[CES 2019] Hyundai unveils four-legged walking concept car ‘Elevate’

LAS VEGAS — When we think of a car, the obvious image has always been one with four wheels attached to the vehicle’s body.However, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor has pushed the boundaries of this definition with its “walking car” concept Elevate, which was unveiled on the sidelines of the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday. Elevate is Hyundai’s first-ever vehicle with four moveable legs that give the car an insect-like look. It combines the technology found in electric cars and r

Jan. 8, 2019

[CES 2019] LG to equip AI TVs with Apple's wireless streaming service

LG Electronics Inc. said Monday that it will introduce artificial intelligence televisions equipped with Apple Inc.'s wireless streaming service and smart home platform.Tim Alessi, head of product marketing at LG's American unit, made the announcement ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which runs from Tuesday to Friday. (Yonhap)LG said its AI TV models will be equipped with AirPlay 2, Apple's wireless streaming standard, and HomeKit.The features allow Apple device users to enjo

Jan. 8, 2019

[CES 2019] Korean internet giant Naver debuts AI, robotics technology for first time on global stage

LAS VEGAS — South Korea’s biggest internet company Naver is debuting its proprietary artificial intelligence, robotics and mobility technologies to a global audience for the first time at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that kicks off Tuesday. Korean electronics giants such as Samsung and LG have regularly attended CES to showcase their latest technologies and products to the world. But it’s the first time for Naver, which operates the country’s biggest web portal and a slew of i

Jan. 7, 2019

[CES 2019] ‘Samsung Smart TVs will ultimately have built-in Google Assistant, Alexa’

LAS VEGAS -- Samsung Electronics’ Smart TVs will ultimately have multiple built-in artificial intelligence platforms of its competitors in order to provide as many choices as possible for its global customers, said the company’s TV business executive on Monday.The remarks came on the heels of Samsung’s announcement that it will partner with Google, Amazon and Apple to launch Smart TVs that are even inclusive of services provided by its archrival Apple, such as its new video-streaming service, iT

Jan. 7, 2019

[CES 2019] From recognizing voice to predicting needs, tech titans tout ‘seamless’ AI

LAS VEGAS -- Excitement about future consumer technology is building up in Las Vegas, as the world’s most innovative tech giants and startups arrived here on Monday, a day before the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show 2019. In the quest to realize smart homes, companies are about to unveil their newest artificial intelligence technologies that are expected to make consumer life “even better” with improved connectivity tapping into the upcoming fifth-generation network. After achieving thei

Jan. 7, 2019

Will Samsung’s foldable smartphone be game-changer in 2019?

The year 2019 will witness a revolutionary change in the form factor of smartphones, led by South Korean tech titan Samsung Electronics’ launch of its first foldable display phone that could be a game-changer for the stalled global smartphone market. According to announcements by Samsung so far, the so-called “Galaxy F” is likely to feature an organic light-emitting diode screen dubbed “Infinity Flex Display” that measures 7.3 inches diagonally when it’s opened. When folded in half, the size of

Jan. 6, 2019

[CES 2019] CES 2019 to showcase advanced AI power in consumer electronics with 5G

LAS VEGAS -- Kicking off on Tuesday in Las Vegas, the world’s biggest information technology tradeshow, Consumer Electronics Show 2019, is to showcase significant advancements in consumer electronics technologies led by “smarter” artificial intelligence that will be supported by a new fifth-generation network. AI and 5G are expected to take center stage at the annual tech event, with an increased number of connected devices such as TVs and other home appliances, according to the Consumer Technol

Jan. 6, 2019

SK Telecom, terrestrial broadcasters to launch local OTT by June

SK Telecom, South Korea’s No. 1 mobile operator said Thursday that it will team up with the country’s three terrestrial broadcasters to set up a local online video contents service by June.Park Jung-ho, the president of the telecommunication company, said after signing a memorandum of understanding with the broadcasters in Seoul, that the planned over the top service will be created by consolidating two existing contents platforms. (Yonhap)He said the merging of SK broadband Co.’s Oksusu service

Jan. 3, 2019

Number of mobile subscription changes falls to 13-year low: data

　The number of people who switched their mobile carriers plunged to a 13-year low last year after a series of government measures designed to prevent subscribers from receiving hefty subsidies for changing their telephone numbers. 　According to statistics released by the Korea Telecommunications Operations Association on Wednesday, the number of people who changed their mobile providers stood at 5,660,601 in 2018, 19.3 percent lower than the year before. This translates to a monthly average of 4

Jan. 2, 2019

SK Innovation to unveil flexible film for foldable devices at CES

The nation’s energy-to-petrochemical giant SK Innovation will introduce flexible film developed for foldable devices at the Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off next week in Las Vegas, the company said Tuesday.The transparent film, called Flexible Cover Window, was designed to protect displays and is considered a core component of foldable smartphones for its flexibility as well as its durability. Market interest in the plastic film has been growing alongside plans for the commercializatio

