[Contribution] OECD World Forum: Discussing upgrading happiness

The sixth OECD World Forum will be held in Songdo, Incheon, for three days from Nov. 27. More than 1,500 stakeholders from around the world will gather to discuss issues related to the quality of life at the forum held every three years since 2004.The forum has gone through several major turning points so far. The second forum created a strong sense of consensus that the issue of quality of life should be raised beyond quantitative economic growth, after the global financial crisis in 2007. This

Nov. 26, 2018

Facebook Korea names former Line CBO Jung Ki-hyun as new chief

Facebook said Monday that Jung Ki-hyun, the former chief business officer of Naver-owned mobile messenger Line, has been appointed as the new chief of the US social networking giant’s operations in South Korea.　An expert businessman with over 15 years of experience in the local information and communications technology sector, Jung will assist Korean corporate clients in using the Facebook platform to grow in both Korean and overseas markets, the company said.  Facebook Korea`s new Country Manag

Nov. 26, 2018

Samsung retains No. 1 smartphone maker title in Q3

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its top global smartphone maker title by taking 19 percent of the market share in the third quarter of 2018, industry data showed Friday.The South Korean tech giant shipped 72.3 million units of smartphones over the July-September period, according to the data by industry tracker Counterpoint Research. This is down from 83.3 million units posted in the same period last year, when Samsung took up 21 percent of the market.(AFP)China-based Huawei Technologies Co.,

Nov. 23, 2018

Korea officially establishes association for drone soccer

JEONJU, South Korea -- South Korea has officially established an association for drone soccer, officials here said Friday, as the country aims to host an international competition in 2025. The municipal government of Jeonju said that the Korea Drone Soccer Association was officially recognized as a legal entity by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The association is co-led by Jeonju Mayor Kim Seung-su and CAMTIC Advanced Mechatronics Technology Institute chief Yang Gyun-eui.  (Yonhap)J

Nov. 23, 2018

LG Electronics CEO vows to strengthen partnership with suppliers

LG Electronics Vice Chairman and CEO Jo Seong-jin and suppliers pose for a photo at a workshop held at LG Science Park in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)LG Electronics Vice Chairman and CEO Jo Seong-jin said the company will promote automation of suppliers’ manufacturing units as part of efforts to strengthen business partnership. At a meeting with a group of suppliers here, Jo said the company would share innovative features with them, such as building an IT system, to increase efficiency in produ

Nov. 22, 2018

Samsung seeks to catch up with Xiaomi in India with Galaxy A9

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to release the Galaxy A9 smartphone in the Indian market next week, industry sources said Thursday, seeking to catch up with its Chinese rival, Xiaomi Corp.The Galaxy A9, whose release date for South Korea has not been confirmed, is the tech giant's first mid-range smartphone to come with a whopping four cameras on the back. The device will be released in India on Wednesday. (Yonhap)This year, Samsung Electronics released a variety of smartphones in India, including

Nov. 22, 2018

Bixby’s speech recognition to improve with more third-party developers: Samsung

Samsung Electronics will continue working to improve the accuracy of its artificial intelligence platform Bixby’s speech recognition by providing a comprehensive tool for third-party developers around the world, the tech titan’s officials said at a forum Tuesday. At the first Bixby Developer Day in Seoul, Samsung unveiled the details of the newest software development tool dubbed “Bixby Developer Studio” to Korean developers and encouraged them to join the tech company’s journey to develop Bixby

Nov. 20, 2018

Kakao Mini AI speaker can now read out loud KakaoTalk messages

Kakao’s smart speaker Kakao Mini can now read out loud KakaoTalk messages sent to your phone -- a feature that users have long been calling for.Kakao said Tuesday that Kakao Mini has been updated to include the new function. Users can go to the settings on the Kakao Mini configuration app to activate the feature.The new function is made available through a combination of natural language processing and voice recognition engines developed by Kakao, the company said. Messages from one-on-one chatr

Nov. 20, 2018

Samsung expected to adopt 'punch hole' display for Galaxy S10

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to adopt a full-screen display for the upcoming flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone that will come with a "punch hole" at the top for the camera, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, including popular tech blogger Evan Blass, Samsung's Galaxy S10 smartphone is anticipated to come with the new feature for its front-facing selfie shooter. This is an upgrade from some of the "intrusive" notch-design handsets sold in the market at present.  (Yonhap)T

Nov. 20, 2018

Samsung CEO seeks breakthrough with Galaxy 10, foldable phone

Koh Dong-jin, CEO of Samsung Electronics’ smartphone business, is making all-out efforts to seek a breakthrough in the company with the introduction of the 10th edition of the Galaxy and the world’s first commercial foldable smartphone. 　Koh recently said in a corporate message to executives and employees of the information technology and mobile communications division of Samsung that he felt “sorry about the currently struggling status of the Samsung smartphone business and will do my best to o

