LG Chem to expand ethylene production capacity

South Korean chemicals firm LG Chem said Sunday it will invest 287 billion won ($253 milllion) over the next three years to raise the ethylene production capacity of its naphtha cracking center by 230,000 tons.　The ethylene production capacity of LG Chem’s naphtha plant in Daesan of South Chungcheong Province will increase to 1.27 million tons, the largest production in the world as a single production facility, the firm said.　LG Chem’s expanded Daesan plant, together with an additional naphtha

Oct. 16, 2016

[News Focus] Supreme Court ruling over KakaoTalk wiretapping sparks controversy

The South Korean Supreme Court’s latest ruling that wiretapping warrants could not be used for the country’s dominant mobile messenger app KakaoTalk  is igniting controversy between the prosecution and those who view the eavesdropping as overly intrusive.　Last Thursday, the Supreme Court of Korea ruled that conversations taken from KakaoTalk servers cannot be recognized as wiretapped evidence, as they were not seized in real time as mandated by the legal definition of “wiretapping.”The ruling on

Oct. 16, 2016

Korea to expand free Internet access in public places

Korea will expand free wireless Internet access in public places to bridge the digital divide in technology use, the government said Sunday. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said it will open 1,020 mobile hot spots in traditional markets and other welfare facilities Monday. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announces on Oct. 16, 2016, it will open 1,020 mobile hot spots in public places. (Yonhap)Starting with 2,000 public Wi-Fi zones in 2012, the ICT ministry has o

Oct. 16, 2016

Note 7 fallout to cost Samsung more than W7tr

The fallout from the Galaxy Note 7 is estimated to cost Samsung Electronics more than 7 trillion won ($6.1 billion), according to the company and industry analysts Friday. The Korean tech giant announced Friday that the opportunity cost from the halt in production of the Note 7 is estimated to be a mid-4 trillion-won sum during the coming two quarters. It is a combined figure made up of a mid-3 trillion-won sum in the fourth quarter and 1 trillion won in the first quarter of next year, Samsung s

Oct. 14, 2016

Some consumers remain loyal to Note 7 despite explosions

Lee Joo-hyun, 33, does not want to replace her Galaxy Note 7 with another smartphone although she is afraid of possible explosions. She said she does not want to give up the functions she has been enjoying with her Note 7.“I am satisfied with the upgraded S Pen stylus. I cannot find the same function even from other smartphones made by Samsung,” Lee said, who has only used smartphones under the Galaxy series for several years.The Galaxy fan said she wished she could continue using the smartphone

Oct. 13, 2016

[Newsmaker] How to refund or exchange your Galaxy Note 7

The owners of explosion-prone large smartphone Galaxy Note 7 are able to refund or exchange their device from Thursday until the end of this year, according to Samsung Electronics. The short-lived Galaxy Note 7, which first rolled out on Aug. 19 in the US and Korea, sold around 1.8 million units globally. Around 500,000 units were sold in Korea alongside 1 million units in the US, where refunds and exchanges began Tuesday. Samsung said Thursday owners of the Galaxy Note 7 would receive benefits

Oct. 13, 2016

SKT aims to expand IoT innovation via LoRaWAN

South Korean network carrier SK Telecom on Thursday shared its long-term plan and ongoing efforts to push forward the development of Internet of Things technologies that make use of its newly deployed LoRaWAN network.　The LoRAWAN network, which stands for “long-range wide-area network,” is designed to transmit small amounts of data at very low speeds of below 5 kilobits per second from battery-equipped objects to base stations across long distances.Participants attend a press conference for this

Oct. 13, 2016

ASD Korea provides cloud service to leading Indonesian telecom firm

The K-ICT Born2Global Center, a startup incubator affiliated with the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, announced on Monday that one of its member companies, ASD Korea, will supply Cloudike, its cloud service, to Indosat, a leading telecommunications company in Indonesia. With 70 million mobile phone subscribers, Indosat is the second largest telecommunications service and network provider in Indonesia.  An official of ASD Korea explains Cloudike, an enterprise cloud service, to pros

