Naver, Kakao’s overseas investments near W1tr this year

South Korea’s largest internet companies Naver and Kakao together invested nearly 1 trillion won ($878 million) in overseas businesses this year, a ninefold growth in foreign investments from the previous year, government-tracked data showed Tuesday.According to data provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT to Rep. Byun Jae-il of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Naver and Kakao’s overseas investments this year reached 979.7 billion won. This is around 8.8 times bigger than last year’s 11

Oct. 9, 2018

LG CNS takes on SAP, Oracle in Korea’s ERP solution market

LG CNS, the information technology services unit of South Korea’s LG Group, has launched a next-generation enterprise resource planning solution with aims to take over the local ERP market currently dominated by foreign software firms like SAP and Oracle.　The LG unit on Tuesday announced the launch of an upgraded ERP solution, promising higher cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency through design changes and integration with new technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computin

Oct. 9, 2018

Huawei fights back security concerns to assure Korean customers

Amid persistent concerns in the industry about potential security risks of deploying Huawei’s fifth-generation network equipment by Korean telecom companies, the Chinese tech giant said Monday it will respond to any requests by the Korean government or customers to prove its security capabilities. “Huawei has been working to meet requirements on security by governments around the world, and the company will obviously fulfill requirements by the Korean government, if it demands any,” the company

Oct. 8, 2018

[News Focus] Kakao’s carpooling service plans ignite backlash from taxi drivers

In South Korea, it is fairly easy to fetch a taxi in the daytime. You can flag down an empty cab on the side of the road, or summon a taxi to your current location via the Kakao Taxi mobile app on a smartphone.　However, the situation changes drastically at certain times of the day, including the morning and evening rush hour as well as late at night. Gangnam and Hongdae are notorious areas in Seoul where catching a cab after midnight seems almost impossible, with demand outweighing the supply of

Oct. 8, 2018

Kakao’s Ground X unveils blockchain platform Klaytn

Ground X, the blockchain subsidiary of South Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao, on Monday unveiled plans to launch a testnet version of its proprietary blockchain platform Klaytn.The firm introduced a position paper highlighting Klaytn’s technical architecture and direction on its official homepage for the first time, inviting interested players to join the platform.According to Ground X, Klaytn has prioritized user experience and developer experience in its design, under an aim to allow end u

Oct. 8, 2018

Samsung Electronics Q3 operating profit jumps 20.4% to record W17.5tr

Samsung Electronics’ operating profit in the third quarter rose 20.44 percent on-year to a record 17.5 trillion won ($15.4 billion), the company said in an earnings guidance report released Friday. Revenue during the July-September period was estimated to have increased by 4.75 percent on-year to 65 trillion won, according to the South Korean tech giant.The July-September performance marked the highest quarterly achievement for the company to date. The previous record was 15.6 trillion won set i

Oct. 5, 2018

Foreseeing 2020 turnaround, LG unveils V40 ThinQ with five cameras

South Korea’s LG Electronics unveiled the LG V40 ThinQ, the first smartphone ever to be equipped with five cameras, saying it was looking to foster smartphone sales in anticipation of a 2020 turnaround, the company said Thursday. “We didn’t simply increase the number of cameras. We focused all our capacity (on cameras), which is the most (widely) used part of a smartphone and the one that gets the most complaints (from customers),” said Hwang Jeong-hwan, head of LG Electronics’ mobile communicat

Oct. 4, 2018

Yoga gets tipsier, fuller with some beer

Lowering into a lunge, stretch your left arm up. Close your eyes and concentrate on the balance. Then, with your right arm, grab a beer and take a sip, perfecting the “sun salutation” poseIt has been a while since “beer yoga” arrived in Korea, after being embraced by Berlin hipsters.  Beer yoga class is held at PGA Golf Academy in southern Seoul on Saturday. (Almondon)A one-day beer yoga class was held Saturday at PGA Golf Academy in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, organized by yoga instructor Hwang

Oct. 4, 2018

[Photo News] Daewoo Electronics hosts K-pop festival in Mexico City

K-POP IN MEXICO -- Dancers perform at the “K-pop Party” festival organized by South Korea’s Daewoo Electronics in Mexico City on Sept. 30. The company said Thursday that the event featured a “Gangnam Style” dance contest, traditional Korean music performances and activities related to traditional culture, alongside booths introducing home appliances under the Daewoo Electronics and Dayou Winia brands. (Daewoo Electronics)

Oct. 4, 2018

Top tech chiefs summoned to Korea’s parliamentary audit

South Korea’s National Assembly is slated to summon the heads of domestic and foreign information and communication technology companies during this year’s parliamentary audit that is scheduled to kick off on Oct. 10.　The National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on Tuesday confirmed a list of 26 figures to be summoned to testify at the committee’s audit this month.Included in the list are chiefs of Korea’s top internet companies, including Naver founder and Glo

