Cancer to kill 10m in 2018 despite better prevention

Cancer will kill nearly 10 million people this year, experts said Wednesday, warning the disease's global burden continues to rise in spite of better prevention and earlier diagnosis. An estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases were predicted worldwide for 2018 -- with 9.6 million deaths, said a report of the International Agency for Research on Cancer.This is up from estimated 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million deaths reported in the agency's last assessment just six years ago.The tol

Sept. 13, 2018

Renowned scholars discuss AI at Samsung forum

Globally renowned scholars in the field of artificial intelligence gathered at Samsung Electronics’ Seocho campus in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss the tasks faced by Samsung and other tech giants in embracing AI in the near future. The first day of the two-day Samsung AI Forum focused on deep learning algorithms and technologies, with the tech titan inviting eminent professors recognized as experts in the deep learning sector. Yann LeCun, a professor at New York University, lectured on self-supe

Sept. 12, 2018

LG Chem takes over US-based automotive adhesive maker Uniseal

LG Chem, a leading South Korean battery and chemical company, announced Wednesday that it acquired an American automotive adhesive maker as part of efforts to enhance the portfolio of its automotive material business. The Korean firm purchased a 100 percent stake in Indiana-based Uniseal from its parent company Koch Enterprises for an undisclosed price, it said. Uniseal, established in 1960, is one of the top 25 automotive adhesive makers chosen by the Adhesives & Sealants Industry this year. Th

Sept. 12, 2018

Second worker dies after CO2 leak at Samsung factory

YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province -- Another worker died Wednesday about a week after falling unconscious in a carbon dioxide leak at a Samsung Electronics factory, bringing the death toll in the accident to two.The 53-year-old, identified only by surname Kim, was one of the three workers knocked unconscious in the gas leak at a firefighting facility of the semiconductor factory in Giheung, south of Seoul, on Sept. 4. One of them died later that day.(Yonhap)Kim had been in the intensive care unit of a h

Sept. 12, 2018

Korea’s AI speaker market gets a new player with arrival of Google Home

The Google Home and a smaller version known as the Google Home Mini have officially arrived in South Korea, ramping up the competition in the domestic market for voice-controlled speakers powered by artificial intelligence.Google Korea on Tuesday announced the launch of its AI speakers here and began accepting preorders via the Google Store, Hi-Mart, Auction and SSG.Com. The devices officially go on sale Sept. 18. The Google Home runs on the US tech giant’s AI voice assistant platform Google Ass

Sept. 11, 2018

[Tech Brunch] Setting new standard with cylindrical battery platform

Tech Brunch breaks down how complex technologies work. -- Ed.The second heyday of cylindrical batteries is coming as electronic applications get bigger while going wireless, and Samsung SDI is one of the firms leading the trend with the newest form factor of the cells, says Jeong Sang-hun, principal engineer at the company. “The latest 21700 cylindrical battery platform is on its way to becoming a new standard due to performance improvement and proven safety,” said Jeong in an interview with The

Sept. 11, 2018

[Photo News] Homemakers advised to consult AI voice

“Okay, Google. How much time left on the laundry?” Google Korea on Tuesday presented its Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers at a company event in Hannam-dong, Seoul ahead of its official release date of Sept. 18. Its new artificial intelligence voice assistant helps users search the web, listen to music, check their calendars, set reminders and many other tasks to make life more convenient. The smart home device also boasts a “voice match” feature that can recognize up to six distin

Sept. 11, 2018

Paris Baguette showcases robots at its bakeries

Paris Croissant Co., the operator of South Korea's leading bakery chain, Paris Baguette, said Tuesday that it launched a test operation of robots at its outlets as local retailers accelerate their push for automation.According to the company, seven Paris Baguette outlets in Seoul began the two-month trial run of "smart bakeries" late last month.  In this photo, provided by Paris Croissant Co., its CEO Kwon In-tae (C) poses for a photo with LG Uplus Corp. CEO Ha Hyun-hwoi (R) at a Paris Baguette

Sept. 11, 2018

[Herald Interview] Young CEO pushes the envelope in smart health care market

In the digital health care industry, a host of startups such as Astera, Humanscape and MediBloc are introducing new health care services and platforms based on blockchain technology. But South Korea’s smart health care sector has yet to reach the level of growth seen in the US and China, due mainly to strict regulations on cloud services and related technology. As data can only be stored at medical institutions in Korea, patients cannot retrieve their medical information easily and must go to a

Sept. 11, 2018

[Graphic News] Depression rate rises 16% in 5 years

　The number of South Koreans treated for depression last year rose 15.8 percent from five years before, government data showed.　Some 681,000 patients were treated for depression last year, up from 588,000 tallied in 2012, according to the data compiled by the National Health Insurance Service. 　While the number for women grew 12.1 percent from 406,000 to 455,000, the comparable figure for men jumped 24 percent from 182,000 to 226,000, the data showed. 

