KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo has told executives and employees in a company-wide email that the mobile carrier needs to move beyond network service provision to become a platform operator. The KT CEO’s announcement followed several recent changes at the corporation. KT Skylife last month was selected as the preferred bidder to acquire cable TV operator Hyundai HCN. KT also inked a partnership with Netflix to improve the quality of its pay TV platform. “KT has started to undertake practica

Technology Aug. 4, 2020

South Korea generates relatively little power from renewable energy, lagging behind most of the world’s countries, a report showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by France-based energy consulting firm Enerdata, renewable energy-based power generation accounted for only 4.8 percent of the nation’s net power generation, putting Korea 40th among 44 nations. The countries that appeared further down the list were all oil-producing nations from the Middle East, where demand for

Industry Aug. 2, 2020

Industry July 30, 2020

South Korea’s top internet firm Naver announced Thursday that its sales in the second quarter reached an all-time high of 1.9 trillion won ($1.6 billion), up 16.7 percent on-year. The company’s operating profit increased by 79.7 percent to 230 billion won, while net profit increased twofold logging 90 billion won. Naver said online shopping transactions helped revenue to grow by 8.6 percent to 772.2 billion won. The number of small vendors on Naver Smart Store marked a monthly

Technology July 30, 2020

The World Trade Organization’s Dispute Settlement Body has decided to set up a panel to look into South Korea’s complaint over Japan’s trade restrictions, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday. The DSB makes decisions on trade disputes between governments that are adjudicated by the WTO. Panels are limited to making recommendations. Members of the multilateral trade agency have agreed to set up a panel following South Korea’s request last month.

Industry July 29, 2020

SoftBank Robotics announced Tuesday it will launch operations in South Korea with its artificial intelligence-enabled vacuum-cleaning robot Whiz. The company aims to take the lead in the assistive robotics market here, which is currently led by LG Electronics. Whiz is the Japanese firm’s second robot which was commercialized in May last year. The model, designed for commercial settings, is equipped with image sensors that allow autonomous driving and is connected to the cloud system, w

Technology July 29, 2020

SK Telecom on Monday unveiled an augmented reality-powered application designed to let visitors experience life in Seoul’s Changdeokgung 600 years ago. Changdeokgung, built in 1405 as one of the Joseon era’s main royal residences, is listed among UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.　 According to SKT, visitors to the royal palace can download the mobile application ARirang and use it as a virtual tour guide starting Tuesday. The mobile carrier said it created the AR content in c

Technology July 27, 2020

SK Telecom said Monday it has permanently ended its 25-year-old 2G mobile service. The top mobile carrier here received the go-ahead from the ICT Ministry last month and started to switch off the 2G service in smaller cities including Sejong since July 6. Seoul was the last city that it shut down the service. Subscribers of SKT’s 2G service in Korea can no longer receive and make calls or send text messages. According to the company a majority of the company’s 2G users -- around

Technology July 27, 2020

More Koreans in their 50s in Korea have started using online platforms since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed Friday. According to the survey conducted on 500 people over the age of 50 by the corporate social responsibility unit of Lina Life Insurance, 38 percent of respondents answered that they started using online livestreaming services for the first time after COVID-19. Six out of 10 people said they are using online platforms like YouTube and Netflix. Around 32 p

Technology July 24, 2020

Samsung SDS said Friday its earnings in the second quarter were dented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The South Korean firm’s sales decreased by 7.5 percent on-year to mark 2.56 trillion won ($2.1 billion), while operating profit fell by 24 percent to reach 196 billion won. Sales of the company’s information technology services division recorded 1.31 trillion won in the second quarter, down 15.9 percent on-year, while that of its logistics solutions business increased 3.3 percent

Technology July 24, 2020

The Science and ICT Ministry will invest 45 billion won ($37.6 million) in developing an AI-powered immigration control system by 2022, it announced on Friday. The ministry said it will test the smart control system at Incheon International Airport starting next year. There are currently 11 consortiums joining the state-led project, according to the ministry. Included in the consortiums are computer vision solution maker Alchera, and AI and big data solution developers Minds Lab and Onycom.

Technology July 23, 2020

South Korea’s telecom giant KT said Thursday it has joined hands with Edison Motors to develop self-driving vehicles. The firm plans to work on the control system and other software required in self-driving vehicles to improve its 5G-powered mobility solution for new traffic control tower for automated vehicles. Edison Motors, which specializes in manufacturing electric cars, will make machinery for the automated cars, according to the company. The companies have signed a memorandum

Technology July 23, 2020

South Korean tech firm Kakao will relocate Kakao IX Corp.’s character merchandising business to its e-commerce unit Kakao Commerce, according to industry sources on Wednesday. Kakao IX, the current operator of character business, will finalize the restructuring during an upcoming board meeting early next month, the sources added. The latest corporate reshuffle is likely to give a boost to Kakao’s growing e-commerce business unit. Kakao Commerce last year marked 296.1 billion won

Technology July 22, 2020

The South Korean government Sunday expressed hopes to safely bring its newly developed artificial intelligence medical software “Dr. Answer” to local and overseas markets, after it agreed to export the solution to hospitals in Saudi Arabia earlier in the week. Dr. Answer is an AI-enabled software designed to offer doctors accurate medical diagnosis by identifying abnormalities in body fluids and tissues. The software is currently able to diagnose eight diseases, including cancers,

Technology July 19, 2020

About half of office workers in Korea are still experiencing harassment in the workplace even after related laws were enacted last year, a survey conducted by a local civic group showed Wednesday. According to the report by civic group Gabjil199, which surveyed 1,000 office workers here, around 45.5 percent of office workers answered that they are still experiencing workplace harassment. Insults or defamation were the most frequent forms of harassment in the workplace, accounting for 29.6 pe

Industry July 16, 2020