SKT adopts Xilinx’s neural processing unit to boost AI

SK Telecom, South Korea’s biggest mobile carrier, has deployed US chipmaker Xilinx’s neural processing units to accelerate its artificial intelligence processing speed and performance by fivefold, the two companies announced Thursday. Known as FPGAs or field-programmable gate arrays, the integrated circuits based on latest deep learning techniques are now deployed at the mobile carrier’s data center and are running its automatic speech-recognition application to accelerate AI speaker NUGU. SKT s

Aug. 16, 2018

LG CNS spins off in-house chatbot service venture Danbee

LG CNS, the information technology services unit of South Korea’s LG Group, said Thursday that it is spinning off its in-house venture Danbee, a developer of smart chatbot systems powered by artificial intelligence.Danbee was established as an in-house venture in January 2017 with just four employees. It was able to develop, test and perfect new chatbot technologies using LG CNS resources, while being given independent decision-making rights, LG said. (LG CNS)After a sufficient trial-and-error p

Aug. 16, 2018

5G competition heats up for ‘world first’ title

The global information and communication technology industry is witnessing a fierce race for commercialization of the fifth-generation mobile network services and products, as phone manufacturers and mobile carriers are aggressively engaged in heated competition to snatch the title of “world’s first.” A few days after Samsung Electronics’ smartphone chief Koh Dong-jin vowed to provide the world’s first 5G phones in March 2019, South Korea’s second-place phone maker LG Electronics on Wednesday an

Aug. 15, 2018

S. Korean chipmakers take over 73% of global DRAM market in Q2

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, South Korea’s two-biggest memory chip makers, dominated the global DRAM market with the largest combined share in the second quarter of the year, showed data from market researcher DRAMeXchange on Tuesday. Samsung and SK hynix accounted for a combined 73.5 percent of the world’s DRAM market in the April-June period, recording the biggest share. Samsung’s share dropped slightly from 44.9 percent in the first quarter to 43.6 percent, while SK hynix’s expanded from

Aug. 14, 2018

S. Korean ICT firms eye the North’s W100tr telecommunications market

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles featuring inter-Korean relations to mark the paper’s 65th anniversary that falls on Aug. 15. Following is the ninth installment. -- Ed.Along with recent moves to physically connect South and North Korea via the Trans-Korean Railway project, expectations of wirelessly linking the two Koreas with the help of the South’s cutting-edge information and communication technology are growing among related businesses and experts in Seoul. As hopes for ne

Aug. 14, 2018

Scientists develop elastic, bio-compatible material

A group of Korean scientists has developed a new type elastic and bio-compatible material that could be utilized in the research and production of future bioelectronics, a state-run institute said Tuesday.The Institute for Basic Science said it has succeeded in developing the highly stretchable nanowire composite that measures physiological signals, such as information on muscle and cardiac dysfunction. (Yonhap)Researchers used this new device on human skin to record the electrical activity of t

Aug. 14, 2018

[Photo News] Sejong City to launch IoT-powered public bike system

IOT-POWERED BIKES -- A fleet of public bikes powered by internet of things technology are parked at a docking station in Sejong City on Monday. The GPS-equipped bikes, which will officially be available for use from Wednesday, can be unlocked and returned at any of the city’s 400 bike docking stations by using a smartphone app. (Yonhap)

Aug. 13, 2018

Samsung seeks to recover sales volume with Note 9

Despite massive upgrades and a Bluetooth pen, Samsung Electronics appears to have set lower-than-expected prices for the newest Galaxy Note 9 as part of its sales expansion strategy to recover from poor S9 sales early this year, according to industry sources on Sunday. The ninth edition of the Galaxy Note series with a 4,000-miliamphere-hour battery for all-day performance will hit the market on Aug. 24 globally. Preorders for the phones will begin Monday in South Korea. The price of the 128-gig

Aug. 12, 2018

[Health-tech Korea] Healing dry eye syndrome with optic nerve regeneration

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 21st installment. - Ed.In South Korea, laser eye surgery, performed as LASIK or LASEK, has become a common medical procedure over the past decade. But for many patients, improved eyesight comes at the cost of a new, debilitating side effect: dry eye syndrome. Dry eye syndrome, or DES, is a condition in wh

Aug. 12, 2018

Tencent acquires stake in Bluehole, secures strategic partnership for global expansion

Bluehole, the South Korean game company behind the hit survival shooter game “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” said Friday that it had entered a strategic partnership with China’s Tencent Holdings to strengthen its footing in the global game market.Bluehole also said that Tencent had purchased a stake in Bluehole from Bluehole’s founding chairman, Chang Byung-gyu, as well as other early investors, confirming previous news reports that a deal was underway.Bluehole did not disclose the exact size o

