KT aims to make K-pop in Japan more realistic

　South Korean telecom firm KT announced Friday it will work with Japanese entertainment company JW2B to produce futuristic K-pop content for 5G-based smartphones using virtual and augmented technologies. 　The memorandum of understanding was signed in Tokyo on Thursday. 　The agreement allows KT users to enjoy AR- or VR-based content delivered by JW2B featuring K-pop stars’ performances in Japan. KT said the content will be available on 5G-powered smartphones and KT’s internet TV servi

June 21, 2019

Recovery of memory chip market likely to be delayed to next year

Forecasts for the global memory chip market are growing more pessimistic, as a rebound in prices is not likely to happen until next year amid tension between the United States and China’s Huawei Technologies, according to financial reports and industry insiders on Thursday. The negative outlook is dampening expectations about South Korean chipmakers’ performance for the next six months. Global financial institutions, including UBS Securities, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, recentl

June 20, 2019

SKT launches app for parking lots using Tmap

　South Korea’s biggest mobile carrier SK Telecom launched Wednesday a smartphone application aimed at helping address the chronic problem of parking space shortage.　The company said it has released the Tmap Parking app to help users locate parking lots. Based on its navigation app Tmap, the service notifies drivers about available parking spaces nationwide in real time.  　Users can also purchase parking tickets via SKT’s parking app before parking at designated spaces. The servi

June 19, 2019

South Korean government, telecom firms unveil 7-year 5G growth plans

The South Korean government on Wednesday unveiled extensive schemes to expand industries related to the fifth-generation cellular network, with an aim to boost the Korean companies’ global market share in 5G network equipment and smartphones. The meeting, presided over by Science and ICT Minister Yoo Young-min, was attended by chiefs from SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, along with mobile division leaders from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.The participants launched the “5G plus

June 19, 2019

S. Korea retains top spot on EU innovation list

South Korea retained the top spot in a European innovation list for the seventh consecutive year, the finance ministry said Wednesday.South Korea scored 137 points in global performance in relation to the European Union in the European Innovation Scoreboard that provides a comparative assessment of the research and innovation performance of the 28 EU member states and 18 select countries, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance."South Korea is the most innovative country performing

June 19, 2019

Naver deserves credit for its presence on Google-dominant scene: founder

 Naver, the reigning search engine in South Korea, should receive credit for its presence on the Google-dominant scene, its founder said Tuesday.　“I am proud to have built a search engine in our own language, allowing our own people to use the platform,” Lee Hae-jin, the billionaire founder of South Korea‘s top portal operator Naver Corp., said in a forum here.　Appearing after a two-year absence from the public eye, Lee said there are very few countries in the world where

June 18, 2019

KT vows to invest W500b in cloud computing business

　South Korean telecommunications firm KT said Tuesday it will invest up to 500 billion won ($421 million) in expanding its cloud computing business, with an aim to target government agencies and financial firms. 　During a press conference in Seoul, KT announced its five-year business plan to support companies’ efforts to migrate massive data to cloud servers. KT pledged to increase the country’s cloud services market to 7 trillion won by 2023. 　As the government is seeking to ease re

June 18, 2019

Samsung’s system chip head says M&As needed for non-memory goal

Samsung Electronics will aggressively push for mergers and acquisitions of startups and sizable global businesses in the field of non-memory semiconductors, said the head of its system-on-chip business on Tuesday. Kang In-yup, president of the system LSI business of Samsung’s device solutions division, emphasized that Samsung “is open to M&As,” after announcing his unit’s plan to accelerate the development and commercialization of neural processing units and NPU-equip

June 18, 2019

Samsung, SK Telecom join hands for 6G R&D

Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Telecom Co. said Tuesday they have agreed to work together to upgrade the performance of the commercial 5G network and develop technologies related to 6G.Samsung, which provides end-to-end 5G solutions ranging from modems and chipsets to smartphones, has been providing its equipment to South Korea's leading mobile carrier for the commercial rollout.  As SK Telecom is currently building additional base stations to expand nationwide coverage, the two companies f

June 18, 2019

Naver launches mobile payment service in Japan

South Korea’s internet giant Naver said Monday it has introduced a mobile payment system that can be used at stores in Japan, a move that the company said could help Koreans traveling there have a better shopping experience.According to the firm, its users can purchase items in Japan via its own mobile payment service Naver Pay. Using the tool called Cross-Border service, the users can carry out electronic payments by swiping a QR code with mobile devices.  The service is available at