Oct. 13, 2016

[Photo News] IoT Korea

Vice minister Choi Jae-yu of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning attends the IoT Korea Exhibition 2016 being held at COEX, southern Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

Oct. 12, 2016

[News Focus] Rivals eye gap left by outgoing Samsung Galaxy Note 7

In the aftermath of Samsung Electronics’ decision to discontinue sales and production of the problem-ridden Galaxy Note 7 globally, attention is now shifting to which alternative smartphones consumers around the world will turn to instead.　Samsung on Tuesday announced that it is “officially ending the sales as well as production of the smartphone to ensure consumer safety,” following multiple incidents in which the exchanged Note 7 devices fitted with new batteries caught fire due to overheating

Oct. 12, 2016

Samsung may ditch Note brand entirely

Speculations are high that Samsung Electronics may discard the Note brand, as the company’s brand reputation has suffered serious damage from the Galaxy Note 7 explosions and the consequent pullout.“Samsung is recommended to drop the Note brand as consumers may still find it dangerous even when the new Note 8 comes out,” Kim Duk-jin, the vice chief of private-run Korea-Insight Institute, told The Korea Herald. The tech giant Tuesday decided to discontinue the phablets upon repeated incidents of

Oct. 12, 2016

SKT releases Luna S with aims to overtake mid-tier smartphone segment

SK Telecom officially released TG&Co.’s mid-tier Luna S smartphone in South Korea on Wednesday, seeking to win over customers looking for a premium smartphone at a lower cost. 　Priced at 568,700 won ($506), the Luna S is available in four colors — classic gold, natural silver, rose pink and frozen blue — and sold exclusively through SKT retailers and the telecom firm’s online shopping mall T World Direct.Those who select the most-popular Band Data Perfect payment plan (65,890 won per month) — wh

Oct. 12, 2016

Samsung's senior executives silent on Galaxy Note 7 debacle

CEO-level executives of Samsung Group companies, including Samsung Electronics Co., held their weekly meeting in Seoul on Wednesday, but they refused to comment on the permanent halt of production of the Galaxy Note 7. The meeting came a day after Samsung announced that it scrapped the flagship Note 7 smartphone after some of the devices caught fire. Top Samsung executives who are responsible for the Note 7, including Shin Jong-kyun and Koh Dong-jin, appeared to be absent from the meeting.Chang

Oct. 12, 2016

Samsung calls for fair reading of design patent law in Supreme Court battle with Apple

The US Supreme Court heard a rare design patent case Tuesday in one of the last-remaining legal battles between Samsung and Apple that could reimburse the South Korean smartphone giant up to nearly $400 million in damages it already paid Apple.Samsung paid Apple $548 million in damages awarded by a lower court for copying designs of the iPhone. In December, Samsung took the case to the highest court, asking it to reconsider the scope of design patents and how damages are calculated, in an effort

Oct. 12, 2016

What is behind explosions of Galaxy Note 7?

Speculation persists over what caused the explosions of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that led the tech giant to halt all production and sales of the device on Tuesday night.  A number of reported explosions of replacement Note 7 devices suggests the batteries may not have been the main cause, despite the tech giant’s initial claim the incidents were the fault of its supplier, Samsung SDI. When the explosion issue first began in September, Samsung Electronics said faulty batteries were the

Oct. 11, 2016

[News Focus] Korean telecom industry braces for impact of Galaxy Note 7 sales suspension

South Korea’s telecom industry is geared to sustain sizeable losses from the official sales suspension of Samsung Electronics’ problem-ridden Galaxy Note 7 smartphone just two months after its launch.　Earlier Tuesday, Samsung Electronics said it will ask “all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while the investigation is taking place” to prioritize consumer safety. 　The suspension announcement came one day after Samsung halted the production of t

Oct. 11, 2016