Samsung unveils largest-ever W450tr investment for chip supremacy

South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung announced Tuesday plans to invest a combined 450 trillion won ($355.8 billion) and create some 1 million jobs in Korea over the course of five years -- the largest ever in the group’s history -- in order to maintain its competitive edge and navigate uncertainties. Samsung also chose chip design, foundry and biotechnology as the major three pillars of its future growth in its investment guidance. The groupwide plan is expected to set the

May 24, 2022

Google's in-app payment policy leads to content price hikes

With Google poised to begin removing applications that disobey its mandatory in-app payment policy from June 2, South Korean content providers are raising consumer charges as the global IT giant's billing rules require hefty fee rates. Google's in-app payment system means that consumers must use the internal payment system developed by the app market operator, also Google, when purchasing paid content from apps in Google's Play Store. For app developers using Google's in-app billing system,

May 24, 2022

Korea's first lunar mission named 'Danuri'

South Korea's first lunar probe mission, formally known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, has been named "Danuri," the Ministry of Science and ICT said Monday. Danuri is a combination of the two Korean words "dal" and "nuri," meaning moon and enjoy, respectively. According to the ministry, the name expresses a desire for the country's first moon mission to be successful, and for the probe to enjoy everything that the moon has to offer. Between Jan. 26 and F

May 23, 2022

SK assesses W18tr of social value created

SK Group, South Korea‘s second-largest conglomerate by assets, disclosed Monday actions to create social value and tools to measure how much impact it has generated through 2021 in numbers. The group with its subsidiaries contributed 18.4 trillion won ($14.5 billion) to issues such as unemployment, climate change, phone scams, blood shortages, car accidents due to drowsy driving, among others. The figure rose 60 percent from that of 2020, its estimate showed. SK had nearly 190 affiliates

May 23, 2022

Samsung seeks foundry supremacy with 3nm chips

One of the key moments of last week’s summit talks between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden was the two signing a semiconductor wafer, not a visitors’ book, during their visit to Samsung Electronics’ chip manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. It was the first time that the wafer, produced by Samsung’s new 3 nanometer technology, was unveiled to the public. The Korean tech giant plans to start mass production of th

May 23, 2022

[Market Eye] Chips, batteries, nuclear tech emerge as key agenda in Yoon-Biden summit

US President Joe Biden’s trip to Asia and his choice of South Korea as his first stop underscore Washington’s willingness to address global supply chain uncertainties largely posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, along with efforts to counter dependence on China. This can be achieved by strengthening collaboration with technology powerhouses in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, the summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Biden showed. To this end, Yoon and Biden called

May 22, 2022

Proptech startup Zigbang to launch global metaverse office

Zigbang, a South Korean proptech startup, said Thursday it will launch a global metaverse office platform that allows closer virtual interaction among staffers working for companies in the world. Soma is named after the ‘South of Market’ neighborhood in San Francisco, the home ground of Twitter and Airbnb. Zigbang has high hopes to build a business complex in the metaverse for innovative global startups, according to a company official. The new platform is an upgraded version of M

May 19, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Korea can be Silicon Valley for blockchain’

As South Korea looks ahead into the next five years under the new Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the fourth-largest economy in Asia finds itself at a critical juncture with the inevitable advent of the second era of the digital age based on blockchain technology. Don Tapscott, a leading thinker on blockchain, said in an interview with The Korea Herald that he believes Korea can be the next Silicon Valley if the country has the right national blockchain strategy and a good regulatory environment.

May 19, 2022

[From the scene] KT SAT seeks multi-orbit strategy for 6G connectivity

GEUMSAN, South Chungcheong Province -- As the world shifts toward the next generation of connectivity for more immersive experiences and real-time communications, more sophisticated satellite connections will be needed, as simple single-orbit approaches are likely to struggle with the data processing in the future. KT SAT, a South Korean satellite communication services provider, was the latest to express a bid to implement a multiorbit strategy -- combining geostationary and lower-Earth orbit

May 19, 2022

Experts urge SMEs to build brand identity in platform era

Amid the rise of the platform era where tech giants have a strong foothold based on their abundant resources, small companies must build a solid brand identity through digital branding and target a specific customer base, experts said Wednesday. “Big tech corporations such as Amazon wield enormous power over industries -- especially e-commerce, since they provide a simple but powerful platform with a wide range of purchase choices,” said Kim Byung-gyu, a business professor at Yonse

