[Photo News] KakaoNavi makes debut

Mobile messenger operator Kakao on Wednesday launched navigation app KakaoNavi, which allows users to share locations, destinations, and travel time with their friends on the KakaoTalk messenger. The new app is the upgraded version of Kimgisa that the Korean IT giant acquired for 62.6 billion won ($50 million) last year. (Kakao)

Feb. 24, 2016

SKT seeks partnership for global business expansion

SK Telecom CEO Jang Dong-hyun, who is participating in the Mobile World Congress underway in Barcelona, said teaming up with global network operators will be a key strategy for the firm to make inroads in global markets.The chief of South Korea’s largest telecom operator is meeting with chiefs of global device makers and telecom firms at the trade show. SK Telecom CEO Jang Dong-hyun (left) and Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Hoettges pose at the press meeting in Barcelona on Tuesday. (SKT)Network

Feb. 24, 2016

Samsung vs. LG: Mobile chiefs make MWC debuts

Mobile chiefs of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics made their debuts at Mobile World Congress, the mobile industry’s largest gathering held in Barcelona, Spain, this week. LG has usually launched its new phones after MWC but this year the company went head-on with its local rival Samsung. As much as their latest phones, presentations made by the mobile chiefs of both companies grabbed a lot of attention from industry people and journalists. Samsung’s mobile chief Koh Dong-jin, 55, is an eng

Feb. 24, 2016

LG, Intel tie up for connected cars

LG Electronics and Intel have teamed up to develop 5G telecommunications technology for next-generation cars.They announced their alliance at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday.  Telematics, the combination of wireless telecommunications and GPS technologies, aims to improve driving convenience and road safety for connected cars, including futuristic self-driving cars. LG, which has made a big push in automotive components, is already a market leader in telematics with a ne

Feb. 24, 2016

[Graphic News] AI takes on human in Go

Anticipation is growing as the showdown between top Korean Go player Lee Se-dol and artificial intelligence software AlphaGo will take place in Seoul early next month. The Go match, consisting of five games scheduled between March 9 and 15, has been garnering attention from the public, enthusiasts of the game and the technology sector.Jung Jae-seung, a bio and brain engineering professor of KAIST, said, “The match between Lee Se-dol and AlphaGo is more than just a challenge posed by an AI progra

Feb. 23, 2016

SKT, Facebook eye faster connectivity

Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom said Tuesday that it has joined forces with U.S. social network firm Facebook to establish an organization, dubbed Telecom Infra Project, aimed at advancing the global telecommunications infrastructure and achieving innovation in mobile services.Global information technology companies, network operators and device makers, including Nokia and Intel, have also agreed to join the organization through which they will share core telecom technologies and run j

Feb. 23, 2016

Samsung renews commitment to virtual reality

Virtual reality stole the show at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event Sunday, on the eve of this week’s Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain. Samsung Electronics used its Galaxy Gear VR headset to unveil its latest flagship smartphone Galaxy S7 and its Edge variant and Gear 360, a VR camera.  Some 5,000 journalists and industry watchers were invited for an immersive VR demo presenting Samsung’s new products.The new phones have been refashioned with metal, curved styling. They come

Feb. 23, 2016

KT eyes global alliance to lead 5G standards

Korea’s largest telecommunications firm KT said Monday it would form an alliance with global mobile carriers and network equipment makers to take the lead in setting up standards for the next-generation network, or 5G.The Korean network operator said it has agreed with Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo, U.S. mobile network operator Verizon and SK Telecom of Korea to establish the 5G Trial Specification Alliance, aimed at cooperating to develop systems and platforms for test services of the 5G n

Feb. 22, 2016

Samsung aims to stay on top with Galaxy S7

Samsung Electronics took the wraps off the seventh generation of its flagship Galaxy smartphone in Barcelona on Sunday, a day before the opening of the Mobile World Congress trade show.The firm, which is the world’s largest smartphone marker by sales, also unveiled the next generation of the Galaxy’s variant model with curved displays.  Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung Electronics’ mobile communications business, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shake hands at Samsung’s launch event for the Ga

Feb. 22, 2016

LG unveils G5 modular smartphone

LG Electronics on Sunday unveiled its latest flagship smartphone G5, touting it as the industry’s first modular type smartphone with a “Magic Slot” for enhanced camera and sound functions. “With the new phone, LG will create its own fandom culture among users,” said LG’s mobile chief Cho Juno during the official debut at World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.The G5 has an accessory slot at the bottom, which allows users to swap in different modules. The camera module, called “LG Cam Plus,” includes

