Hanwha Q Cells files complaints against smaller rivals over patent infringement

South Korean solar-panel manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells has filed patent infringement complaints against three companies over allegations that they used its technology and imported it to the US, officials in Seoul said Wednesday.The solar-panel making unit under Hanwha Group filed the complaints against Jinko Solar Holding Co., Longi Solar and REC Group with the US International Trade Commission on Tuesday. It also sued the same companies at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, and s

March 6, 2019

App-based food deliveries soar amid fine dust pollution

Application-based food delivery orders jumped nearly 8 percent over the weekend compared with a week earlier due to high concentrations of fine dust air pollution, the country's leading food delivery app said Wednesday. From Friday to Sunday the number of app-based food delivery orders soared by 240,000 to 3.34 million, compared with a week ago, according to Baedal Minjok, or Baemin.  (Yonhap)"At this time of year, app-based food orders used to decline due to rising temperatures. But this year a

March 6, 2019

S. Korea leads in global 5G race: report

KT chief Hwang Chang-gyu delivers a keynote speech during 2019 MWC in Barcelona last week. KTSouth Korea has the most advanced 5G network in the world after using the Winter Olympics to showcase its edge and is set to roll out commercial services later this month, a London-based market researcher said Wednesday. According to Arthur D. Little's 5G country leadership index on over 40 countries, South Korea was identified as the 5G leader ahead of the United States, Australia, Qatar, Switzerland an

March 6, 2019

Smart farm project in UAE: test bed for agro-transformation

KHOR FAKKAN, United Arab Emirates -- Abdullah, a 20-year-old farmer, learned how to raise crops, including cucumbers, two years ago from a charity foundation located in the port city of Khor Fakkan in Sharjah. Born with disability, he is not strong enough to work all day long under the scorching sun. But he is seeking to expand his boundaries in the barren Middle East territory by growing herbs that require cool temperatures and wet soil. Not only the young farmer but also the local Mideast agri

March 3, 2019

LG Display defines Samsung QLED as QD-LCD

What is being called “QLED TV” in today’s market is technically a liquid-crystal display TV using quantum dots, said Han Sang-beom, vice chairman of LG Display, the world’s largest provider of organic light-emitting diode panels, on Wednesday. “There is a need to clarify technical differences between QLED and OLED due to confusion in the market,” Han told reporters after a study session on the company’s OLED technology, at the LG Science Park in Magok, northwestern Seoul. QLED TV is Samsung Elec

Feb. 28, 2019

More people fall victim to phone scams in 2018

Nearly 50,000 people were victims of phone financial scams last year, amounting to 444 billion won ($396.78 million) in lost money, regulator data showed Thursday.The amount of money lost to scams increased 82.7 percent from 2017 as people fell victim to phone calls coaxing them to reveal their passwords and other security information on their financial accounts, a crime known as "voice phishing." (Yonhap)Data from the Financial Supervisory Service said 48,643 people were conned last year, an av

Feb. 28, 2019

SK Telecom teams up with Singtel for e-sports in Asia

BARCELONA, (Yonhap) -- South Korea's SK Telecom said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Singapore's Singtel to cooperate on gaming and e-sports in Asia.The partnership enables SK Telecom to expand its games business and increase the profile of its e-sports team in the Singtel Group's markets in Southeast Asia via existing channels. (Yonhap)Under the agreement, the carriers will work together on developing and providing digital gaming content, solutions and services

Feb. 27, 2019

UAE prince’s visit to Samsung casts light on sale of GlobalFoundries

A second meeting between Samsung Electronics’ chief and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates raised speculations Tuesday that the South Korean tech titan could take over ownership of the world’s third-biggest foundry business, GlobalFoundries. UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan was scheduled to visit Samsung’s production facilities in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday during his visit to Seoul. Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong greeted the UAE prince and took him on a

Feb. 26, 2019

S. Korea’s upcoming 5G service to target business sector: KT chief

BARCELONA, Spain -- The head of South Korea’s major mobile carrier said Monday that the country’s business sectors will be the first to see the benefits of the fifth-generation network when its commercial service kicks off this March.During his opening speech for Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu said the long-anticipated 5G technology will be applied to an extensive range of business areas -- from high-tech smart factories to traffic networks for autonomous dr

Feb. 25, 2019

[Newsmaker] Will second screen help LG’s struggling smartphone biz?

