[Photo News] Samsung Pay hits Chinese market

SAMSUNG PAY HITS CHINESE MARKET -- Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that it has rolled out mobile payment solution Samsung Pay, currently available on premium Galaxy handsets including Galaxy S6 and Note 5, in the Chinese market. The mobile payment solution supports credit and debit cards issued by nine Chinese banks including China CITIC Bank, China Construction Bank, and China Everbright Bank. (Samsung Electronics)

March 29, 2016

[Photo News] LG teams up with Statham for TV ad

LG TEAMS UP WITH STATHAM FOR TV AD - LG Electronics has joined hands with movie actor Jason Statham and filmmaker Fredrik Bond to roll out a TV commercial for its latest flagship smartphone G5 and its accompanying device lineup “Friends.” (LGE)

March 29, 2016

KT rolls out network services for small IoT devices

Network operator KT said on Wednesday it has started offering long-term evolution-machine -- or LTE-M -- services, which allow cost-effective communication among small sensors and devices.The machine-to-machine communication services can be deployed in a range of industries and have various applications, according to the firm. Models pose with a bicycle equipped with a GPS sensor running on KT’s networks. (KT)At a press event to showcase the LTE-M services in Seoul, the company displayed a bicyc

March 29, 2016

NHN eyes Facebook patent war

Korean online game developers have often fallen prey to patent trolling.U.S. 3-D content firm Worlds.com filed a lawsuit against Korean game developer NCSoft in 2008, claiming the latter violated the U.S. firm’s patents for communication technology in the virtual space, while U.K game company King Digital Entertainment sued Avocado Entertainment of Korea in 2014 for infringing their game intellectual property rights.NHN Entertainment’s head office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province (Yonhap)In order to

March 29, 2016

LG honors neighbor for saving child’s life

LG Group said Tuesday it has decided to honor Lee Jae-deok, a 34-year-old man who recently rescued an 8-year-old child from a burning apartment last week.On Friday, a fire broke out at an apartment complex in Gwangju. While other residents evacuated safely, the boy at home alone was trapped in the flames. LG Group chairman Koo Bon-mooLee saw the boy and climbed onto the balcony to rescue him with other two neighbors helping him out.In order to honor such heroic behavior, LG said it will offer hi

March 29, 2016

[Photo News] Samsung TV in style

SAMSUNG TV IN STYLE -- Samsung Electronics on Tuesday launched a stylish I-shaped TV, called Serif TV that was designed by renowned French designer brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. The Korean launch comes after the TV debuted in Europe last year. (Samsung Electronics)

March 29, 2016

SKT, Samsung to build IoT hub

Korea’s largest network operator SK Telecom said Monday it will team up with Samsung Electronics to build the Internet of Things test bed in Daegu, in their efforts to vitalize the local start-up sector and the nation’s sagging economy.The two partners further plan to transform the whole city into a state-of-the-art IoT hub where they will deploy their up-to-date network systems and connected technology.(From left) Kim Young-ky, president of Samsung Electronics’ network business, Lee Young-hee,

March 28, 2016

Sony Korea offers filming class for young students

Sony Korea on Saturday held a filming class for young students as part of its ongoing social responsibility activities here. The Korean unit of the Japanese tech giant has carried out diverse science education programs under the name of “Sony Korea Eco Science School.”This year’s program, the 10th of its kind, taught basic filming skills for young students to create their own video contents using Sony’s broadcast cameras. A group of 20 students from underprivileged families in Incheon were invit

March 28, 2016

LG Signature raises bar for premium appliances

LG Electronics on Monday launched its ultra-luxury appliance brand, LG Signature, in Korea before its planned debut in the U.S. and Europe. Combining the best design and functions, the Korean tech giant showed confidence in raising the standards in the soaring premium home appliance market.  (From left) LG Electronics’ home appliance chief Cho Seong-jin, TV chief Kwon Bong-suk, domestic sales chief Cho Sang-kyu and chief technology officer Ahn Seong-kwon pose with the company’s LG Signature line

March 28, 2016

[Photo News] Kakao runs global CSR program

KAKAO RUNS GLOBAL CSR PROGRAM -- Mobile messenger operator Kakao ran a volunteer program for nine days in Hanoi, Vietnam, from March 18. A group of Kakao employees took part in a range of activities, including painting walls and watching 3-D movies with students there. (Kakao)

