Samsung pushes harder into midrange market with Galaxy A52s 5G

Alongside the highest-end foldable smartphone series Galaxy Z, Samsung Electronics is making a stronger push in the midrange phone market, launching an upgraded version of the Galaxy A52 model. The South Korean smartphone vendor on Thursday announced the release of the Galaxy A52s 5G in the domestic market at 599,500 won ($513) on Friday. The newest A series model hit stores in India, the biggest midrange phone market for Samsung, on Wednesday, two days before the Korea launch. The Galax

Sept. 2, 2021

DuPont Korea appoints new CEO

DuPont Korea said Thursday the company has appointed Shin Dong-man as its new chief executive officer. Shin, 50, has served as the sales director of DuPont’s mobility and materials group in the Asia Pacific region. He will maintain the position, while heading the overall Korean operation, the firm said. Shin has built his career in the field of industrial materials, mainly silicon, for the past 25 years, the company said. The CEO is recognized for developing DuPont’s flagship e

Sept. 2, 2021

Using big data analysis to chart a new course

The top three mobile apps in South Korea -- KakaoTalk, YouTube and Naver -- attracted over 40 million users each in June this year, accounting for the bulk of the country’s population of 52 million, according to data compiled by research firm Mobileindex Insight. The list of popular apps also includes Chrome, a web browser from global search engine Google, Korea’s top online retailer Coupang and popular photo-based social media Instagram, a unit of Facebook. The common thread conn

Sept. 1, 2021

Google hits wall in Korea, says will comply with local rule

Hit by an unprecedented law aimed at curbing their app market duopoly in South Korea, the world’s most powerful tech giants Google and Apple are seeking ways to readjust their profit models within the bounds of the new regulation. Immediately after the bill passed Parliament late Tuesday, Google released a statement through its Korea office, saying it will comply with the new rule. “The commissions are used to provide Android for free, while enabling developers to reach customers

Sept. 1, 2021

CJ OliveNetworks opens AI lab in Gwangju

CJ OliveNetworks, an ICT solutions provider of CJ Group, has established a research center on artificial intelligence in the southeastern city of Gwangju, the company said Wednesday. Named as “CJ Lucidus AI Lab,” it is the second research body of the CJ affiliate, and is located within the premises of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology. The company has partnered with the institute to establish the lab for a shared goal of contributing to the advancement of the local AI

Sept. 1, 2021

Korea becomes first country to regulate Google’s in-app commission policy

The South Korean parliament passed a controversial bill on Tuesday that could break the app store duopoly of Google and Apple, in a move watched closely by the world for its potentially radical implications. The so-called anti-Google bill, endorsed by the National Assembly with 180 votes in its favor, amends the Telecommunications Business Act to stop the US-based IT titan from requiring local app developers to use its payment system for in-app sales. It is set to take effect immediately afte

Aug. 31, 2021

[News Analysis] Is world ready for foldable phones?

One of Samsung Electronics’ goals this year was to see foldable smartphones proliferate. So far, so good, with its latest Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 phones shattering sales records of their predecessors. In South Korea alone, preorders for the two newest foldable devices stood at 920,000 units during the week of Aug. 17-23. Then, on Friday, the first day of mobile subscriptions, around 270,000 units of the two models were booked, according to carriers. This marked the largest number f

Aug. 31, 2021

After quiet flu season, experts fear Korea might be in for rebound

With fall just around the corner, concerns are once again rising of a possible “twindemic” -- a COVID-19 pandemic coupled with flu endemic -- which never materialized last year. In Korea and across the Northern Hemisphere, the last flu season, which would have taken off around November and run through spring, was almost non-existent.  Widespread behavioral changes such as crowd avoidance, hand hygiene and masking put in place to keep COVID-19 at bay seem to have stifled othe

Aug. 31, 2021

Hyundai Heavy develops offshore carbon dioxide storage platform

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has developed an offshore platform to store carbon dioxide under the ocean floor with the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), the group said Tuesday. The group's two affiliates-- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) and KSOE's subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. -- have won approval in principle (AIP) for the offshore platform from DNV, a Norwegian ship quality assurance and risk management company, it said. AIP for the platform mea