Aug. 10, 2018

Global hit game ‘Fortnite’ arrives in Korea via PS4, Android devices

The globally popular survival shooting game “Fortnite: Battle Royale” officially arrived in South Korea on Friday. “Fortnite” is now available on PlayStation 4 consoles and Android smartphones, with preparations underway for the game’s launch at PC cafes nationwide. The game’s launch and future service plans were formally announced by the Korean unit of US-based Epic Games on Friday during a press conference held in Seoul.(Epic Games Korea)“Fortnite” for PS4 can now be downloaded for free via th

Aug. 10, 2018

S Pen gets smarter for Galaxy Note 9 phablet

The Galaxy Note 9 is all about the “smart S Pen” that has been equipped with Bluetooth technology for the first time, creating convenience for users of the 6.4-inch phablet device, one of the world’s biggest phones. Unveiled at Barclays Center in New York at midnight on Thursday, the ninth edition of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note phablet phone puts emphasis on the enhanced S Pen that is deemed the only differentiation point from other competing devices. Samsung's smartphone business chief Koh

Aug. 10, 2018

[Weekender] What effect does boyangsik have on your body?

Amid the blistering summer heat, people are opting for healthy food to boost their energy and get their appetite back. From samgyetang to roasted eel, Korea has diverse summer dishes passed down from generation to generation, called boyangsik, or food that strengthens the body. However, boyangsik could have unintended effects, such as sapping one’s energy, if the food does not match with the person’s body type, according to an oriental medicine expert.“Each individual is born with different phys

Aug. 9, 2018

Naver Webtoon forms ‘Studio N’ for webtoon-based film, drama production

Naver Webtoon, the digital comics platform operator under South Korean internet business giant Naver, on Thursday announced the launch of its new unit “Studio N,” which will take charge of translating popular webtoons into new films and drama series.Formed with 100 percent funding from Naver Webtoon, Studio N will work with media production companies to develop and release films and TV dramas based on the intellectual property of popular webtoons. Naver Webtoon CEO Kim Joon-Ku (Naver)The new sub

Aug. 9, 2018

Samsung to release Galaxy Note 9 early to boost sales

Samsung Electronics will start taking preorders for the upcoming flagship Galaxy Note 9 smartphones one day earlier than before in order to boost its sluggish smartphone sales, according to the industry on Thursday. The South Korean phone manufacturer was set to unveil its second flagship smartphone for the year in New York at midnight on Thursday, and begin the preorder process Monday in the Korean market. Korean mobile carriers had been planning to embark on receiving reservations for the new

Aug. 9, 2018

Kakao posts record Q2 revenue, but operating profit down 38%

Kakao, operator of South Korea’s top-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday it posted record-high revenue in the second quarter, but its operating profit dropped 38 percent due to heightened marketing and investment costs.During the April-June period, Kakao’s revenue reached 588.9 billion won ($526 million), up 25.7 percent from the previous year. Operating profit in the quarter came to 588.9 billion won, down 38.2 percent on-year, the company said in its earnings report.Kakao attributed

Aug. 9, 2018

Netmarble's operating income down 40.8 percent in Q2

Netmarble Games, South Korea's No. 1 mobile game developer and publisher, said Wednesday that its second-quarter operating income decreased 40.8 percent on-year.Operating income came to 62.2 billion won ($55.5 million) during the April-June period, and net income also shrank 15.1 percent on-year to 66.3 billion won, the company said. (Netmarble Games)Sales also decreased 7.3 percent on-year to 500.8 billion won during the cited period, while sales from overseas markets witnessed growth, Netmarbl

Aug. 8, 2018

Pizza Hut Korea introduces pizza serving robot

Pizza Hut Korea said Wednesday it has launched a test operation of a robot to serve food to customers as the company moves to strengthen its competitiveness with cutting-edge technologies. The robot, dubbed Dilly Plate, was unveiled at one of its stores in western Seoul on Monday for a two-week test run, marking the first case of adopting such technology in the country's dining industry, the company said. (Yonhap)Developed by Woowa Brothers Corp., a Korean startup that operates the food delivery

Aug. 8, 2018

Chinese bike-sharing giant Ofo preparing to pull out of Korea: sources

Less than a year after entering South Korea, Chinese bike-sharing giant Ofo is preparing to pull out of the Korean market in a move that appears to be motivated by shifting market priorities, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.Ofo recently began putting most of the Korea market employees on a “suspension” as part of a general layoff, as part of steps toward an exit from the market, an industry source with knowledge of the startup’s affairs told The Korea Herald.“Though it has yet to co

Aug. 7, 2018

Korea’s Macrogen, Bigster to create blockchain-based medical data platform

Macrogen, South Korea’s leading gene sequencing service provider, said Monday that it will work with local big data company Bigster to create a blockchain-based medical big data platform where information such as gene data can be safely stored and exchanged by interested parties. The two companies plan to complete the platform by June next year, joining a number of other firms that are also working to launch a blockchain-based medical data trading platform here.Gene data, which carries critical

Aug. 6, 2018