Samsung faces patent suits from KAIST in Texas

Samsung Electronics is facing a patent lawsuit from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology in the US, the institute confirmed Wednesday. KAIST IP, the institute’s intellectual property management arm, said it sued Samsung Electronics, Qualcomm and Global Foundries in a Texas court, claiming they used KAIST’s chip technology without permission. Texas is where Samsung’s Austin chip plant is located. KAIST is a state-run research institute set up in 1971 with the aim of improving rese

Nov. 30, 2016

LuDuS501 makes major update to its mobile game “Dangerous Outside the Blanket”

LuDuS501 (CEO: Serky Jeong) on Nov 28 announced that it had made a significant update to its game “Dangerous Outside the Blanket,” which was released in September. “Dangerous Outside the Blanket” is a mobile simulation game that puts players in everyday situations and is based on a survival and cultivation system. The game prompts players to choose specific actions in response to situations that arise in various aspects of everyday life (e.g., going to work, office duties, routine after getting

Nov. 30, 2016

Earing to launch voice-based social media platform by December

Earing announced Friday that it would officially launch its independently developed social briefing app “Earing” by the end of the year. Earing is a social media platform that enables users to convey and share the latest news and information via audio. The product is currently being beta tested, with final improvements being made.What differentiates Earing from its competitors is its voice-based communication.  Screenshots of the Earing app in use. (Earing)The firm’s CEO Hyuck Jae Lee said, “Fac

Nov. 30, 2016

Seoul to introduce systematic management of air traffic to reduce flight delays

South Korea will set up a new air traffic flow management system before the end of next year to enhance airport safety while also improving airline services by greatly reducing flight delays, the government said Monday.Such a system will be up and running before the end of July 2017, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport."The government will work to reduce air traffic and flight delays by establishing a new air traffic management system that will help predict airport co

Nov. 28, 2016

Behind rallies, mobile apps support Seoul protesters　

Merging technology with social activism, South Korean developers have rolled out a series of new mobile apps to support citizens who are taking to the streets of Seoul to demand President Park Geun-hye’s resignation.　As the weekly demonstrations continue to widen, multiple mobile apps designed for easy use by rally participants have appeared on the Google Play and Apple app stores. 　Apps that display a virtual candlelight on a smartphone screen are by far the most widely downloaded app among loc

Nov. 27, 2016

IPL signs agreement with China’s Roobo for distribution of social robot “iJINI”

IPL, a member company of the Born2Global Center, signed an agreement with Roobo on Nov. 11 for the distribution of its social robot “iJINI.” Under the agreement, IPL will provide iJINI and related AI services in China. IPL CEO Kim Kyeungwook said, “We will launch iJINI in China by March 2017, and this agreement guarantees a minimum sales value of 16 billion won ($13.5 million), the biggest amount for a single item exported by a domestic robot producer.”iJINI is a robot based on a new concept tha

Nov. 24, 2016

Apple faces growing complaints over customer support

Apple recently faced a fresh round of complaints over its customer support in South Korea, after belatedly providing a Korean announcement for replacing problematic iPhone batteries.On Sunday, Apple posted an announcement in English only on its Korean website about how to replace batteries if the device unexpectedly shuts down. This was different from Apple’s move to immediately post a Chinese announcement after receiving complaints from Chinese consumers. The move here immediately stoked compla

Nov. 24, 2016

Samsung seeks new growth in connected cars

As part of its full-fledged initiative of new growth engines, Samsung has recently quickened steps toward connected car technologies that are expected to play a major part in the conglomerate’s future pillars of electronics, bio and finance.After setting up an automotive electronics team in December, Samsung Electronics recently announced a deal to buy the US car infotainment provider Harman International Industries for $8 billion. This is the latest in a series of the company’s push into the co

Nov. 23, 2016

New mobile facial identification system unveiled in Korea

A South Korean tech solution company unveiled a new facial biometric authentication service solution for smartphones on Wednesday, offering mobile app developers and interested companies a simpler and more cost-effective face identification system.The new solution, called BioCA, was jointly developed by the Korea Trade Network (KTNET), a subsidiary of the Korea International Trade Association in partnership with global biometrics company Daon and the Korea Smart Authentication Corp.　A log-in scr

Nov. 23, 2016

Netmarble sued for IP infringement in ‘Everybody’s Marble’

