Scientists develop new method to produce TPA

A group of South Korean scientists have developed a new eco-friendly method to chemically produce terephthalic acid, which is largely used for polyethylene terephthalate, the science ministry said Sunday, a development that could be a boon in the mass production of next-generation industrial plastic.TPA is a large-volume commodity chemical used principally as a monomer precursor in the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate, which finds a broad range of applications in making beverage contain

June 4, 2017

LG releases LG X500 with longer-running battery

LG Electronics Inc. said Sunday it will release a new smartphone with a 4,500 mAh battery this week, which would top all mobile phones in South Korea in terms of power capacity. The South Korean tech giant said the budget LG X500 will be available to users through the country's three mobile carriers starting Friday. A model poses with the LG X500 smartphone in this photo released by LG Electronics Inc. on June 4, 2017. (Yonhap)The company said the battery would allow users to play videos for 20

June 4, 2017

Samsung takes 13% of global smartphone operating profit

Samsung Electronics Co. accounted for 13 percent of the world's smartphone industry in terms of operating profit over the first quarter of 2017, data showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by Strategy Analytics, Samsung Electronics took up 12.9 percent of the combined operating profit posted by global players by posting US$1.57 billion in earnings over the January-March period, down 21.9 percent from a year earlier.  (Yonhap)Samsung's archrival Apple Inc., on the other hand, posted an ope

June 4, 2017

Eyedea to release automatic-tracking drone in second half of 2017

Startup Eyedea announced Tuesday that it will be releasing Pitta, a video recognition-based, automatic-tracking selfie drone, in the second half of 2017. The company’s CEO Jung Jong-chuck said, “Following the completion of the test product in June, we will conduct real-world tests and release the commercial version in the third or fourth quarter of this year.”Independently developed by Eyedea, Pitta is a drone that can automatically track a user or any other specified target while filming and/or

June 2, 2017

Lockin Company to release upgraded version of security solution app

Mobile application security firm Lockin Company announced Tuesday that it will release an upgraded version of LIAPP, a mobile application security solution, in June. Designated this year as a member company of the K-ICT Born2Global Centre, an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Lockin Company is a startup that has been recognized for its excellent technology and high marketability. LIAPP is the company’s signature security solution brand.  A screenshot

June 2, 2017

InfiniFlux to release multi-server-based Time Series DBMS in June

Startup InfiniFlux announced Wednesday that it would release a multi-server-based Time Series DBMS in June. In 2015, InfiniFlux commercialized a single server-based Time Series DBMS, which it is currently supplying to security companies and state-owned railroad companies.　A Time Series DBMS is a database that is capable of storing and analyzing machine log data in real time. The Time Series has been designed so that entered data cannot be updated, thereby preventing data manipulation, falsificat

June 2, 2017

[Eye Interview] ‘Korea will still be first in 5G’

Believe it or not, South Korea’s mobile network industry, for the last three years, has been in limbo, with no additional money generated.Andrew Cope, chief executive officer of Nokia Korea and a seasoned expert on the telecommunications industry with 16 years of experience, describes the Korean mobile market as “not easy.” When he first came to Korea in late 2014, people didn’t recognize how fast their mobile services were. Korea had 200-megabit per second mobile packages that year, just a year

June 2, 2017

BOK chief calls for measures to bridge digital divide

The head of South Korea's central bank on Friday called for efforts to make certain senior citizens are not left behind as the country moves to update its financial sector.South Korean banks have expanded financial technology, or fintech, in recent years as a growing number of people do their banking on their computers or smartphones without visiting bank branches. (Yonhap)The number of smartphone-based banking service users rose 3.6 percent from three months earlier to 77.3 million as of end-Ma

June 2, 2017

LG Electronics releases mobile payment tool

LG Electronics Inc. on Friday announced the official release of its own mobile payment tool in South Korea comparable to Samsung Electronics Co.'s Samsung Pay.LG Electronics said LG Pay, based on the Wireless Magnetic Communication technology, allows users to make payments by touching their smartphones to regular credit card devices.  A model demonstrates LG Electronics Inc.`s mobile payment tool, LG Pay, in this photo released by the company on June 2, 2017. (Yonhap)Samsung Pay provides the sam

