earnings report released Thursday. However, prospects for the largest South Korean tech giant this year are bright going by its better-than-expected performance in the fourth quarter, company officials said during an earnings conference call. Overall, the company recorded 230.4 trillion won ($194.85 billion) in sales last year, down 5.

Jan. 30, 2020

New coronavirus: Tips for staying safe

A novel coronavirus that started last month in Wuhan, a central Chinese city, has spread across China and to at least 13 other countries, including South Korea. In China, the pneumonia-inducing virus has killed 132 people and sickened 5,974 as of Wednesday morning, leading to an unprecedented lockdown of around 56 million people in affected areas. But this is after about 5 million had already left Wuhan, according to its mayor, Zhou Xianwang. Out of the 5 million, over 6,000 have reportedly c

Jan. 29, 2020

Samsung’s appliance head touts upcoming Galaxy Home Mini speaker

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Home Mini will likely be launched soon as the company plans to link the voice-activated AI speaker with most of its upcoming home appliances, according to its head of digital appliances on Wednesday. Lee Jae-seung, executive vice president and head of the digital appliances business at Samsung, highlighted the role of the artificial intelligence speaker that will connect almost all Samsung products this year during a press conference to unveil the company&rsqu

Jan. 29, 2020

[Newsmaker] Will Samsung’s new Galaxy Fold replace Note series?

Amid rumors that the next edition of Galaxy Fold will feature a bigger screen and S Pen, speculations that it could replace the 10-year-old Galaxy Note series are gaining ground, according to industry sources Tuesday. Responding to news reports based on a recent tweet that the Galaxy Fold 2 will feature an 8-inch main display, ultrathin glass and S Pen support, parts suppliers here said they are preparing for mass production of the device scheduled for the second half of the year. However, t

Jan. 28, 2020

Samsung SDS’ brand value reaches W4.3tr

Samsung SDS, an information and communication technology service arm of Samsung Electronics, has seen its brand value grow to 4.3 trillion won ($3.7 billion), a 6.5 percent increase compared to that of last year, the company said Monday.    In the latest edition of Brand Finance on IT companies, Samsung SDS was ranked 11th most valuable brand. The Samsung affiliate was the one of only two brands that rose in the IT service ranking, the company added. Samsung SDS recorded year-over-

Jan. 27, 2020

Samsung heir visits Brazil with mobile, TV heads

Samsung Electronics said Monday its Vice Chairman and heir Lee Jae-yong flew to Brazil during the Lunar New Year holidays as part of efforts to check on the Korean tech giant’s major businesses in the Latin American market. Lee visited the production facilities for smartphones, TVs and other home appliances located in the free trade zone of Manaus, Amazonas, in the north of Brazil. The zone is home to around 500 global businesses. Brazil is the biggest economy in Latin America. For Sa

Jan. 27, 2020

Local 5G equipment providers expected to see growth continue

South Korea’s 5G equipment providers could grow in the near future, as the demand for network infrastructure is anticipated to increase worldwide at a steady pace, according to local financial reports. The earnings of 5G equipment companies here could regain momentum down the road as global telecom firms seek to raise their capital expenditure on 5G infrastructure.  The improved prospects of Samsung Electronics, the major provider of telecom equipment here, will also lead to earnin

Jan. 27, 2020

Samsung sets up tech platform center, names new home appliance biz chief

Samsung Electronics created an in-house technology platform unit and named a new chief for its home appliance business in the company's latest reshuffle, corporate sources here said Thursday. Samsung combined its in-house tech units related with artificial intelligence, internet of things and big data solutions to set up a new tech group, tentatively named "next-generation platform center," according to the company officials.  The center will be headed by Chung Eui-suk, an executi

Jan. 23, 2020

Samsung's new foldable phone may be priced under 2m won: sources

Samsung Electronics Co.'s new foldable smartphone to be unveiled next month may be priced under 2 million won ($1,710), industry sources said Thursday, as the South Korean tech giant eyes attracting more consumers over its global rivals.Samsung's clamshell-type foldable phone, supposedly known as the Galaxy Z Flip, is set to be introduced at the company's "Unpacked" event in San Francisco on Feb. 11, along with a new version of its flagship smartphone that is likely to be named the Gal

