Cree, a leading U.S. light-emitting diode-maker, said Wednesday it has launched sales of its LED lighting products in Korea, showing its confidence to take on other competitors including Osram and Philips.  San Francisco International Airport is one of Cree’s biggest customers. (Cree)Established in 1987 in the U.S., the company now operates in 12 global markets including Canada, Germany and Hong Kong and holds 4,000 patents related to LED technology.Some of its business-to-business or business-t

Technology Feb. 4, 2015

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it would unveil its Galaxy S6 in Spain on March 1, hoping the latest model of the smartphone will boost sales in the face of intense competition from Xiaomi’s budget phones and Apple’s iPhone 6. Samsung Electronics’ invitation to the press, analysts and developers for the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2014 event in Barcelona on March 1. (Samsung Electronics)The unveiling will come one day before the Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest festival of telecommunicati

Technology Feb. 3, 2015

Korea’s largest telecommunications firm, KT, has signed a deal with Chinese media titan Hengdian Group to jointly build a smart theme park in China, which will incorporate information technology and cultural content. Xu Wenrong (third from right), chairman of Hedingan Group, watches a live 3-D show with Yun Kyoung-lim (second from right), senior vice president of KT’s future convergence strategy office, at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Monday. (KT)At a signing ceremony for a memorandum

Technology Feb. 2, 2015

South Korea’s current account surplus extended its record for the 34th consecutive month in December, but the accumulated annual amount fell below the central bank’s initial forecast last year, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea on Monday.The current account surplus, the broadest measure of trade, hit a record high of $89.4 billion last year, up from $81.1 billion a year before ― but slightly short of the central bank’s forecast of $90 billion.In December, the current account sur

Feb. 2, 2015

DAEJEON ― The Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center, an institute run by SK Group to support start-ups, has become a hotbed of business creativity. Housed at KAIST, one of Korea’s most prestigious tech and science universities, the creative economy center was jointly established by Daejeon Metropolitan City, KAIST, and SK Group last October with an aim to nurture entrepreneurs and help fledgling businesses conduct research and development and commercialize their technology at home and abroa

Technology Feb. 1, 2015

Strong sales of Apple’s iPhone 6 and Xiaomi’s low-end smartphones pushed Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker by sales volume, to record its weakest annual earnings in three years.The Korean tech giant said Thursday it posted an annual revenue of 206.2 trillion won with its operating profit standing at 25 trillion won, down by 10 percent and 11.8 percent respectively, from a year earlier. The sluggish sales of Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5 which was released l

Technology Jan. 29, 2015

A battle has begun for control of NCSoft, the nation’s second-biggest game developer, as Nexon, its largest shareholder, has officially vowed to participate in its management. Nexon, the largest online game firm in South Korea, said Tuesday that it would shift from merely investing in NCSoft, the runner-up in the domestic market, to taking part in its management.“The company made the decision since it has found it difficult to swiftly respond to the rapidly changing IT industry with the previous

Technology Jan. 28, 2015

LG CNS employees pose at the firm’s mentoring program for new workers. (LG CNS)LG CNS, one of Korea’s information technology solutions developers, said Wednesday that it has launched this year’s mentoring program between senior and junior employees. First started in 2006, the corporate mentoring programs have helped fresh employees adjust to their new workplace and build bonds with colleagues. “In order to become an IT expert, one should quickly adapt to the fast changing work environment,” said

Technology Jan. 28, 2015

Internet giant Naver, which is struggling to catch up in mobile businesses on its home turf, said Wednesday that it would push to secure its footing in the realm.“As many already know, and some statistics show, the Web portal Naver is not the leader in mobile services,” said Han Seong-sook, the general director of Naver’s service departments, at a press meeting in Seoul on Tuesday, admitting the company is currently facing immense difficulties due to the fast-changing business environment.  Han

Technology Jan. 27, 2015

Software powerhouse Oracle has recently been turning to cloud computing businesses to meet the rising demand for services available over the Web. Mark Hurd, Oracle’s cochief executive, expressed strong confidence in his company’s prospects in the cloud industry during a visit to South Korea last Thursday.“We will sell more new cloud in the next year than any other company in the world,” said Mark Hurd at a joint interview with Korean news outlets on late Thursday afternoon. Mark has been sharing

Technology Jan. 25, 2015

The number of requests by investigative agencies for information from the nation’s Web-portal giants ― Naver and Daum Kakao ― have steadily increased over the years, raising public concern about the government’s infringement on users’ privacy online.The number of search and seizure warrants for user information increased 6.3 times from 1,487 in 2012 to 9,342 in 2014, according to a transparency report released by Naver on Thursday. Around 9,244 warrants were issued in 2013. “The requests for war

Technology Jan. 23, 2015