June 2, 2017

Koreans' monthly smartphone data usage hits 6 GB

The monthly data consumption of South Koreans using the fourth-evolution network surpassed 6 gigabytes for the first time in April, reflecting the rising demand for video streaming and other services in the mobile environment, industry data showed Friday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, local smartphone users subscribing to LTE services used 6.06 GB of data in April on average, up 2.2 percent on-month.Industry watchers said the increase is attr

June 2, 2017

Netmarble out to shore up stock price with new mobile game

South Korea’s Netmarble Games is slated to introduce a new mobile game next week for the first time since going public last month, fueling expectations that the new release could help salvage its stock price which has plunged from its initial offering price. 　The Korean mobile game giant said Thursday that it would release “Destiny 6,” a strategic action role-playing game for mobile devices developed by local game developer Alpaca Games on June 7.  (Netmarble)Netmarble has already released a ser

June 1, 2017

LG hopes to win global recognition as total garment care solution provider

CHANGWON -- Every 11 seconds, newly assembled 24-inch heat-pump laundry dryers are wrapped in boxes and get ready for shipment at LG Electronics’ production hub in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. “Monthly production units of LG Tromm Dryer is about 40,000 this year, a 10-fold jump from a year earlier,” said a senior manager of the Factory No. 2 of the electronics provider. In preparation for rising demand for laundry dryers in Korea, LG, the leader in the garment care electronics market, do

June 1, 2017

Naver introduces AI-based content curating app ‘Disco’

Naver has introduced a new content curating app for mobile devices running on the firm’s newly-released artificial intelligence assistant platform Clova.The Korean internet giant Wednesday announced the release of Disco, which is short for the “discovery” of selected content tailored to individual tastes, according to Naver.  (Naver)Upon opening the Disco app, users can set their topics of interest based on which the app will recommend certain types of content on the web. By clicking “like” or “

June 1, 2017

Korean, Chinese VR firms, venture capital firms to gather in Busan

An investment forum bringing together virtual reality  companies from South Korea and China, as well as top global venture capital firms will be held at an ongoing VR event in the southern port city of Busan, the government said Thursday.The forum will take place on Friday on the sidelines of the Busan VR Festival 2017 at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said. The event, the first of its kind, kicked off on Thursday for a three day-run. (

June 1, 2017

Scientists develop 3D brain neural structure

GWANGJU -- A group of South Korean scientists successfully created an artificial brain-like three-dimensional neural structure, a local university said Wednesday, a finding that may contribute to studies in various brain diseases including Alzheimer's.The team led by Yoon Myung-han at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in collaboration with a research team from Seoul National University said they used graphene oxide nanoflakes to create bacterial cellulose. (Photo courtesy of the Gw

May 31, 2017

Moon’s recruitment of IT figures welcomed with caution

After naming Naver’s former Executive Yoon Young-chan as chief presidential press secretary, the Moon Jae-in administration is expected to appoint another major IT industry executive to a key presidential post.Cheong Wa Dae is slated to appoint Jung Hye-seung, vice president of communications at the country’s mobile messaging giant Kakao, to lead the government’s social media and communication campaigns as the presidential secretary for new media, according to local reports Wednesday.Jung, 46, w

May 31, 2017

Blockchain to be used for logistics in Korea

Blockchain technology will be used in shipping logistics for the first time in Korea. Samsung SDS said Wednesday it had launched a blockchain consortium for shipping logistics in partnership with local logistics companies, the government and state-run research centers. The consortium’s members include the Korea Customs Service, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Hyundai Merchant Marine, IBM Korea and Ktnet.  Participants of a blockchain consortium for shipping logistics pose for photographs at th

May 31, 2017

Google’s new ad solution fuels worries over privacy

Google is introducing a new advertising solution that can track how well online ads translate to offline purchases, a move that helps advertisers gauge the effectiveness of their digital campaigns while leaving users concerned about their privacy on the web. 　The US internet giant unveiled a new ad management system called Google Attribution and a store sales measuring tool that links online ads to offline store sales based on user email accounts and credit card transaction records, at the Googl

May 31, 2017

SKT plans world's first underwater IoT network

INCHEON – A text message is sent from a boat floating about 800 meters off from another one carrying a group of journalists in the waters about 10 kilometers west of the Port of Incheon on Tuesday. “I am hungry!” The message was successfully received by a hydrophone installed 25 meters underwater by a research team led by Ko Hak-lim, professor of oceanic marine IT convergence technology at Hoseo University. It took about 20 seconds to transfer the message through the long term evolution network

May 31, 2017