Jan. 23, 2020

'Samsung plans to add video to smartphone messaging'

Samsung Electronics’ upcoming smartphones -- possibly including the clamshell device unofficially dubbed “Galaxy Z Flip” and the flagship Galaxy S20 series -- are expected to feature a new video chat service supported by Google’s Android system, according to sources on Wednesday. There are ongoing trilateral talks among device manufacturer Samsung, mobile carrier SK Telecom and Google on starting a video messaging service on Samsung’s Android-powered phones, a high-

Jan. 22, 2020

Cardiac arrest most common during Seollal, Chuseok holidays: Study

South Koreans experienced cardiac arrests out of hospital more frequently on national holidays than any other day of the year, according to a study. The May 2019 study published in the Korean Circulation Journal showed the two biggest holidays of Seollal and Chuseok -- Lunar New Year and Korean thanksgiving -- were associated with higher rates of incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and in-hospital mortality.The study surveyed 95,066 events of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest for patients

Jan. 22, 2020

Celltrion to open China’s biggest biologics facility in Wuhan

Celltrion announced Tuesday that it would build its first plant in Wuhan, China, saying it would be the country’s biggest biologics plant. Celltrion Group said it had the full support of the Hubei provincial government in setting up the plant, which would be able to manufacture 120,000 liters of biologic drugs. China’s largest current facility can produce 5,000 liters. The city in central China has a geographical advantage in shipping its products to all four corners of the country.

Jan. 21, 2020

Samsung to pay largest incentives for subcontractors

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it plans to give its chipmaking subcontractors a bonanza during the Lunar New Year holidays -- the biggest bonus since 2010 -- for their performance last year. The South Korean tech giant’s semiconductor division pays a total of 41.74 billion won ($35.8 million) to around 20,000 employees of primary and secondary contractors, marking the greatest sum in incentives for the second-half period since 2010. For the first half of last year, Samsung provided

Jan. 21, 2020

SK Telecom, Microsoft to expand cloud gaming service in Korea

SK Telecom said Tuesday it has reached a deal with Microsoft to expand the service of 5G-based cloud gaming platform Project xCloud here. The two firms hope to increase the number of games available on the platform. An alpha test is planned before the official launch -- the beta test was only opened to a select few.In September, SKT became an exclusive operating partner of Microsoft’s cloud gaming service in Korea. Since the company started the test run in October, the mobile carrier

Jan. 21, 2020

[Graphic News] Samsung ranks No. 3 in global wireless headset shipments in 2019

　Samsung Electronics ranked third in global wireless headset shipments last year, industry data showed, though it trailed far behind its rival Apple. 　Samsung shipped 7.4 million totally wireless headsets for a 6.9 percent market share in 2019, according to data from market tracker Strategy Analytics. 　Apple was the dominant force in the TWS market with a 54.4 percent market share after shipping 58.7 million AirPods, its signature TWS headset product, in 2019. (Yonhap)

Jan. 20, 2020

Hanwha Techwin unveils AI video security solutions for Middle East

Hanwha Techwin, a security solution subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, said Monday the company unveiled a new artificial intelligence-based security solution package at a tradeshow in Dubai with the goal of further expanding into the Middle East. The Hanwha unit took part in Intersec 2020, the largest security-related technology expo in Middle East, to introduce its Wisenet AI solution package consisting of AI-equipped closed circuit TV camera and network video recorder, which enables detections of

Jan. 20, 2020

ULikeKorea signs MOU with Denmark’s TDC to enter European market

ULike Korea, a smart livestock health care management company, announced Monday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Denmark’s largest telecommunication company, TDC, to launch the world’s first NB-IoT (Narrow Band IoT) bio-capsule in Denmark.ULikeKorea has recently developed the world’s first NB-IoT bio-capsule and will start a pilot project in the first half of this year at a dairy farm. NB-IoT technology enables the transmission of data using minimal power a

Jan. 20, 2020