Feb. 21, 2016

Samsung Pay hits 5m subscribers

Samsung Electronics’ mobile payments service Samsung Pay has hit 5 million subscribers, with combined transactions exceeding $500 million in Korea and the U.S. since its debut in August. The Korean tech giant said Saturday it will start the service in China in March and other countries such as Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Spain, the U.K. and Canada in phases later this year.  Detailed plans for its future launches and partnerships with local banks and card issuers are expected to be revealed du

Feb. 21, 2016

Samsung relocation highlights finance units

Samsung Electronics is expected to complete the relocation of its Seoul offices to Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, next month, a move that is widely considered part of Samsung Group’s ongoing business restructuring. Even though the tech giant has been headquartered in Suwon where its production facilities are based since 1973, the Seoul office has played a control tower role together with Samsung Corporate Strategy Office that oversees all group companies. Samsung Group has created the so-called “Sams

Feb. 21, 2016

LG seeks synergy in refrigerators, water purifiers

LG Electronics on Wednesday unveiled new refrigerator and water purifier products, saying it would seek synergies between the two home appliances to differentiate itself in the premium market. LG entered the water purifier market in 2009 and combined the business with the refrigerator division in 2014. Based on their technological synergies, the company was the first to launch a water purifier refrigerator in Korea in 2013.  LG said it would apply its new PuriCare brand to water purifiers. The P

Feb. 18, 2016

W70m required for average Korean tech start-up

A Google campus in SeoulThe initial capital needed to start a tech venture in Korea is estimated at about 70.5 million won ($57,500) on average, with the most coveted area being mobile apps, a recent survey found Tuesday. Born2Global, a start-up accelerating center affiliated with the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, recently conducted a survey of 707 Korean start-ups established over the past seven years.The highest number of respondents, or 29 percent, said it took 50 to 100 milli

Feb. 18, 2016

Netmarble seeks IPO for global expansion

Netmarble Games, the nation’s No. 2 game developer, said Thursday it is seeking an initial public offering later this year in Korea or in other countries such as the U.S. as part of its global expansion plans. “A Nasdaq debut will give us a lot of media attention, which is crucial for our global success. But we are also considering to list on the Seoul bourse,” said Netmarble founder and senior adviser Bang Jun-huk at a press conference. He said more details of the planned public listing, includ

Feb. 18, 2016

Speculation grows about Samsung’s Cheil sell-off

There is growing market speculation that Samsung Group is considering selling off its advertising unit Cheil Worldwide as part of its ongoing business restructuring led by Samsung Electronics vice chairman and heir apparent Lee Jae-yong. Over the past weeks, French ad giant Publicis Groupe has been rumored to have evinced interest in buying all or a controlling stake in Cheil, which has a market value of $1.9 billion. Cheil, which rarely responds to market rumors, said Wednesday in a regulatory

Feb. 18, 2016

CrucialTec develops heartbeat-measuring fingerprint verification

Mobile bio-verification firm CrucialTec has developed a biometric verification system recognizing fingerprints and heartbeats at the same time, company officials said Tuesday. The new system Anti-Fake BTP is a combination of the company’s representative product Biometric TrackPad, a fingerprint recognition sensor, and a heartbeat rate monitoring system to block fake fingerprints.  Anti-Fake BTP (CrucialTec)Unlike common optical fingerprint scanners, Anti-Fake BTP is designed to prevent fake fing

Feb. 18, 2016

Winter is coming for Korea's start-up funding

In terms of funding rounds, 2015 was the Korean start-up scene’s seven years of plenty. E-commerce giant Coupang and start-up acquisition machine Yello Mobile raised multibillion-dollar valuations from big-name global investors SoftBank and Formation 8, respectively, while disclosed investments across the industry are estimated to have doubled on-year, according to data by start-up news outlet Tech in Asia.But tech businesses are not immune to economic realities, where the Korean currency has wi

Feb. 17, 2016

[Photo News] Trial starts for quantum coding

TRIAL STARTS FOR QUANTUM CODING -- SK Telecom CEO Jang Dong-hyun (left) and Vice ICT Minister Choi Jae-yu (center) visit the telecom carrier-led consortium’s testing center for quantum coding technology Wednesday in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province. A national trial network has been built near the metropolitan area to test the enhanced data security technology in an era of the Internet of Things and smart cars. (SK Telecom)

Feb. 17, 2016