The Korea Herald

Technology Feb. 27, 2014

Olympus provides musical healing in Seoul

On Feb. 25, patients and their families were filling up seats and waiting in the main lobby of Konkuk University Medical Center in Seoul.Those who could not find a chair either had to stand at the back or find a spot on the second floor.They were not there waiting to be treated at the hospital, but to take in a classical music performance by a special ensemble organized by Olympus Korea, the Korean company of the global camera and medical device maker.Classical music has been known to be highly

Technology Feb. 26, 2014

KT, China Mobile unveil world’s first LTE roaming

Korean consumers will be able to enjoy faster communication services abroad, not only in Japan but also in China as KT Corp., one of the country’s leading mobile carriers, has launched Long Term Evolution cross-border roaming services in joint efforts with China Mobile.KT said Thursday that the company and China Mobile, China’s biggest mobile operator, have jointly commercialized their data roaming services by integrating their LTE networks ― the first time two countries have done so.KT, which u

Technology Feb. 25, 2014

KT, China Mobile unveil world’s first LTE roaming

Daewoo Electronics finds new home under Dongbu

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics is expected to start anew this week as it relocates its headquarters to southern Seoul.The company, which was acquired by Dongbu Group a year ago, will move from Myeong-dong into the group’s headquarters this Friday in Gangnam, where other domestic tech heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are located.A Dongbu Daewoo Electronics official said, however, that it would be the “same business” as usual for the company, despite media reports that the relocati

Technology Feb. 23, 2014

Samsung introduces world’s first curved UHD TV

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest television maker, introduced the world’s first curved ultrahigh-definition TV in Seoul on Thursday.The new TV, which is curved at a radius of 4.2 meters, features clearer resolution and higher color saturation, and a panoramic view that offers consumers the feel of an “IMAX” experience. It hopes not only to maintain its global TV leadership with its UHD TVs, but also seeks to widen the technology and market gap with fast follower China, and shorten it wit

Technology Feb. 20, 2014

Samsung introduces world’s first curved UHD TV

War brewing over 700 MHz

The conflict between the broadcasting and telecom industries over the lucrative 700 megahertz spectrum band continues to escalate with no progress in sight.Not only has the contentious issue further divided the industries that should seek to collaborate in the era of technological convergence, but also pulled apart the involved parties such as government agencies and business associations.The end of analogue broadcasting in 2012, which made the band of frequencies ranging from 698 MHz to 806 MHz

Technology Feb. 19, 2014

Olympus introduces world’s first hybrid surgical instruments

Olympus, a Japan-based technology company involved in making endoscopy devices, on Monday unveiled a pair of new hybrid medical instruments that would benefit both the doctors who perform surgeries and the patients undergoing them.The Thunderbeat is an instrument that allows simultaneous tissue cutting and blood vessel sealing. It is the world’s first surgical instrument that integrates an ultrasonic system for tissue cutting and dissection with the electrosurgical technology of bipolar vessel s

Technology Feb. 17, 2014

Olympus introduces world’s first hybrid surgical instruments

Dongbu Daewoo to sell Spain asset

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics is moving to liquidate its manufacturing plant in Spain as a part of its efforts to boost and realign its production concentration in Korea, China and Mexico, a company official said.The planned sell-off, which was “under consideration for some time,” is in part due to high labor costs in the region. Also, the latest debt crisis that affected the eurozone including Spain had made it move forward with the plan, the official said.Daewoo Electronics’ Spain manufacturing pl

Technology Feb. 15, 2014

Dongbu Daewoo to sell Spain asset

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics is moving to liquidate its assets such as land in Spain, where it used to operate a manufacturing plant, the company said.This was in line with its plan to boost and realign its production concentration in Korea, China and Mexico, a company official said.The planned sell-off was “under consideration for some time,” the official said.Daewoo Electronics’ Spain manufacturing plant was built in 1998 with a capacity to produce 600,000 refrigerator units for Europe and elsewh

Technology Feb. 14, 2014

Public sector reform should prioitize large firms

President Park Geun-hye said Friday that the country’s push to reform debt-ridden public firms should first focus on making “visible” progress at larger institutions as they are responsible for more than 80 percent of the total debts at public organizations.The remark marked the second time in less than a week that Park has talked about the need for public sector reform after she warned Monday of stern responses to any labor attempts to derail the campaign. This shows how committed she is to the

Feb. 14, 2014

SK Chemicals makes inroads into auto market

SK Chemicals, a listed Korean chemical materials company, is seeking to boost its super engineering plastic materials business for automobiles.The company said on Thursday that it is in talks with Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, as well as some European automakers to supply polyphenylene sulfide.When asked whether SK Chemicals is engaging German carmakers such as BMW, a company official said it is too early to disclose this since it is in the “pre-marketing stage.”Hyundai and Kia are still testing

Technology Feb. 13, 2014

Nexon Korea names Park Ji-won as CEO

Nexon Korea said on Thursday that it has appointed Park Ji-won as its new chief executive.Park’s predecessor Min Seo, who has been with the game developer since 1997, is expected to serve as the company’s advisor after a vacation.Min has been credited for increasing Nexon Korea’s sales by threefold since he took the helm in 2009, releasing blockbuster games such as “Maple Story” and “Sudden Attack,” the company noted.The appointment of new CEO Park will be finalized at its shareholders’ meeting

Technology Feb. 13, 2014

KT teams up with police to export security system

KT Corp. said on Wednesday that together with the National Police Agency it plans to export its IT security system to Angola. This marks the first inroads for the telecom company into Angola, where KT, based on the technology of Korea’s police command and control systems, hopes to offer assistance in establishing security infrastructure. For its part, the Korean police will support the Angolan police authority by providing it with administrative and operational know-how on smart security systems

Technology Feb. 12, 2014

KT teams up with police to export security system

Samsung’s Lee named biggest dividend recipient

Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee is expected to receive 107.9 billion won ($100 million) worth of dividends this year to mark the fourth consecutive year that he received dividends of over 100 billion won from Samsung’s subsidiaries, according to Chaebul.com, an information provider on large businesses.This year’s figures reflect a 4.4 percent increase from the 103.4 billion Lee received in 2013. The group’s electronic flagship will pay 71.5 billion won to Lee this year, the highest among Sams

Industry Feb. 11, 2014

Samsung’s Lee named biggest dividend recipient

Small fine for small Google

[Reporter's Column] Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. This is what most tech-savvy Koreans think when Google comes to mind.It may be big overseas where it spends billions of dollars to invest in and acquire start-ups. But the global search giant is relatively a “small kid on the block” in Korea, the playground of Naver and Daum.This is why, for some observers, it seemed fair when Korea‘s communications regulator recently slapped Google with a fine of just 210 million won ($196,000).It m

Technology Feb. 10, 2014

Articles by Park Hyung-ki