Daewoo Engineering and Construction has invested in a local racing drone startup company, with the prospect of expanding its business portfolio, according to the construction firm on Sunday. Daewoo E&C had previously announced that it would acquire a 30 percent stake in AstroX as part of its “Build Together Startups” program initiated in August last year. The details of financial terms were not disclosed. AstroX is a local drone maker capable of manufacturing vertical takeoff

Industry March 29, 2020

If you are looking for a picnic spot where you can bring your kids, trek through the woods and enjoy spring sunshine, check out this alpaca-themed park in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. The park, named Alpaca World, sits on an 360,000 square-meter plot where visitors can walk through and take a monorail ride around the area.  At certain spots, visitors can experience the mild-tempered animals that may try to eat parsnips out of your hands. You and your children can approach the animals

Travel March 27, 2020

Hankook Tire, South Korea’s largest tire manufacturer by sales, said Thursday it will ramp up research in the original equipment tire sector. OE tires refer to tires that are equipped with new vehicles coming fresh off production lines. When designing new vehicle models, automakers go through several steps with tire manufacturers to choose or develop tires that best complement their own vehicle models. Hankook Tire is currently offering OE tires and replacement tires for around 320 car

Industry March 26, 2020

South Korean internet giant Kakao announced Wednesday that its co-CEOs -- Yeo Min-soo and Joh Su-yong -- will serve another two-year term. The decision was approved at its annual shareholders meeting held in the southern resort island of Jeju. “Kakao’s mission for the next 10 years is to make continuous renovation and evolution to minimize inconvenience of people,” Yeo said in the statement. “The company will also take the lead in resolving various kinds of social iss

Technology March 25, 2020

Various industries in South Korea have been forced into a mass experiment with the remote work system, intent to flatten the spread of COVID-19 since January. With more people working from home, demand for telecommuting solutions has also been rapidly rising. A number of Korean and multinational information technology companies provide top-notch remote work services, while many large firms already have internal remote systems intact. But it remains to be seen whether the emergency work-from

Technology March 25, 2020

Internet traffic in March has increased 13 percent over January this year as people spend more hours online under the strain of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to an ICT Ministry report released Tuesday. The ICT Ministry met with telecommunications industry officials to discuss the increased internet usage and measures to prevent potential network failures. Previously Netflix had said it would cut its traffic by 25 percent on networks across Europe to prevent interruptions of service, consid

Technology March 24, 2020

Korean telecommunications firm KT has teamed up with ministries here to develop an artificial intelligence-based health care system that could track the novel coronavirus spread, the company said Tuesday. In the research project led by the ICT Ministry and Ministry of Interior and Safety, KT will offer cellular data, which can be used to generate maps that could allow authorities to understand how populations move, as well as how the virus spreads. The data will only be used in a closed datab

Technology March 24, 2020

Huawei Korea said Friday that it has donated 200,000 face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Half have been delivered to the Korea Association of Welfare Institutions for Persons with Disabilities, and the rest went to the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education, according to the company. The masks will be distributed to local students when schools start the new semester after the current delay. On March 6, Huawei Korea donated a total of 200 million won ($160,550) to support the

Industry March 20, 2020

LG CNS said Friday it has been selected as preferred bidder for a new social security solution provider for the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s 122 billion won ($97.2 million) project. LG CNS’ consortium and Deloitte Consulting bid for the deal. Previously Samsung SDS was expected to join the competition, but it withdrew after reviewing feasibility. The new social security solution of LG CNS will substitute the ministry’s existing computer system built in 2009, which was u

Technology March 20, 2020

KT’s new CEO Koo Hyun-mo held closed-door meetings with stock market experts this week on the company’s future strategy following a plunge in share prices, industry sources said Friday. The meetings on Tuesday and Thursday came after the South Korean telecommunications giant’s stock fell below the 20,000 won ($16) bar amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. KT’s stock sold for around 27,000 won at the end of 2019. But it failed to bounce back, even after the company chose

Industry March 20, 2020

South Korean internet giant Naver said Wednesday that the company will display the user names and comment histories of users who post replies on news stories on its platform. The new online comment system will be in place Thursday. The change is intended to prevent abusive behavior online, the company explained. Naver’s anonymous comment system has often been criticized for allowing abusive and disparaging comments. Commenters’ user names are partially hidden, with only the first

Technology March 18, 2020

Cass, the leading domestic beer brand produced by Oriental Brewery, has won the 2020 Korea Wine and Spirits Award for five consecutive years. In January this year, OB’s Cass won the top prize at 2020 Korea Brand Hall of Fame, presented by the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies, the company said Wednesday. Cass is OB’s flagship lager beer here first introduced in 1994. Its market share in the local beer market in 2019 reached 36 percent with 1.19 trillion won of sales, accor

Industry March 18, 2020

South Korea’s exports to China have been showing signs of recovery in March, as the two nations reel from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, data from the government and the industry showed Tuesday. Korea’s daily exports to China for the period of March 1-10 reached $436 million, a 20.8 percent increase compared to the same period in February this year. Korea’s daily exports to China, however, was still 8.2 percent lower than that of the same period in last year at $47

Industry March 17, 2020

Kakao founder and Chairman Kim Beom-su sold a building located in Seoul’s Yeoksam-dong in Gangnam-gu for 38.2 billion won ($31.2 million) last year, according to local reports Monday. The building was used as Kakao’s first headquarters. Kim purchased the building for 29 billion won in 2011 together with Chun Yang-hyun, executive chairman of Cocone. In 2013, Kim bought Chun’s share in the building for 17 billion won and became the sole owner. Kakao’s headquarters moved

Technology March 16, 2020

South Korean internet giant Kakao has sold part of its stake in Hanjin KAL, having previously been expected to support Cho Won-tae in a family feud over the control of Hanjin Group, according to industry sources Monday. KaKao’s stake in Hanjin KAL, the holding entity of Hanjin Group, is now lower than 1 percent, down from a previous 2 percent, according to the sources. Kakao said that the sale of several stock items was a way to counter potential uncertainty in the market amid the coro

Industry March 16, 2020