Aug. 31, 2021

Korean gamers take action against NCSoft’s ‘misleading’ marketing

On Thursday, two South Korean game developers had sharply contrasting fortunes on the local stock market: NCSoft’s shares plunged 15.29 percent, while Pearl Abyss shares skyrocketed 25.57 percent. The share price moves of both companies were affected by reactions to their new game titles -- NCSoft’s newly launched mobile role-playing game Blade & Soul 2 and Pearl Abyss’ trailer video for DokeV, an open-world game, whose release date is yet to be announced.  The dr

Aug. 30, 2021

S. Korea's lunar orbiter on track for launch next year

South Korea's science ministry said Monday the country's first lunar exploration mission is on track for launch in August next year after it strengthened ties with the United States earlier this year in space exploration. South Korea aims to conduct a yearlong mission to observe the moon through an orbiting spacecraft, with hopes of securing technologies for future space exploration missions. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it has completed rigging a high-precision camera, developed by th

Aug. 30, 2021

Coway adds aesthetic touch to electric dehumidifiers

Amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, consumers’ interest in what makes their home a more pleasant place to be has grown. This has certainly affected the home appliance market. Before, devices like electric dehumidifiers were not something people sought aesthetic satisfaction in. Yet, in this era, they need to change. Coway’s recently launched Noble Dehumidifier AD-1221E is a new addition to the ranks of premium appliances, with design elements more commonly found in luxury furnit

Aug. 29, 2021

Kolon Glotech invests W6b in satellite projectiles, eyes on space business

Kolon Glotech, the car seat fabric maker under Kolon Group, plans to enter the aerospace business by forging strategic partnerships with local startups. The company said Thursday it has invested 6 billion won ($5.1 million) in Innospace, a South Korean aerospace manufacturing tech startup, to develop light-weight composite materials used in the launch vehicles of small satellites. Some products from Kolon Dacc Composite, a subsidiary of Kolon Glotech, are already used in products under deve

Aug. 27, 2021

Prosecutors raid Daewoong Pharmaceutical, charges not verified yet

Daewoong Pharmaceutical is under a prosecutors’ investigation, with industry sources suggesting Friday that the subject of the probe is trade secret misappropriation. The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said it conducted a search and seizure operation at Daewoong’s headquarters in Samsung-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Thursday. Officials from the prosecutor’s office did not disclose charges against the South Korean pharmaceutical firm. Some industry sources ra

Aug. 27, 2021

Samsung's new Galaxy Z series lands in 40 countries worldwide

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 officially landed in stores worldwide Friday. The company announced Friday, that it was rolling out its latest foldable smartphones series in 40 countries including South Korea, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and France. The products will be available in 130 countries by October, Samsung said. Presales were strong around the globe, the company said. Total preorders logged in 70 countries greatly surpassed that of its previou

Aug. 27, 2021

LG Magna kick-starts plant operation in Korea

LG Magna e-Powertrain, a joint venture between South Korea’s LG Electronics and Canada’s Magna International, has kick-started its operation in Korea. The company revealed the inside of its plant located in Incheon on Friday, showing that its operation is going as planned. At its Incheon plant, the new firm will be dedicated to producing electric motors, inverters, onboard chargers and electric drive systems. The joint venture officially kicked off on July 1 under leadership of

Aug. 27, 2021

S. Korean team develops most perfect graphene films

A research team at the Daejeon-based Institute for Basic Science has succeeded in growing single-crystal graphene films that have no wrinkles, folds or adlayers, paving the way for technological advancement in a wide range of fields and industries, including semiconductors, displays and solar cell products. Led by professor Rod Ruoff, the research, titled “Single Crystal, Large-area, Fold-free Monolayer Graphene,” has been published in the leading science journal Nature. Graphene

Aug. 26, 2021

Apple, Google app store models face new threat in South Korea

South Korea is poised to become the first country to impose curbs on the lucrative app stores run by Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, setting up a potential showdown with the Biden administration. President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party used its parliamentary supermajority to push out of committee a bill that would ban companies from forcing developers to use their online payment systems. The ruling party’s heft in the National Assembly suggests the Telecommunications

Aug. 25, 2021

Netmarble, NCSoft up ante with new mobile games

Netmarble and NCSoft, two of South Korea’s major game developers, are competing for mobile game players with the back-to-back releases of new titles. Netmarble on Wednesday launched action role-playing mobile game Marvel Future Revolution in some 240 countries, including Korea, and early signs were positive as the game shot to No. 1 on the RPG charts on Apple’s App Store in 78 countries, based on prerelease downloads that were made available Tuesday. The first open-world Marvel

Aug. 25, 2021