March 28, 2016

Korean chipmakers face Chinese threat

China’s aggressive move to increase its foothold in the world’s chip sector is becoming a threat to Korean manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.Tsinghua Unigroup told Bloomberg in a recent interview that the company would invest a whopping $30 billion in order to grow its semiconductor business in the coming years.The figure far exceeds Samsung’s projected investment spending amounting to $11.5 billion for this year. Samsung Electronics‘ D‘light flagship store in Gangnam, Se

March 27, 2016

Medtronic probed for breach of contract: sources

Medical equipment-maker Medtronic is under investigation by Korea’s Fair Trade Commission for breaching contracts with local distributors, according to sources Sunday.Medtronic Korea, the local branch of the global medical equipment firm, has abruptly canceled contracts, which were still valid with local distributors who have maintained partnerships for more than a decade with the medical device giant.The logo of Medtronic.Some distributors, mostly small companies with several employees, claimed

March 27, 2016

[Photo News] LG rolls out new smartphone software UX 5.0

LG ROLLS OUT NEW SOFTWARE -- LG Electronics unveiled Sunday its whole new smartphone user-experience software, dubbed UX 5.0, which will be featured on its flagship smartphone, G5. The new UX allows users to connect the smartphone with LG’s Friends devices, including a rolling ball-shaped robot, and a 360-degree camera, and to use camera apps with ease. (LGE)LG ROLLS OUT NEW SOFTWARE -- LG Electronics unveiled Sunday its whole new smartphone user-experience software, dubbed UX 5.0, which will be

March 27, 2016

[Photo News] Samsung runs marketing campaign for Galaxy S7

GALAXY PUSH -- Samsung Electronics said Sunday that it would run a nationwide marketing promotion for its flagship smartphones Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge at around 2,200 electronics retail and mobile shops in Korea. (Samsung Electronics)

March 27, 2016

[Photo News] LG supports multicultural families

LG SUPPORTS MULTICULTURAL FAMILIES – The LG Foundation, a charitable organization run by LG Group, held an entrance ceremony for a mentoring program for teenagers from multicultural families in Seoul on Saturday. The teen participants will take language and science classes run by professors and students from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and KAIST over the next two years. (LG Foundation)

March 27, 2016

[Weekender] Aiming for the moon

SEOUL/DAEJEON -- Despite several early failures, Korean engineers and scientists are poised to leap into space, hoping to realize the country’s long-cherished goal of reaching the moon.Following a late start, Asia’s fourth-largest economy went through many challenges to develop its own launch vehicle, which is key to the nation’s space project.The efforts have paid off as Korea is now on the threshold of a new era in space technology, with its first lunar exploration planned for 2020. It is a ma

March 25, 2016

[Weekender] 'Giving up not an option for Korea’s space development'

DAEJEON -- Like many people, Cho Gwang-rae, president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, has always been fascinated by space rockets and outer space. 　He grew up watching foreign astronauts land on the moon, amid fierce space competition between the U.S. and then-Soviet Union in the late ’60s. However, he never envisioned that he would one day become the person in charge of Korea’s space project.　After earning his Ph.D. in high-frequency microwave engineering, Cho was asked to participat

March 25, 2016

Samsung rumored to be still interested in Sharp

Samsung Electronics is rumored to have interest in purchasing Sharp, amid drawn out takeover talks between the Japanese company and its new owner Foxconn. Samsung Electronics’ vice chairman Lee Jae-yong had visited Japan last week, fueling the rumor. Samsung currently owns a 3 percent stake in Sharp.  Samsung had tried to purchase Sharp in recent years but talks had failed because it wanted to only buy the display plant in Sakai, Japan, while Sharp wanted to sell the company as a whole.Samsung u

March 25, 2016

[Weekender] Korea needs big players for space expedition

A race to conquer space has been heating up with more billionaires and entrepreneurs around the world betting big on commercial space businesses such as space travel and cargo delivery to space stations. Korea, as a late-starter, succeeded in launching a rocket in 2013. However, the country has been struggling to make its way into the top echelon of the world’s space sector due to its lack of talents, experience and investment.Long exposure of the launch, reentry and landing of U.S. space firm S

March 25, 2016

LINE messenger tops 1 bln user mark

The number of LINE messenger users operated by the Japanese arm of South Korea's top portal provider Naver Corp. has surpassed the 1 billion mark five years after its launch in 2011, the company said Thursday.The number of monthly active users, or MAU, of the social networking mobile application stood at 215 million globally as of December last year, Line Corp. said at the LINE Conference Tokyo 2016 held in Japan.The messenger operator said it is making significant growth in its sticker, game, c

March 24, 2016