Jan. 1, 2019

[Monitor] Samsung Electronics No. 2 in patent applications worldwide

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics ranks second in terms of the number of patent applications filed worldwide, a recent report by the World Intellectual Property Organization showed.　According to the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2018, Japan’s Canon created 24,006 patent families between 2013 and 2015, followed by Samsung Electronics (21,836) and the State Grid Corporation of China. For Samsung, the largest share of its patent families -- patents taken out in multiple countries to protec

Jan. 1, 2019

5G to change Korea’s telecom industry landscape in 2019

The Year 2019 will be a cutthroat yet exciting year for South Korea’s telecommunications businesses as the introduction of faster fifth-generation telecom networks in March augurs upheavals in their own and other industries. The Korean mobile operators at the forefront of the 5G commercialization are widely expected to escape their traditional areas of business, mainly centering on providing high-speed internet and high-quality calls, stretching out to the media industry by providing new service

Jan. 1, 2019

1st simultaneous transplants of liver, different-blood-type kidney successfully conducted

A hospital in Seoul said Wednesday it has successfully conducted South Korea's first simultaneous transplants of a liver from a donor with the same blood type and a kidney from another donor, with a different blood type, to a man in his 60s.In June this year, a team of doctors at Saint Mary's Hospital performed the transplantations to the man, who was suffering liver cirrhosis and chronic renal insufficiency. (Yonhap)The case, published on the website of the journal Transplantation Proceedings,

Dec. 26, 2018

Korea to found innovation academy to nurture software experts

The South Korean government plans to launch an innovation academy and a series of education programs next year to nurture at least 10,000 IT professionals and boost industries central to the “fourth industrial revolution.”The Ministry and Science and ICT said Wednesday that it will found a two-year innovation academy, modeled after the French programming school Ecole 42, to educate about 2,500 software experts over the course of five years.The government also plans to set aside 180.6 billion won

Dec. 26, 2018

[Health-tech Korea] Bello: Tracking belly fat with a near-infrared light scanner

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles highlighting South Korea’s promising startups in the emerging sectors of digital health care and next-generation medical devices. This is the 23rd installment. -- Ed.To find out if you’re carrying extra fat -- whether you’re trying to lose weight or manage a serious health challenge like diabetes -- there isn’t much you can do other than step on a scale. Granted, there are ways to get more detailed information. You could calculate your body mas

Dec. 23, 2018

Samsung accelerates foundry biz with IBM, Qualcomm

Samsung Electronics is beefing up its foundry business by utilizing cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet technology to attract global IT giants such as IBM and Qualcomm as major customers, according to the industry on Friday. US-based IT mogul IBM Corp. announced Friday that it will use Samsung Foundry’s 7-nanometer EUV process to manufacture power processors for the IBM Power Systems, IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE high-performance computing systems and cloud offerings. The 7-nm EUV process was a strategic

Dec. 21, 2018

LG CNS ranks 4th in global AI competition

LG CNS, an IT solutions provider of LG Group, clinched fourth place in a global competition for artificial intelligence technologies, the company said Thursday. The LG affiliate competed with 340 teams from businesses and research teams around the world at the Adversarial Vision Challenge hosted by the Neural Information Processing System. It finished fourth, trailing behind teams from Carnegie Mellon University, Tsinghua University and Montreal College of Information and Technology. LG CNS was

Dec. 20, 2018

Samsung to update previous devices to use New Bixby

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it will use the New Bixby artificial intelligence platform in devices released before its Galaxy Note 9 flagship smartphone and invite more users to use the latest system.The South Korean tech giant, which launched New Bixby in August alongside its latest high-end smartphone, the Galaxy Note 9, said the application will be provided to users with older devices, including the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8, by the end of the month.The update will be intstalled wh

Dec. 20, 2018

[News Focus] Samsung, Huawei go beyond notch display with hole-punch tech

Asia’s leading smartphone manufacturers Samsung Electronics and Huawei are skipping the notch design display widely popularized by US rival Apple, suggesting the hole-punch as the next-generation design for smartphone displays that are free of bezels, according to the industry on Tuesday. A week after Samsung unveiled the mid-range Galaxy A8s equipped with a hole-punch display dubbed Infinity-O in China, its Chinese competitor Huawei on Monday announced the Nova 4 smartphone with a hole located

Dec. 19, 2018

New LG Uplus CEO hints at CJ HelloVision acquisition in H1

The new head of the nation’s third-largest telecom company said Wednesday that the firm would make a final decision as to whether it will acquire a local cable TV service provider by June next year, making its merger and acquisition attempt official for the first time. “We are going to decide whether to proceed with (acquiring the cable TV service provider) or not as soon as possible,” said LG Uplus CEO Ha Hyun-hoi at a press conference. “I will make that decision happen within the first half of

Dec. 19, 2018