With the announcement of the V50 ThinQ phone, one thing has been clear: LG Electronics is out, for now, of the unfolding competition for foldable phones. According to online communities, tech bloggers and influencers on Monday, the South Korean smartphone manufacturer’s unveiling of its latest flagship phones for 2019 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, gave an impression that LG is “kind of lost” in its attempts to keep up with fast-changing trends in the mobile world. As Samsung

Feb. 25, 2019

Samsung mulls new naming arrangement for future flagship phones: sources

Samsung Electronics Co. is examining a new naming arrangement for its next generation flagship phones following the launch of its Galaxy S10 series devices last week, a corporate source said Sunday.Insiders on the South Korean tech giant's global brand marketing team present at the unpacking event in San Francisco for the four S10s and all-new Galaxy Fold said there are internal discussions on the current alphanumeric system. The present system has been around since the first Galaxy S in 2009. (

Feb. 24, 2019

Samsung develops RF chipsets for 5G base stations

Samsung Electronics announced Friday that it has completed chipset development for fifth-generation network base stations. The core components of the 5G chipsets are mmWave radio frequency integrated circuits and digital/analog front-end ASICs, supporting 28-gigahertz and 39-gigahertz bands.  (Samsung Electronics) (Samsung Electronics)Samsung’s new RFICs and DAFE ASICs enable a reduction in size, weight and power consumption of about 25 percent for the 5G base stations when compared with previou

Feb. 22, 2019

SK hynix to invest W120tr in 4 chip plants in Yongin

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip provider, announced Thursday it will invest a total of 120 trillion won ($106.65 billion) to build four fabrication lines at a new semiconductor industrial complex in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. According to the announcement, a special purpose company set up by SK Engineering & Construction and multiple financial investors has submitted a letter of intent for the investment to the city of Yongin, joining forces to help create a fresh cluster for ch

Feb. 21, 2019

Samsung unveils first foldable gadget

Samsung Electronics has finally unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, at the Unpacked event for the 10th anniversary edition of Galaxy S phones in San Francisco on Wednesday. The highly anticipated Galaxy Fold features the world’s first 7.3-inch Infinity Flex Display, which folds into a compact device with a cover display, offering a new way of multitasking, including watching videos and playing games. “Today, Samsung is writing the next chapter in mobile innovation history by

Feb. 21, 2019

Nearly everything spills out before Galaxy S10 Unpacked event

A day before the official unveiling of the 10th-anniversary Galaxy smartphone series in San Francisco, nearly every detail about the newest Samsung products was leaked in an alleged mishap that even involved airing a TV commercial, various reports said on Wednesday. The 30-second ad for the Galaxy S10 series aired on TV2, the largest commercial broadcaster in Norway. (Samsung Electronics)Creating hype before a product launch by releasing teasers can often be part of a marketing strategy, but thi

Feb. 20, 2019

S. Korea to begin 5G service in March: finance minister

South Korea's finance minister said Wednesday that Seoul will become the first country in the world to start commercial operations of fifth-generation mobile network services next month.Hong Nam-ki made the announcement at a meeting with senior officials on innovation-led growth in Seoul. (Yonhap)KT Corp., South Korea's leading wireless and fixed-line services provider, carried out a world first trial service of its 5G system during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last year.5G data transmission

Feb. 20, 2019

SK hynix makes Zero Waste to Landfill list

SK hynix has become the 14th company in the world and the first in South Korea to obtain international Zero Waste to Landfill certification, the company said Tuesday. The honor is granted to businesses that send almost no waste to landfills despite running manufacturing facilities. The semiconductor supplier has diverted 90 percent of the waste from its main corporate campus in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, away from landfills and toward alternative disposal methods such as reuse or recycling. For

Feb. 19, 2019

LG Innotek starts mass production of 3D sensor module for G8 ThinQ

LG Innotek said Tuesday it will start mass-producing 3D sensing modules for smartphones, including LG Electronics’ upcoming G8 ThinQ phones. The electronics parts supplier of LG Group is rolling out the time-of-flight module, known as ToF. LG Electronics had previously announced that it had adopted the ToF sensor made by Germany’s Infineon Technologies for its new flagship phone G8 ThinQ.  ToF module (LG Innotek)The ToF sensor supplied by the German firm and assembled into a module by LG Innotek

Feb. 19, 2019

Imports of medical cannabis to be allowed next month

A revised narcotics bill that goes into effect March 12 will give the green light to imports of medical cannabis for self-treatment under strict conditions.Under the revised law, cannabis derivatives that have been approved abroad for self-treatment purposes can be brought into South Korea through the Korea Orphan and Essential Drug Center, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.(Yonhap)People with diseases for which there are no alternative means of treatment in Korea can import four

Feb. 19, 2019

S. Korea ranks 7th in OECD's science, technology capabilities scale in 2018

South Korea's science and technology capabilities ranked seventh among other major economies in 2018, a state-run think tank said Monday.The Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning said its evaluation was compared against one done on the 34 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development last year. (KISTEP)The evaluation was based on five categories: research environment, support from both the public and private sectors, quality of work carried out by scientists

Feb. 18, 2019