Introducing SK Telecom's rising star, Nugu

SK Telecom has ambitious plans for its voice-activated assistant Nugu, which it hopes will become the epitome of a customized life powered by artificial intelligence, with services ranging from basic information about traffic and weather conditions to shopping and delivery.First rolled out in September 2016, the voice-activated speaker is rapidly expanding its service capabilities in conjunction with SK Telecom’s existing strengths in its car navigation system Tmap and e-commerce platform 11st a

Feb. 7, 2018

Samsung Electronics mulls building 2nd chip line in S. Korea

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is pushing to build a second chip-production line near Seoul, industry sources said Tuesday, amid rising demand for semiconductors.The tech giant is in talks with officials in Pyeongtaek over a new chip-production line in that city, an insider said, although no specific size or timing of investment has been determined.The city is located some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and is already the home of Samsung's chip-production line. The production lin

Feb. 6, 2018

Backed by record-high sales, Netmarble vows ‘pre-emptive’ strategy

The founder of mobile game company Netmarble said Tuesday that Korean game companies need to take the initiative and begin developing new games early in order to stay competitive against Chinese game makers.On the same day, the games giant revealed its sales for 2017 reached a record high of 2.42 trillion won ($2.2 billion) mainly driven by the global popularity of its latest game product, “Lineage 2 Revolution.” Sales jumped 61.6 percent on-year, the company said in a regulatory filing, while o

Feb. 6, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang organizers roll out Q&A chatbot on Facebook Messenger

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics Committee has introduced a Q&A chatbot on Facebook Messenger that converses with you in text to provide automated answers to Olympic-related inquiries, Facebook said Tuesday.　Those interested in the service can visit the PyeongChang Olympics’ official Facebook Page and click “send message” to begin conversing with the chatbot via Facebook Messenger. The chatbot is available only in English and Korean. The Olympics chatbot can provide answers to simple topics such

Feb. 6, 2018

Number of cryptocurrency app users drops in Korea

The number of cryptocurrency-related app users has continued to go down in the past two weeks, shortly after it topped 2 million.Wiseapp, which tracks mobile apps, said Tuesday that it had analyzed approximately 23,000 Android smartphone users in Korea over a span of 14 weeks, from Oct. 30, 2017 through Feb. 4. The number of people using smartphone apps which show cryptocurrency exchange rates and market analysis have surged more than 14-fold from 140,000 in the first week of November to 2 milli

Feb. 6, 2018

[Photo News] Calling via 5G

KT Chief Executive Hwang Chang-gyu speaks in Seoul to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, host of this year’s Super Bowl, on Monday through a 5G video call. The two companies connected their wireless fifth-generation networks using equipment built by Samsung Electronics. KT executives tested out Verizon’s 5G virtual stadium, while Verizon executives tried out KT’s omni-view app over the connection, according to KT. (KT)

Feb. 5, 2018

SKT showcases 5G inter-vehicle communication for autonomous driving

HWASEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- SK Telecom and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority successfully test-drove two autonomous vehicles Monday at K-City in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, using technology that allowed the vehicles to communicate with each other in real time.In addition to the self-driving capabilities of the cars themselves, Monday’s test focused on the ability of the two cars to send and receive real-time information about driving conditions. A screen displays a real-time HD map o

Feb. 5, 2018

SK Telecom's Q4 net jumps 39.1% on increased competitiveness in Internet businesses

South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Monday its fourth-quarter net profit rose 39.1 percent from a year earlier due mainly to increased competitiveness in Internet businesses.Net income reached 660.6 billion won ($606 million) in the October-December period, compared with a profit of 474.7 billion won for the same period the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.For the whole of 2017, net profit came to 2.65 trillion won, up 60 percent from 2016.Operating profit

Feb. 5, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Ultra-fast 5G network to transform Olympics viewing experience

Russia’s 15-year-old figure skating sensation Alina Zagitova performs a fast triple lutz-triple loop combination on the ice. The moment passes by so quickly, and it’s hard to see what’s going on from your seat in the back of the stadium.　Propping on your 5G-enabled virtual reality headsets, you get a 360-degree view of the entire rink. On a smartphone, you slide your finger across the screen to view a particular jump to see how it was exactly performed in the split of a second.On a 5G-connected

Feb. 4, 2018

Internet use shifts dramatically to smartphones

Korea has seen a major shift to smartphones for internet activities over the last five years, with a corresponding decrease in the use of desktop PCs, according to government data Friday.A study by the Ministry of Science and ICT showed that between 2012 and 2017, the proportion of households that owned smartphones rose from 65 percent to 94.1 percent, while those that owned computers dropped from 82.3 percent to 74.7 percent, with a 20.1 percentage point drop in desktop PC ownership.Part of the