South Korea’s leading mobile game company Netmarble Games has been sued for infringing intellectual property rights in its flagship mobile board game “Everybody’s Marble.”　Local game developer iPeoples Inc. said Wednesday that it has filed a lawsuit against Netmarble for copying several components of its mobile game “Blue Marble” and utilizing the game’s IP without due payments.iPeoples claims that Netmarble’s “Everybody’s Marble” released in 2013 features many of the same design elements and ga

Nov. 23, 2016

Naver to become tech platform for small businesses, creators

The newly appointed CEO of South Korea’s leading portal operator Naver pledged to make Naver a tech-savvy platform that helps small businesses and local creators grow and flourish, at a conference in Seoul on Tuesday.　Han Seong-sook, the executive vice president of Naver’s services division, is slated to become the company’s first female chief executive, as the successor to CEO Kim Sang-hun, who recently resigned from his post at the year’s end.　Han reaffirmed Naver’s dedication to its ongoing “

Nov. 22, 2016

Samsung-AstraZeneca JV initiates clinical trials of Rituxan biosimilar in Korea

Archigen Biotech Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture between Samsung BioLogics and UK-based AstraZeneca, has initiated the clinical trials for a new Rituxan biosimilar in South Korea, Samsung BioLogics said Tuesday.According to the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Archigen’s SAIT101 was granted approval to begin phase 1 and phase 3 clinical trials at eight local hospitals on Nov. 11. The trials in Korea are currently ongoing, the Samsung unit said.The Samsung BioLogics headquarters in Songdo, In

Nov. 22, 2016

Samsung says no confirmed cases of faulty batteries in Galaxy S7

Samsung Electronics Co. has said there has been no confirmed cases of faulty batteries with the Galaxy S7 smartphone, amid foreign media reports that some of the devices caught fire while charging. The statement by Samsung's American unit, issued last Friday, came as Samsung is trying to limit the damage done by the unprecedented discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7 over safety concerns. "Samsung stands behind the quality and safety of the Galaxy S7 family. There have been no confirmed cases of

Nov. 22, 2016

Korea leads world in penetration of fast broadband Internet

South Korea ranked first worldwide in terms of the penetration rate of fast broadband Internet, which transmits data at a speed of over 100 Mbps (megabits per second), according to a report by KT Corp. on Tuesday.About 14.9 percent of South Korea's total population, or 7.58 million people, subscribed to the fast broadband Internet services, KT said, citing a recent survey by market researcher Ovum. KT Corp.'s ultra-fast broadband Internet service (Yonhap file photo)Singapore came in second with

Nov. 22, 2016

Alipay opens first overseas customer center in Korea

Alipay, China's largest online payment service provider, opened its first-ever overseas customer center here in Seoul on Tuesday, a move that will help boost the Chinese firm's market presence while also helping to attract more Chinese visitors to the country, a local trade agency said.The Alipay service center is located at Seoul's COEX exhibition center, and will provide various customer services to Chinese visitors ranging from online payment services to luggage storage and business lounge se

Nov. 22, 2016

‘Samsung’s acquisition of Harman is not about carmaking’

Samsung Electronics on Monday reaffirmed its intention of becoming a Tier 1 car supplier instead of becoming an automaker, denying rampant speculation that had followed its surprise announcement to acquire a leading maker of connected car solutions“Over the last week since the Samsung-Harman deal, we have visited many key automotive clients globally and made sure that we wanted to become primary solution provider, Tier 1,” said Harman International Industries’ CEO Dinesh Paliwal at the press bri

Nov. 21, 2016

LG Uplus, Huawei aim to foster Korea’s NB-IoT market

South Korean mobile carrier LG Uplus has partnered with leading Chinese telecommunications equipment provider Huawei to expand the emerging markets of Internet of Things-based devices and services in Korea.　The two companies jointly opened the “NB-IoT Open Lab” at the LG Uplus Sangam Center in northwestern Seoul on Monday. The lab will become a venue for local companies to design, assemble and test run new devices connected to the Narrow-Band Internet of Things, or NB-IoT, network.In a bid to en

Nov. 21, 2016

NS Beyond’s Trusted Pass solution generates international interest

NS Beyond announced Monday that a number of domestic and international companies are seriously considering using its simple, safe, and independently developed authentication solution Trusted Pass in their products. CEO Nam Seon-mo said, “It is still a bit early for us to disclose any specific details, but it is true that domestic and foreign conglomerates have shown considerable interest in our authentication solution.” Trusted Pass is a safe and simple authentication solution that offers the hi

Nov. 21, 2016