[THE INVESTOR] Talking about staying at a motel in Korea has historically been an uncomfortable topic -- mainly because such accommodations have typically been considered venues intended for sexual activities. But to Lee Su-jin, the chief executive of motel-booking app Yanolja -- meaning “let’s play,” in Korean -- a motel means “possibility.” Yanolja is a rising star in the Korean online-to-offline start-up scene. It is also a pioneering business that helped a boy from a broken family turn his d

Technology Aug. 24, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] For many global startups, a four-month accelerator program of 500 Startups, a US venture capital seed fund, is an eye-opener.The startup accelerator program, held four times a year at two of 500’s offices in Mountain View and San Francisco, is a mixture of collaboration as well as fierce competition among startups from around the world. Mentors, called coaches there, also provide full support in a range of sectors, such as marketing and sales, for the participants.“The two acceler

Technology Aug. 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The Investor and The Korea Herald and are jointly publishing a series of in-depth articles analyzing rising business tycoons and their companies’ governance structures. This is the first installment on Kim Seung-youn and Hanwha Group. -- Ed. Controversies aside, chairman knows a thing or two about mergers and acquisitions When Hanwha Group announced in late 2014 a 1.9 trillion won ($1.72 billion) deal to buy four assets from Samsung Group, the market sensed the return of Kim Seung

Aug. 16, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Bagel Labs, a smart tape measure startup, has raised $1.35 million on Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website.The firm, which participated in a startup nurturing program by K-ICT Born2Global Center, a state-funded startup incubator, ran the fundraising campaign on the crowdfunding platform from June 29 to Aug. 3.  Bagel, a smart tape measure developed by Korean startup Bagel Labs. Bagel LabsThe $1.35-million fund raised during the campaign -- a record amount for Korean startups on the

Aug. 10, 2016

NEW YORK -- Sprawling roughly between West 16 Street and Hudson Street in Manhattan, the Meatpacking District was where meat factories were up and running in the early 1900s. The blocks in the area, currently filled with upscale restaurants and bars and fashion boutiques, have since become the gem of New York City, attracting millions of tourists, partygoers and locals every year.Samsung Electronics opened its marketing center, dubbed Samsung 837, in the heart of the district at Washington Stree

Technology Aug. 7, 2016

NEW YORK -- When Samsung Electronics first launched the Galaxy S6 Edge featuring a curved display in 2015, it caught the eyes of many thanks to its stunning, unprecedented design.However, Samsung fell short of gaining traction in sales as it failed to catch up with the demand for the S7 Edge due to glitches in producing the display curved on both sides.Now having achieved a rather satisfactory level of production yields for the Edge display, Samsung said it would put more focus on smartphone mod

Technology Aug. 7, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] NEW YORK -- Since its 2011 launch, not many expected that Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note smartphone would survive the tough competition with smaller-size peers including Apple’s iPhone, the most popular option at the time.The Note lineup, which had its latest and sixth model Note 7 unveiled Tuesday in New York, has evolved and gained a great deal of popularity for itself along the way, so much so that almost all global smartphone makers that used to look down on the Note phablet

Technology Aug. 3, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] NEW YORK -- Samsung Electronics took the wraps off the much-anticipated Galaxy Note 7 smartphone at its annual Samsung Galaxy Unpack event in New York on Tuesday.Although the latest large-size smartphone -- often called a “phablet,” a combination of phone and tablet -- is the sixth in the Note lineup, it has been dubbed the Note 7 to align the numbering with the Galaxy S lineup.It comes with a slew of new features that will probably provide reason enough for those currently using

Technology Aug. 3, 2016

Tech giant Samsung Electronics unveiled the Galaxy Note 7, the sixth of the phablet lineup, in New York on Aug. 2. (Samsung Electronics)

Technology Aug. 3, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] While Samsung Electronics is busy with the upcoming launch of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, it is also preparing to showcase other big products, including the Gear S3, before the end of this year.The South Korean tech giant filed the trademark for Gear S3 Frontier at the nation’s patent office on July 26, implying that there could be more than one smartwatch model the firm has up its sleeves.The new project for Samsung smartwatch is reportedly named Solis, meaning the sun in Spani

Technology July 29, 2016

[THE INVESTOR]  LG Electronics' clout in the global smartphone market is steadily declining on the back of cut-throat competition in the sector.And the Korean firm’s bet on its next high-end smartphone, the V20, which succeeds the V10, is not expected to bring about a dramatic turnaround, according to industry watchers. LG V10 phablet. Its successor, tentatively called V20, is expected to come out in September. LG Electronics"LG’s upcoming new high-end smartphone will not be able to offset the s

Technology July 29, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s antitrust watchdog has fined the hot-selling food delivery app Baedal Minjok and five other similar firms for slyly manipulating online user reviews.The Fair Trade Commission announced on July 28 that it imposed a combined fine of 17.5 million won (US$16,000) on the six food delivery app companies for hiding negative online reviews and ordering their employees to post positive ones.Baedal Minjok is the No. 1 food delivery app in Korea.The companies were also found to have

Technology July 29, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Telecommunications firm KT posted second quarter operating profit of 427 billion won (US$379.6 million) -- its highest quarterly operating income in four years -- thanks to solid performances in its wireless network, landline telecom, and media businesses.The quarterly profit reflected a 15.8 percent increase on-year, KT said on July 29. Sales were up 4.5 percent to 5.68 trillion won. KT headquartersThe number of subscribers for KT's Long Term Evolution network service in the seco

Technology July 29, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] SK Telecom said July 28 that it would increase its capital expenditure by 100 billion won (US$88.90 million) to 2.1 trillion won this year to upgrade its existing telecommunications infrastructure.The company announced the investment plan after announcing its second-quarter earnings on the day. The head office of SK Telecom in SeoulSome market watchers considered the latest decision an unexpected move as the nation’s telecom market has reached a near-saturation point.The mobile ne

Technology July 28, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics saw its operating income soar nearly 140 percent on-year to 584.6 billion won (US$519.7 million) in the April-June period on the back of strong sales of home appliances and air-conditioning systems, the company said in its earnings report on July 28.The company’s revenue came in at 14 trillion won, up 0.6 percent from a year earlier. LG Electronics’ R&D center in Seocho, Seoul  /  LG ElectronicsLG’s home appliance & air solution unit and home entertainment unit -- t

Technology July 28, 2016