[Graphic News] Kakao founder tops IT rich list

Kim Beom-su, the founder of mobile messenger service Kakao Inc., has become Korea’s wealthiest IT entrepreneur by stock value, financial market researcher’s data showed. After Kakao merged with the country’s No. 2 portal Daum Communications Co., Daum shares have rallied on the tech-focused secondary bourse KOSDAQ, according to recent data provided by corporate financial information provider FnGuide.Lee Hae-jin, the founder and CEO of the country’s biggest portal Naver and who had long held the t

Oct. 5, 2014

[Newsmaker] Daum Kakao eyes growth as platform provider

Daum Communications and Kakao Corp. have joined forces and are looking ahead to an era in which everything is connected to the Internet.After five months of consolidating the two entities and their corporate cultures, the newly merged 12 trillion won ($11 billion) company will henceforth be called Daum Kakao.With a new black-and-white logo and the new slogan “Connect Everything,” Daum Kakao chief executives Choi Sae-hoon and Lee Sir-goo say the company aims to grow as a platform service provider

Oct. 1, 2014

Kakao, Daum 'connected' for synergy

Kakao Corp. and Daum Communications Corp., South Korea's two most-tracked IT firms since the announcement of their merger in May, made their union official Wednesday to become a new industry giant valued at close to 10 trillion won (US$9.45 billion).The merger is in the form of Daum, the country's second-largest search engine, taking over Kakao, the provider of the popular messenger service Kakao Talk, but Kakao's market value is nearly fourfold that of Daum's estimated 2 trillion won. Kakao, in

Oct. 1, 2014

[Newsmaker] Korea takes aim at mobile subsidies

On Oct. 1, South Korea will enforce a revised law governing the sales and subsidies of mobile devices such as smartphones in an effort to eradicate long-standing malpractices by telecommunications operators.Consumers will no longer be discriminated against on the basis of age, place of residence or monthly subscription plan when using their existing mobile phones, buying a new phone or switching their mobile carriers.Everyone, regardless of their class and status, will be entitled to a subsidy s

Sept. 30, 2014

CrucialTec, Danal form JV in mobile payment solution

CrucialTec, a biometric sensor tech company, and Danal, a mobile payment solutions provider, have formed a joint venture called BioPay.CrucialTec said Tuesday that the two companies would use each other’s technological resources to provide secure financial settlement and authentication solutions and services through the venture.The two tech companies previously partnered to develop a fingerprint recognition payment solution, called BioME, Danal noted.Danal is currently seeking partnerships with

Sept. 30, 2014

KT expands service benefits for customers

KT, South Korea’s largest telecom company, said Monday that it would offer high-quality, expanded services and benefits to customers next month in line with the country’s revised law governing the market distribution of devices such as smartphones.KT said that it would launch an application, called Olleh Family Box, that allows members of the same family who use KT mobile services to freely share monthly data and membership reward points. Leftover data will be rolled over to the following month.

Sept. 29, 2014

LG Electronics launches event for Tone Plus headsets

LG Electronics launched Friday a promotional event for its premium Bluetooth headset, the LG Tone Plus, near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul.The electronics giant said that it had set up an experience zone in the area, enabling people, especially office workers, to try out the wearable product and its features, as well as test its sound quality during the lunch break. It offers gifts and prizes such as free coffee coupons and monthly free online music tickets to those who participate in the LG

Sept. 26, 2014

SK hynix begins flash chip production in Chongqing

SK hynix CEO Park Sung-wook (third from left) and others pose in its new memory chip plant in Chongqing, China, Friday. (SK hynix)SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, said Friday that it had completed the construction of a plant for flash memory chip packaging and testing in Chongqing, southwest China.The $250 million plant, which has some 1,200 workers, is capable of assembling and testing 80 million 16-gigabyte NAND flash chips for mobile devices a month, the Korean company

Sept. 26, 2014

Is chest pain always angina?

Chest pain refers to various pains in the chest, which can be due to a wide range of causes. Chest pain or discomfort in the chest is a relatively common condition found in 1-2 percent of all patients, and 1.9 percent of all emergency presentations. Its causes vary widely and the clinical significance and progress differs for each cause. Therefore chest pain should be diagnosed carefully. The main causes of chest pain include problems in the lungs, heart, esophagus or ribs. Of these causes, ches

Sept. 25, 2014

Allergic rhinitis occurs most in autumn season

Allergic rhinitis, an inflammation of the nasal airways, occurs most often among Koreans in the fall, especially in the months of September and October, according to the Health Ministry.Some 601,000 Koreans were treated for the condition last year, and most patients ― 206,261 ― developed the allergic reaction in September, according to a study conducted by the National Health Insurance Service.Allergic rhinitis is often triggered by pollen from seasonal plants, including weeds, trees and grasses

Sept. 25, 2014