June 17, 2019

Samsung heir keeps tight rein on future businesses

Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Electronics, on Monday continued his visits to the tech giant’s emerging businesses in the fields of automotive parts and the fifth-generation network. Samsung Vice Chairman Lee visited the headquarters of Samsung Electro-Mechanics in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, to check out the affiliate’s new businesses in auto parts and 5G modules, according to the firm.The Samsung affiliate is a major provider of

June 17, 2019

[Monitor] Samsung Display maintains lead in smartphone display market

Samsung Display maintained its top position in the global smartphone display market in the first quarter as more handset makers adopted OLED panels for their premium products, according to the data by IHS Markit.Samsung Display delivered $3.4 billion worth of smartphone displays in the first three months of this year, taking up 40.2 percent of the total market share.Japan Display Inc. was a distant second player with a 12.3 percent share, and China’s BOE came in third with 11.9 percent. Wh

June 17, 2019

Samsung Display maintains formidable lead in smartphone display market in Q1

Samsung Display Co. maintained its dominant position in the global smartphone display market in the first quarter as more handset makers adopted OLED panels for their premium products, a market researcher said Monday. The display making unit of Samsung Electronics shipped $3.4 billion worth of smartphone displays in the January-March period, accounting for 40.2 percent of the total market share, according to the data by IHS Markit.  The Korean firm's market share shed 6.6 percentage points

June 17, 2019

SKT to develop 6G network tech with Nokia, Ericsson

  South Korea’s biggest mobile carrier SK Telecom said Sunday it will develop the sixth-generation network technology with Nokia and Ericsson, as the Korean government seeks to enhance economic ties with Nordic countries. The telecom firm signed memorandums of understanding for research and development cooperation with the two companies based in Finland and Sweden. The agreement with Nokia and Ericson was made on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, at their headquarters. While

June 16, 2019

Samsung denies rumors of Galaxy Fold’s July launch

Little progress seems to have been made on the launch of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Fold, as the company on Friday denied rumors that the world’s first foldable smartphone would be released in July. There have been rumors that the foldable device would be unveiled to Korean media in June and released on the market in July. Last week, Samsung’s smartphone business chief Koh Dong-jin told a Korean media outlet that the phone would arrive before July. However, according to Samsun

June 14, 2019

[Herald Interview] S. Korea's top IP official vows to create user-friendly patent system

 　South Korean companies will experience faster, more predictable and applicant-friendly patent system in the future both here and overseas as efforts are underway to create an efficient and transparent ecosystem, the country’s top intellectual property official said on Thursday.　During his interview with The Korea Herald, Intellectual Property Office Commissioner Park Won-joo said top IP officials from five major countries agreed to streamline patent registration processes for applic

June 13, 2019

LG Chem ties up with Geely to break into China’s EV market

LG Chem announced Thursday its first joint venture with China’s No. 1 automaker Geely Auto Group for the production of electric vehicle batteries, with a plan to secure capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours by late 2021. The South Korean battery manufacturer said it signed a contract with the Chinese automaker on the establishment of the joint venture, with an equal amount of financial investments from each company, at Geely’s research center in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday. Under

June 13, 2019

LG Group pushes to sell stake in affiliates for future biz investments

LG Corp., the holding company of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, is continuing to streamline the group’s business portfolio by selling its stake in multiple affiliates in order to focus on future businesses, according to industry sources Wednesday. As part of the plan, the company is preparing to sell over 35 percent stake in LG CNS, an IT software development affiliate in which it owns 85 percent shares. Although LG Corp. said the sell-off is still under consideration, JP

June 12, 2019

[News Focus] After ‘Pokemon Go,’ what’s next for AR games in 5G?

　With companies around the world searching for new business opportunities with the fifth-generation cellular network, augmented reality appears to be a crucial technology in maximizing the effects of 5G, offering new content experiences to consumers, namely in gaming.　The country’s three major mobile carriers have been scrambling to find AR-based contents that could prove as popular as mega-hit game “Pokemon Go.” But questions linger as to whether the new network service will s

June 12, 2019

LG considers selling stakes in IT arm

South Korea's major family-controlled conglomerate LG Group said Tuesday it is currently considering selling stakes in its information technology (IT) arm LG CNS."We plan to sell LG CNS to beef up competitiveness, although nothing in detail has been decided yet," an official from LG Group said. The sale apparently comes in response to the Fair Trade Commission's move to bolster regulations against intra-affiliate trades of family-controlled business groups, market watchers said.Co

June 11, 2019