The Korea Herald

Homeplus under probe over product description

The Fair Trade Commission said Monday it is looking into whether Homeplus broke the law with an allegedly misleading advertisement for discount LED monitors sold at its stores last week.Homeplus, the country’s No. 2 retail chain, was offering the LED monitors for as low as 199,000 won ($178.56) at its 122 stores nationwide. Some buyers, however, were angry to discover that the monitors were not eq

Industry March 28, 2011

Venture aims at billion-seller apps

Podotree, a recently-launched local mobile application venture firm, announced Monday that it aims at 1 billion downloads and 1 trillion won in sales within the next five years.In a press conference held in downtown Seoul, it unveiled its lineup of four applications in three different genres ― story of mankind, inspiring toy and study 101.“The role of podotree is meaningful in that it is not fight

Industry March 28, 2011

Lotte balks at Homeplus chicken jibe

Retailer considers action against rival over using comparative advertisingTwo of Korea’s biggest supermarket chains are at loggerheads over advertisements for super-cheap chicken.Homeplus, the country’s second-biggest supermarket chain, began selling raw chicken for as low as 1,000 won ($0.89) Thursday. Securing a total of 200,000 raw chickens, its 122 branches nationwide are selling up to 250 chi

Industry March 27, 2011

Korea’s smartphone users top 10 million

The state media regulator said Thursday that the number of smartphone owners here exceeded 10 million people earlier this week, surging more than twelvefold from 800,000 in 2009.The Korea Communications Commission said that a total of 10.02 million people used smartphones as of Wednesday, showing a sharp increase since the launch of Apple’s iPhone in Korea in November 2009.From 800,000 in December

March 25, 2011

Sky Life subscribers break 3 million

Sky Life, a digital satellite broadcaster, announced Thursday that its subscriber figure had reached over 3 million as of Wednesday.Speaking at a press conference in downtown Seoul, its chief executive Lee Mong-ryong said the broadcaster will add 10 high-definition channels next month, offering a total of 85 HD channels ― at least twice the number of its rivals.Lee also said that it will offer pay

Industry March 24, 2011

New tablet PC battle brewing

Apple’s iPad 2 to come to Korea next month, while Samsung, LG prepare to launch new line-upA new round of tablet PC competition is heating up as major electronics makers announced plans to release their new products on Wednesday.Samsung Electronics, the world’s No. 2 handset maker, released two different sizes of the upgraded Galaxy Tab ― 8.9 inch and 10.1 inch ― while LG Electronics presented its

Industry March 23, 2011

SKT to export RFID reader technology

SK Telecom, the country’s top mobile carrier, said Wednesday it has signed a deal for the first exports of its universal subscriber identification module, which could help businesses better manage products such as liquor and pharmaceuticals.SKT said that the company and its Chinese partner Sunnada Communication Co., a leading wireless coverage solution provider in China, agreed in Beijing to sell

Industry March 23, 2011

Games industry to benefit from deregulation

But industry officials complain that multiple issues still have to be dealt withAttention is focusing on what impact the revised bill to open up the game market will have on the local gaming industry.The parliamentary legislation committee passed a revised bill on game industry promotions Wednesday, following a two-year delay.According to the revision, games that are designed to be released in an

Industry March 10, 2011

Asiana to open new Incheon-Istanbul route

Asiana Airlines, the country’s No. 2 air carrier, said Wednesday that it began accepting reservations for its new route Istanbul-Incheon which will operate from March 29.The carrier will offer the flight three times a week ― every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday ― to the Turkish city and each plane will be able to accommodate 299 people.The flights that will fly from Incheon every Tuesday and Satur

Industry March 9, 2011

SKT’s iPhone reservations begin

SK Telecom said Wednesday that about 28,000 people had signed up for its to-be-released Apple iPhone 4 in the first seven hours of registration.A total of 28,000 people made their registrations by 2 p.m. and the number was expected to increase to up to 100,000 people by the end of the day, according to company officials.The country’s leading mobile carrier also said that the first group of 10,000

Industry March 9, 2011

Social commerce set for major showdown

Global giant Groupon joins Korea’s growing social commerce marketA major showdown is expected in Korea’s social commerce market with the introduction of global giant Groupon next week.The U.S.-based social commerce firm announced Monday that it will launch its branch here next Monday, going head-to-head with the country’s industry leaders like Ticket Monster and Coupang.Recruiting about 200-300 em

Technology March 8, 2011

Social commerce giant Groupon to launch here

Groupon, a U.S.-based social commerce firm, announced Monday that it will launch here next Monday further fanning competition over the increasingly popular form of cyber-shopping.Ahead of its official launch, it said it would organize a pre-launching event through its website (www.groupon.kr) which offers 1,000 won of Groupon cash to its e-mail subscribers. The figure of subscribers, however, must

Industry March 7, 2011

40 websites bombarded by cyber attacks

Cheong Wa Dae, USFK sites hit but no damage reportedWebsites of about 40 key South Korean institutions, including the presidential office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, came under cyber attack on Friday.Although there was no serious damage caused by the attack, the websites were hit bydistributed denial-of-service attacks around 10 a.m.The attacked websites included a number of gov

March 4, 2011

Competition beefs up between Samsung, Apple

Competition is beefing up between two global electronics rivals Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc. after the U.S.-based firm’s chief executive Steve Jobs singled out its competitors while launching the iPad 2 on Wednesday.“Samsung put (a tablet) out last year,” said the 56-year-old CEO in his first public appearance since taking a medical leave on Jan. 17.Then quoting Lee Young-hee, Samsung’s vice

Industry March 3, 2011

Korean airlines plan massive recruitment

The country’s air carriers are planning to recruit the highest-ever number of new employees this year, thanks to their record-breaking earnings reached in 2010.Korean Air is expected to hire up to 2,700 new workers, including flight attendants, pilots and technicians, in 2011.The nation’s No. 1 local airline employed 2,300 new hires last year and 2,050 new employees in 2009.Asiana Airlines, the se

Industry March 3, 2011

Articles by Cho Ji-hyun