Feb. 2, 2018

Samsung partners with Grab for growing ride-hailing market in SE Asia

Samsung Electronics is gearing up for its entry into the car infotainment market by tapping into Southeast Asia’s largest on-demand transportation platform, the company announced Friday. Samsung signed a memorandum of understanding with Grab, a leading car sharing and mobile payment operator based in Singapore known as the Southeast Asian version of Uber, to drive digital inclusion in the region, it said. Under the memorandum, the South Korean tech titan will supply smartphone and tablet PCs for

Feb. 2, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korea to deploy 13,000 trash cans made of recycled paper at Olympics

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT plans to deploy 13,000 trash cans made with its proprietary paper recycling technology at the PyeongChang Olympics to spotlight the country’s efforts to promote environmental protection.It will also donate 6,000 boxes of A4 paper produced through its waste paper recycling technique for use at the International Broadcasting Center during the games, according to the ministry.The Korean government has been funding basic research for a number of fundamental

Feb. 1, 2018

[Monitor] Advanced technology seeping into work

One in 10 workers in South Korea have started to apply key technologies of the “fourth industrial revolution” such as artificial intelligence, big data and Internet of Things in their daily work, a survey by the Korea Employment Information Service showed.The survey also showed that men in their 30s and younger with a bachelors degree tend to make more use of advanced technologies.As the eight key technologies, the KEIS selected AI, big data, cloud, IoT, robotics, virtual reality, 3-D printers a

Feb. 1, 2018

Instagram offers a new digital outlet for Korean youth

In South Korea, university students are emerging as the most active users of Instagram, a photo-sharing app which now has more than 800 million monthly active users worldwide. Its image-based interface and the ‘hashtag (#)’ feature are suited to Korean youths’ desire to express themselves and hunt for hotspots. With around 70 percent of high school graduates going to university here, undergrad students in Korea consist mainly of those in their early to mid-20s. Koreans in their 20s use Instagram

Feb. 1, 2018

LG Uplus, SKT donate AI, IoT tech to aid persons with disabilities

Wireless carriers LG Uplus and SK Telecom are using their latest technologies in artificial intelligence and the internet of things to help those with disabilities.According to LG Uplus on Thursday, the company donated 500 AI assistant speakers to families including visually impaired people.  A SK Telecom employee helps a physically impaired person to operate the Smart Home system on a smartphone (SK Telecom)The speakers use U+ Our Home AI, a service launched by LG Uplus and Naver last year that

Feb. 1, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] KT’s 5G network ready to go at PyeongChang Olympics

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- South Korea’s KT, an official telecommunications partner for the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, announced Wednesday that its ultra-fast 5G network is fully deployed and ready for use during the international sporting event.　　Over the past two years, KT has been working with its partners Intel and Samsung Electronics to deploy the world’s first large-scale 5G trial network at the PyeongChang Olympics, with aims to offer the public an early glimpse of the new tech

Jan. 31, 2018

SKT readying new music service with K-pop heavyweights

SK Telecom said Wednesday that it is preparing to launch a new music platform service within the year in collaboration with major K-pop labels.Together with K-pop agencies S.M. Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and Big Hit Entertainment, SKT will be creating a music platform utilizing its strengths in artificial intelligence, 5G networking and blockchain technology, the company said. (From left) Jung Wook, CEO of JYP Entertainment, Bang Si-hyuk, CEO of Big Hit Entertainment, Noh Jong-won, head of

Jan. 31, 2018

Samsung Electronics decides on 50:1 stock split

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday decided on its first-ever stock split by lowering the face value of its stocks from 5,000 won ($4.70) to 100 won, a move that would increase the number of common stocks and liquidity, with the aim of improving long-term corporate value.The surprise decision, made in sync with the firm’s announcement of record highs in sales and operating profits in the fourth quarter of 2017, was immediately met with a jump in the company’s stock price. Samsung Electronics’ headq

Jan. 31, 2018

[Breaking] Samsung Electronics announces massive stock split plan, shares surge

Samsung Electronics has decided on a 50:1 stock split, expanding its issued shares from 128.4 million to 6.4 billion shares, according to a filing Wednesday.The stock split will be up for a vote at the regular shareholders‘ meeting scheduled for Mar. 23. (Yonhap)The 50:1 split means that a share worth 5,000 won, for example, would be split into fifty 100-won shares. This increases the number of shares while lowering stock prices to encourage more investors to buy shares in the company. “The Boar

Jan. 31, 2018

Samsung aims for stronger presence in India with 2018 Galaxy A8+

Samsung Electronics is working to strengthen its presence in India’s smartphone market after losing the No. 1 spot in the country to Chinese phone maker Xiaomi in 2017.According to data from Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi overtook Samsung for the first time in smartphone market share in the fourth quarter of 2017, ending Samsung’s six-year run in the top spot. Counterpoint Research put Xiaomi’s market share in the last quarter at 25 percent, and Samsung’s at 23 percent. The surge for Xiaomi came

Jan. 30, 2018