Nov. 19, 2018

KT opens first overseas ‘smart farm’ in UAE for disabled

South Korea’s leading mobile carrier KT said Monday it has opened a smart farm with cutting-edge information and communications technology in the United Arab Emirates, marking the company’s first ICT export to the Middle East region. The KT smart farm, about 600 square meters in size, is located in the Emirate of Sharjah, the third-largest region after Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It was established in cooperation with the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, which offers rehabilitation and education

Nov. 19, 2018

Kakao Pay to launch new investment platform, cross-border mobile pay service

After rising to become one of the easiest and most popular payment methods among Korean users through its flagship messenger service, Kakao Pay announced Monday it is expanding its business with an easy-to-use investment facilitator platform.The mobile finance unit of South Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao announced the launch of a new service, Kakao Investment, which lets users invest in various projects through the KakaoTalk messenger without the need to install a separate app. The service

Nov. 19, 2018

Scientists develop microscopy system to observe cancer treatment

POHANG, North Gyeongsang Province -- A group of South Korean scientists have developed an optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy, called OR-PAM, to observe the process of cancer treatment.The team led by Kim Chul-hong of the Pohang University of Science and Technology used the OR-PAM system to evaluate the effectiveness of solid tumor drugs in the vascular system.The feasibility of photoacoustic microscopy has been the subject of many researchers in recent years as it can observe microvascu

Nov. 19, 2018

Korea delays satellite launch due to inspection of rocket

South Korea said Monday that its new satellite launch has been delayed as American rocket company SpaceX extended its inspection of its Falcon 9.The launch date has been tentatively rescheduled to one of three days: Sunday, Monday or Dec. 1, the Ministry of Science and ICT said. (Yonhap)SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, could finalize a new launch date after completing its inspection of its two-stage rocket in one or two days, according to the ministry.The Falcon 9 had been scheduled to lift off at

Nov. 19, 2018

Naver sets ‘green dot’ as center of new mobile design

South Korean internet giant Naver said Friday that it would use a new “green dot” interactive search button as the core of its new design direction for its mobile site, aiming to bring smarter and more integrated web search functions to users.　“The ‘green dot’ is Naver’s new design identity and a central part of the company’s efforts to address various changes (in the internet space) that will continue to evolve in the future,” Kim Seung-eon, Naver’s Head of Design, said during a keynote speech

Nov. 16, 2018

First ‘Fortnite’ esports competition in Korea to take place next month

The inaugural esports competition for the globally popular survival shooting game “Fortnite Battle Royale” will take place in South Korea next month, bringing a new addition to the country’s active competitive gaming landscape. 　Epic Games, the US-based video game company behind “Fortnite,” plans to hold “Fortnite Korea Open 2018” on Dec. 15 at Korea University’s Hwajung Gymnasium. Players will compete for a 1 billion won ($885,000) donation to charity, according to the company.“The event marks

Nov. 16, 2018

Samsung hosts first AI forum in Beijing

In an effort to expand its presence in the Chinese market, Samsung Electronics hosted its first forum on artificial intelligence in Beijing on Thursday, presenting its newest technology solutions to tech leaders. The first such forum by Samsung drew around 500 officials from the country’s leading tech firms, such as Baidu, Xiaomi and Hikvision. Samsung’s choice of venue also drew attention, as China is intensifying competition with the US in attracting and fostering AI startups.Choi Cheol, execu

Nov. 15, 2018

SK hynix develops next-gen DRAM DDR5 for big data, AI applications

South Korea’s second-largest chipmaker SK hynix said Thursday that it has developed next-generation dynamic random-access memory, 16 gigabits DDR5, which offers speed and improved power efficiency to meet demand from sectors with intensive computing needs, such as big data analytics and artificial intelligence.The chipmaker plans to mass produce the new product from 2020, when demand for DDR5 RAM is expected to peak on the back of a growing number of data-intensive apps requiring faster and more

Nov. 15, 2018

Samsung SDS hosts Techtonic 2018 developer's conference

Samsung SDS, an information and communications technology solutions company under South Korea’s Samsung Group, on Thursday hosted an inaugural developer’s conference to share its know-how in next-generation technologies including artificial intelligence and blockchain.　In its first edition, “Techtonic 2018” brought together some 1,000 IT developers, college students and industry officials with master’s and doctorate degrees in IT development to discuss successful cases of business innovation usi

Nov. 15, 2018

Samsung releases gradient-color Galaxy S9

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that sales of a new gradient color edition of its Galaxy S9 smartphone will start this week, marking the first time such patterns have been applied on a flagship device.The company said the Polaris-blue edition of the Galaxy S9 combines silver and blue, providing users with a unique design.  Samsung Galaxy S9 Polaris-blue edition (Samsung Electronics via Yonhap)The new Galaxy S9 adds to the existing portfolio of black, blue, purple, red, and gold colors.The

Nov. 15, 2018