The nation’s top three telecom carriers – SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus – plan to offer the world’s fastest tri-band LTE service from March when updated handsets are launched.The breakthrough comes as they have succeeded in applying the 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation or QAM software technology that bundles more bits into the spectrum being used.　According to LG Uplus Tuesday, the application, the first of its kind in the world, will enhance data transmission speeds and network capacity by abo

Technology Feb. 16, 2016

Speculation has been growing about Samsung Electronics vice chairman and Samsung Group heir apparent Lee Jae-yong’s recently acquired cash totaling 300 billion won ($250 million).  In December, he secured the money by selling a 2.05 percent stake in Samsung SDS to participate in Samsung Engineering’s planned capital increase. Despite his plan to buy shares when there was a lack of applications, investors purchased most of the shares, worth 1.2 trillion won, that were issued last week. Now indust

Technology Feb. 14, 2016

 LG Electronics said Thursday a new street named after its corporate name has been created within an industrial complex in Changwon, the capital city of South Gyeongsang Province. LG Jeonja-ro, meaning “LG Electronics Street” in English, stretches some 500 meters in the neighborhood of its production plant.  The Changwon city government said the street was designated to honor the company’s continuing investments and job creations in the city even at a time of economic difficulties. The name has

Technology Feb. 4, 2016

LG CNS, the information technology solutions unit of LG Group, said Thursday it has won a deal to install bus traffic control systems for Malaysia’s Mass Rapid Transit railway stations.  (LG CNS)The $120 million MRT project aims to connect every corner of Kuala Lumpur via high-speed trains. The Line 1, stretching about 51 kilometers with 31 stations, is under construction and slated for completion by 2017. LG CNS has already participated in the project, as it secured a deal in 2012 to build tele

Technology Feb. 4, 2016

Kal Raman, former CEO of Xome and chief operating officer of Groupon, has joined Samsung Electronics America as chief digital officer to lead the company’s e-commerce business, the Seoul head office confirmed Thursday.  Raman, 47, has served in executive roles at Amazon, eBay, Drugstore.com and Groupon. He is currently based in Seattle.Over the past year, he was CEO of Xome, an online home-buying service affiliated with Nationstar Mortgage.A veteran in technology and retail business, Raman was a

Technology Feb. 4, 2016

Dyson, the U.K. home appliance maker, held a rare performance test in Seoul on Tuesday by comparing its own luxurious stick vacuum cleaner with cheaper competitors. During the event, Dyson’s motor drive engineer Graham Donald demonstrated the suction power of the company’s V6 Fluffy cleaner and the key technologies behind the device. Then, a “blind test” was carried out. He and two other staff members carrying three different stick vacuums started to collect baking power scattered on separate bl

Technology Feb. 3, 2016

LG Group said Wednesday it has decided to hire a marine staff sergeant who recently saved a blind man’s life at a subway station in Daegu. On Jan. 17, the 24-year-old Choi Hyung-soo jumped onto the tracks to save a 40-something blind man who missed his footing and fell. After confirming the man was safe, he left the scene without revealing himself. However, his live-saving act was publicized by the media. LG said it would offer him a full scholarship when he returns to college and hire him after

Technology Feb. 3, 2016

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that its ActiveWash washing machine has hit the 1.5 million mark in global sales since its launch in February last year. The ActiveWash is a top-load washing machine with a separate sink for prewashing. It has been launched in 33 countries worldwide. The sales figure means 4,100 unit sales every day – Samsung’s fastest-selling washing machine, the company said. During the same period, the product sold more than 300,000 units in Korea alone. In the U.S., Samsung

Technology Feb. 3, 2016

The nation’s largest steelmaker POSCO is tightening its belt in a desperate effort to restore profitability across its affiliates amid a supply glut and faltering global demand for steel. In an annual executive reshuffle on Monday, the group said it had cut the number of executives by a whopping 30 percent to 259, compared to 359 last year.  The group also reduced the number of offices by 22 percent to combine their overlapped tasks and improve efficiency overall. The decision came a week after

Industry Feb. 2, 2016

LG Electronics on Tuesday unveiled online its first-ever Super Bowl ad, featuring actor Liam Neeson as a “mysterious man from the future.”The 60-second commercial, which will air during the Feb. 7 Super Bowl matchup on CBS, aims to promote the company’s flagship organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, TV.  In the ad, produced by the famous father-son team of Ridley and Jake Scott, Neeson travels to present day to help his younger self -- played by the actor’s real-life son Michael Neeson -- intro

Technology Feb. 2, 2016

WeMakePrice, one of the nation’s top three daily-deal sites, said Tuesday the number of its unique visitors during the first three weeks of January outpaced those of rivals Coupang and Ticket Monster. Considering the tight race among the three companies in the fast-growing social commerce market, topping the visitor number is an important indicator of the site’s competitiveness, a company official said.  WeMakePrice CEO Park Eun-sangThe company added it posted a 50 percent growth in gross mercha

Technology Feb. 2, 2016

Shares of Samsung SDI and LG Chem continued to struggle Monday for almost a month, with concerns growing over China’s subsidy suspension for electric buses powered by their batteries. LG Chem shares closed at 289,000 won ($240), down 2.20 percent from Friday, while Samsung SDI shares closed nearly flat at 93,500 won after fluctuations. In its latest move to gradually scale back subsidies for EVs, the Chinese government recently decided not to give subsidies for NCM or nickel-manganese-cobalt che

Technology Feb. 1, 2016

Technology Feb. 1, 2016

After another failed attempt last week, doubts are growing over the Korean government’s search for a fourth telecom carrier in Korea. Aiming to spur competition and lower service fees, the government has sought to pick a fourth player in the telecom market that has long been dominated by three big companies -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- since 2010.  But the latest seventh attempt ended in vain again Friday as the three bidders -- Sejong Telecom, K Mobile and Quantum Mobile -- failed to come

Technology Jan. 31, 2016

LG Electronics said Tuesday its car parts business division swung to a profit in the fourth quarter for the first time since it started releasing its separate earnings last year. 　The company said the Vehicle Component division, which produces parts for automotive infotainment systems, posted 520.4 billion won ($432 million) in sales and 9.7 billion won in operating profits in the October-December period.A company logo is displayed at the LG Electronics headquarters in Seoul (Yonhap)　LG establis

Technology Jan. 26, 2016