Sept. 10, 2018

Will Samsung unveil world’s first foldable phone in November?

Samsung Electronics might reveal some details on the world’s first foldable smartphone in the pipeline at its developers’ conference in San Francisco in November, according to the industry on Monday. Rumors that the South Korean tech titan would unveil its foldable phone at the Samsung Developer Conference have been circulating around the world following a recent interview of the company’s mobile business CEO Koh Dong-jin by a group of foreign media outlets last week. Flexible OLED display (Sams

Sept. 10, 2018

[News Focus] Korea moves to strengthen regulation of Facebook, Google, Netflix

A group of lawmakers have set out to strengthen the regulation of foreign internet companies operating here, responding to complaints that they are not bound by the same laws that apply to competing South Korean firms in the sector.Led by Rep Byun Jae-il of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, 10 lawmakers recently proposed four bills aimed at “creating a level playing ground” and resolving the “reverse discrimination” problem in Korea’s information and communication technology sector.Among the

Sept. 10, 2018

Samsung Electronics launches AI research center in New York

Samsung Electronics Co. has launched its sixth artificial intelligence research center, located in New York, which will focus on robotics research, the company said Sunday. The tech giant is seeking to strengthen its AI capabilities and has opened research institutes in South Korea, Britain, Canada, Russia and Silicon Valley of the United States. (Yonhap)The new AI Center, which opened Friday, is led by Daniel D. Lee, a leading AI and robotics scientist who joined the company in June. H. Sebasti

Sept. 9, 2018

ZKW unveils new logo as LG affiliate

ZKW, an automotive lighting affiliate of LG Electronics, announced its new logo as an LG company on Friday, highlighting its role in driving the South Korean tech giant’s vehicle component business.The announcement was made after a visit by LG CEO Jo Seong-jin to its headquarters in Wieselburg on Wednesday. The CEO welcomed the Austrian company as a new LG affiliate and encouraged around 2,000 executives and employees at a ceremony. “ZKW will be major part of a great journey,” Jo said. “Wieselbu

Sept. 7, 2018

SK Innovation takes leap in electric vehicle market

SK Innovation, a South Korean refinery and energy company, is increasing its presence in the global market for electric vehicle batteries, raising expectations it could soon catch up with leading EV makers, according to a market researcher on Thursday. A recent report by SNE Research showed SK Innovation came in at No. 6 in shipments of batteries for electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles for the period between January and July. The company’s ranking ros

Sept. 6, 2018

‘Samsung will be leader in human-centric AI design’

LONDON -- Samsung Electronics will become a leader in the field of artificial intelligence by differentiating itself from other AI players with human-centric communication that will help devices understand users’ emotions better, said professor Maja Pantic, who is affiliated with a UK-based AI center for Samsung, on Tuesday. “Samsung’s devices will ceaselessly communicate with users and learn from them through the screen, voice, vision and tactile features,” said Pantic during a press conference

Sept. 6, 2018

Kakao Mobility joins hands with JapanTaxi

Kakao Mobility, a South Korean firm that provides ride-hailing and driver-for-hire services, said Thursday that it has invested 1.5 billion yen ($13.4 million) for a 3.4 percent stake in Japan's largest taxi-hailing service, JapanTaxi Co., in a move to expand its services beyond the home market.The two firms plan to release roaming services between their ride-hailing apps in the fourth quarter, Kakao Mobility said.  (Yonhap)The services will allow South Korean visitors in Japan to use Kakao Mobi

Sept. 6, 2018

South Korea’s top telco SKT losing market share

SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest telecom company by number of subscribers, is losing market share, while third-biggest player LG Uplus is expanding its presence, according to government data Wednesday. Statistics on the wireless service market from the Ministry of Science and ICT showed that SKT held market share of 41.9 percent in July, down 0.5 percentage point from December. It is the first time the top telco has reached the 41 percent mark in terms of the percentage of subscribers since the

Sept. 5, 2018

[From the Scene] Samsung seeks answers for design in trendy London

LONDON -- Millennials, referring to those born from 1982 onward, are called “transformers” at Samsung Design Europe. “In this new digitized and dematerialized paradigm, we saw these users play effortlessly between the physical and digital realities,” said Camille Hammerer, head of Trend Lab at SDE.“They were building their personal world with their own rules and relationship with this technology. We call them ‘transformers’ in day-to-day life.” Felix Heck, head of Samsung Design Europe, speaks d

Sept. 5, 2018

KakaoTalk to adopt option to delete sent messages

Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s most popular mobile messenger service, KakaoTalk, said Wednesday that it would soon roll out a new feature that would allow users to delete sent messages, making them disappear from both the sender’s chat room and the receiver’s. 　The company expects to debut the new function possibly as soon as the end of the year, a company spokesperson said, adding that the change will not be included in the next version 8.0 update scheduled this week. Right now, it’s poss

Sept. 5, 2018