Oct. 3, 2018

Samsung Display to supply OLED displays for Audi e-tron

Samsung Display said Wednesday that the company would supply 7-inch organic light-emitting diode displays for Audi’s first commercial electric sport utility vehicle, the e-tron. Samsung’s OLED displays will be used for the virtual side-mirror system in which the 7-inch OLED monitors are mounted on the left and right sides of the dashboard and connected to rear-view cameras. The virtual side-mirror technology provides different angles and views for highway driving, turning street corners and park

Oct. 3, 2018

LG opens new R&D center for air-cleaning solutions

LG Electronics opened a new research and development center within the Gasan R&D Campus in southwestern Seoul that is dedicated to air-cleaning technologies and solutions, the company said Wednesday. Called the Air Science Research Center, it will focus on developing solutions for use in all LG air purifiers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers to upgrade their ability to eliminate dust, odors and microorganisms.  Researchers work at LG’s new R&D center for air-cleaning technologies and solutions

Oct. 3, 2018

Samsung set to release silver-colored Galaxy Note 9

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to start sales of a silver-colored Galaxy Note 9 as early as this week, industry sources said Tuesday, apparently to promote the device amid the launch of new iPhones and other rival products.    The new color adds to the existing portfolio of blue, black, purple and copper. The silver edition will also be released in the US. Galaxy Note 9 (Yonhap)    While Samsung has not yet announced the exact date for South Korea, it said the new edition will be released its hom

Oct. 2, 2018

[Graphic News] Cancer still No. 1 cause of death in South Korea

　Cancer remained the leading cause of death in South Korea in 2017, with heart-related illnesses second, government data showed.　A total of 285,534 South Koreans died in 2017, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea.　Of all deaths reported last year, 78,863 people died of cancer, or 27.6 percent of the total, making it the leading cause of death in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.　The death rate -- the number of deaths per 100,000 people -- from cancer rose to 1

Oct. 2, 2018

KT’s big data shows shorter work hours benefit leisure industry

With legal restrictions now in place limiting work hours to 52 hours per week, the leisure industry is seeing increased sales as employees spend more time on recreational activities during weekdays after work, an analysis conducted by KT’s Big Data Business Unit showed Tuesday. The mobile carrier, together with BC Card, analyzed signal information exchanged between floating populations’ mobile phones and the operator’s stations in the Gwanghwamun area in central Seoul from Aug. 1 through Sept. 1

Oct. 2, 2018

Korea to impose penalties on Facebook if local user data were breached

South Korea’s media regulator said it would impose penalties on Facebook if it finds that Korean users were among those whose personal data were compromised in the latest massive security breach affecting 50 million users worldwide.The Korea Communications Commission said Monday that it had requested Facebook to provide comprehensive information on the latest hacking attack’s motives and its potential impact on Korean users.“If found to have compromised the personal data of Korean users, Faceboo

Oct. 2, 2018

LG, Robotis step up partnership to develop self-driving robots

LG Electronics will start developing autonomous driving modules for robots with its partner Robotis, expanding applications of robotic technologies and self-driving solutions, the company said Monday. The two firms signed a contract Friday to co-develop autonomous driving modules that will be mainly used for moving robots. LG’s Advanced Robotics Lab under the CTO division plans to develop software using its intelligence navigation technologies, while Robotis will be responsible for building hard

Oct. 1, 2018

Private investment, international partnership feed budding Thai science school

RAYONG PROVINCE, Thailand -- Along a green lake in Wangchan Valley, students clad in purple-and-green uniforms stroll around a school campus surrounded by woods that stretch across the northern Rayong province in Thailand. They are part of some 200 students at the Kamnoetvidya Science Academy (KVIS) in 10th, 11th and 12th grades, who are chosen among some 5,000-7,000 applicants through a multilayered screening process each year. An exterior view of the KVIS campus (Son Ji-hyoung/The Korea Herald

Sept. 30, 2018

No more passports at Incheon Airport?

South Korea’s Incheon Airport has adopted an employee identification system using iris scanning technology, with aims to expand the biometrics ID system to all general airport users by as early as 2020, according to local news reports Sunday. 　If applied to the airport’s passenger check-in system, the system would allow people to pass customs and board airplanes via iris scanning, removing the need to present a physical passport. As of this month, Incheon Airport has reportedly installed an iris

Sept. 30, 2018

Line to launch 5 decentralized apps to push forward token economy

Line, the Japan-based mobile messenger under South Korean internet giant Naver, has announced plans to launch five new decentralized apps, or DApps, running on its proprietary blockchain network, Link Chain. The company said Friday that DApps focusing on various service categories including prediction, question-and-answer, product review, food review and location review will be introduced in the coming weeks, kicking off Line’s efforts to build up a token economy system.As part of the move, Line

Sept. 30, 2018