May 18, 2022

Researchers develop biosensor that can test blood for cancer

Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science have developed a biosensor that can detect cancer with a drop of blood, the IBS said Wednesday. A group of researchers led by Cho Yoon-kyoung developed nanoporous gold electrodes to construct a biosensor with high sensitivity and accuracy, according to the IBS. The researchers named the development process SEEDING, which stands for surfactant-based electrochemical etch-deposit interplay for nanostructure and nanopore growth. The study confirme

May 18, 2022

Kakao to offer mobility services in Guam

South Korean IT giant Kakao will provide mobility services in Guam before the end of the third quarter through a partnership with Miki Taxi, one of the largest taxi services on the US island territory, Kakao Mobility said Tuesday. In doing so, the firm will become the country’s first mobility company to apply the entire infrastructure ranging from the platform, driver application and administration on foreign soil in terms of taxi business, according to Kakao Mobility. Miki Taxi’

May 17, 2022

SK inks strategic ties with TerraPower

SK Group said Tuesday it has signed a nonbinding agreement with the US small-sized nuclear power reactor design company TerraPower to solidify the groupwide push to reduce carbon emission. But the second-largest conglomerate in South Korea did not disclose a plan for an investment in the company. Under the plan, SK Inc., SK Innovation and TerraPower will jointly develop “next-generational technologies” needed for small modular reactors which operate at a capacity of 500 megawatts

May 17, 2022

Ex-employees of Samsung chip vendor indicted in tech theft case

Two former employees of Semes, a Samsung Electronics subsidiary and key semiconductor chip-related equipment supplier, have been indicted for their alleged involvement in technology theft. The two former Semes staffers were allegedly involved in selling crucial wafer cleaning machines -- believed to be identical to ones by Semes -- to an undisclosed Chinese entity, according to Suwon District Public Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday. The pair and another two employees of a Semes’ suppl

May 17, 2022

Meet SKT’s new mobile virtual assistant A.

South Korea’s largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, unveiled Monday an open beta version of a virtual assistant the company said is aimed at providing an “intimate” and “emotional” experience for Android mobile phone users. Named A., pronounced as “ay-dot,” the Korean-language virtual assistant takes on the appearance of a toddler in a raincoat. Powered by a natural language processing model, users will be able to initiate a conversation with the virtual

May 16, 2022

Motorola phones back in Korea after 9-year hiatus

A South Korean budget mobile carrier said on Monday it will introduce two 5G Motorola smartphone models, nine years after the American brand pulled out the mobile business here. Bookings for the new phones, which will be released at the end of this month, can be made at the online mall of LG Hello Mobile. Motorola left the Korean mobile market in December 2012. The new models Edge 20 Lite 5G and Moto G50 5G are priced at 399,000 won and 349,000 won, respectively. The midrange smartphones sup

May 16, 2022

Samsung says 6G critical to XR, hologram, digital replica

While 5G penetration is still largely underway worldwide, it does not mean progress to build a faster wireless network globally has peaked. In order to offer users a full-fledged immersive experience, 6G will inevitably replace 5G networks, experts said in the first Samsung 6G Forum hosted virtually by tech giant Samsung Electronics Friday. Given that it takes about a decade to enable the next generation wireless network, and the world is seeing more applications that require massive data pro

May 13, 2022

Korea develops antiviral nasal spray

South Korean researchers have developed a nasal spray that can kill viruses and bacteria including COVID-19, the culprit of the unprecedented pandemic, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology said Thursday. Labeled the “invisible mask” for its capacity to prevent virus infection as if one was wearing a mask, the nasal spray can remove harmful substances from the outside and protect the mucus membrane, according to the KIST. In order for the sprayed liquid to take effect, it

May 12, 2022

Korea needs more digital solution providers, CJ tech chief says

Despite rapid digital transformation shaking up industries from manufacturing to finance, South Korea still lacks companies that can provide digital solutions to business challenges, a tech chief executive officer of retail and food giant CJ Group said Wednesday. “It’s the ugly truth that although it is crucial to use cutting-edge digital technologies to improve business operations and satisfy customers, these initiatives are not being delivered fast enough,” said Cha In-hyuc

May 12, 2022

One Store pulls IPO plan, SK Square pressured to change course

South Korea’s homegrown mobile app store operator One Store has dropped its plan to go public amid poor stock market conditions, the company said Wednesday. One Store’s decision comes a day after a book building of institutional investors wrapped up, in which the offering price of a common share was below its suggested price band, at between 34,300 won ($26.9) and 41,700 won apiece. The figures have estimated One Store’s equity value at between 910 billion won and 1.1 trilli

May 11, 2022