South Korean health authorities said Sunday it confirmed another case of the Zika virus found in a woman who traveled to Thailand. It has raised the official number of infected patients in South Korea to 21. A 31-year-old, whose name was withheld, tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus by a local health agency in South Jeolla Province on Thursday, after she had a fever and other symptoms, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The virus, first discovered in Afric

Social Affairs June 17, 2017

South Korean budget carriers are strengthening international routes to Southeast Asia and Japan in a bid to absorb growing low-cost air travel demand and recoup losses stemming from the drop in Chinese passengers amid a diplomatic row over a missile defense system, industry sources said Saturday.Eastar Jet began services on the Incheon-Da Nang route early this week with a plan to start the Incheon-Sapporo route from July 1. (Yonhap)Jeju Air, another local low-cost carrier, earlier announced a pl

Industry June 17, 2017

South Korea will soon begin the mass-production of its new mid-range hit-to-kill missile interceptor, code-named M-SAM, as it has passed an operational capability test, a defense official said Saturday.The M-SAM surface-to-air missile will serve as a core element of the country's Korea Air and Missile Defense System, currently in the making, against North Korea's threats. A file photo of a test of the Cheongung anti-aircraft missile in 2015. (Yonhap)"The prototype of the M-SAM (missile) to inter

Defense June 17, 2017

Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon held talks on Thursday with Jin Liqun, president of a Chinese-led regional lender, during which the two sides agreed to step up cooperation, officials said. The talks between Kim and Jin were held a day before the annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in South Korea's southern island of Jeju.  During the meeting, Kim told Jin that South Korea wants to develop "strategic cooperation" with the AIIB, Kim's ministry said in a

Market June 15, 2017

Do Jong-hwan (Yonhap)A National Assembly committee on Thursday approved President Moon Jae-in's nomination of Do Jong-hwan as culture minister, paving the way for him to become the sixth Cabinet member of the new administration. The adoption of a report on the outcome of a confirmation hearing for Culture Minister-nominee Do is a crucial procedure before President Moon Jae-in officially appoints him.Do, a poet-turned-politician, has voiced hopes for resuming inter-Korean exchanges among cultural

Politics June 15, 2017

A Korean web hosting firm’s recent decision to pay a huge ransom to a group of cybercriminals sets a bad precedent, possibly opening the door for more criminals to target Korea for easy money, security experts said. On Wednesday, local web hosting firm Nayana said it had decided to pay money to a hacker group that has paralyzed its 150 servers -- which also affected its 3,400 client websites -- since Saturday. (Yonhap)“We completed the negotiations with the hacker and we are now preparing the mo

Industry June 15, 2017

Samsung Electronics’ new flagship smartphones, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, took the top spots in smartphone ratings by the US consumer magazine. Consumer Reports said on Wednesday the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus ranked first and second with 82 points each in its latest smartphone ratings.Galaxy S8’s predecessor Galaxy S7 Edge placed third with 77 points followed by LG Electronics’ premium smartphone G6 and Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus, also with 77 points each.  Galaxy S8 (Yonhap)Jerry Beilinson, a

Technology June 14, 2017

LG Display’s small-sized organic light-emitting diode panels have the potential to become an alternative to the products of Samsung Display currently dominating the market, according to local analysts here.“It is inevitable for Apple and Google to view LG Display as an alternative because Samsung’s dominance in the flexible OLED market can be a threat to the firms struggling to secure the panels,” said Lee Min-hee, an analyst at Heungkuk Securities, in its latest report, which also revised up th

Industry June 14, 2017

Samsung and LG’s home appliances and devices may become compatible with one another as early as this year, according to sources Tuesday. The two Korean tech giants are currently each developing products certified by the Open Connectivity Foundation, an industry group developing specification standards to connect devices made by different brands. The OCF, which was set up in February last year, currently has around 300 member firms including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Intel, Microsoft,

Technology June 13, 2017

The Korean mobile payment market, currently dominated by Samsung Pay, is predicted to heat up as more rivals are considering joining the race. Samsung Electronics’ payment service Samsung Pay, which was launched in August 2015, has now garnered more than 1 million subscribers here. The tech giant is expanding the application to its smartwatch Gear S3 and low-budget smartphones, the Galaxy A and J series. Samsung Pay’s smaller local rival LG Electronics launched a similar service, LG

Market June 12, 2017

The state-run Korea Internet & Security Agency is developing bio authentication for mobile banking to commercialize it by late 2018, KISA’s chief researcher said. “We are developing an algorithm for authenticating mobile banking with a combination of a fingerprint, heart rate and (an) electrocardiogram. The technology is expected to be much safer than existing biometrics including iris sensors, fingerprint scanners and facial recognition,” Jason Kim, chief of KISA’s security technology dissemina

Industry June 12, 2017

Blockchain technology will be used in shipping logistics for the first time in Korea. Samsung SDS said Wednesday it had launched a blockchain consortium for shipping logistics in partnership with local logistics companies, the government and state-run research centers. The consortium’s members include the Korea Customs Service, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Hyundai Merchant Marine, IBM Korea and Ktnet.  Participants of a blockchain consortium for shipping logistics pose for photographs at th

Technology May 31, 2017

Korean mobile carrier KT and Yonsei University will work together on connected car technologies, the telecom operator said Wednesday. The two signed an agreement to cooperate on self-driving technologies and launched a research and development forum for sharing connected car technologies. KT and Yonsei University officials attend a ceremony to launch a research and development forum for sharing connected car technologies Wednesday. (KT)Under the deal, the two organizations will share technologie

Industry May 31, 2017

Riding the wave of artificial intelligence in the ever-connected world, SK Telecom is expanding its AI ecosystem into diverse areas, including AI speakers, medical care, banking, automobiles and smart home services. At the center of the leading telecom carrier’s AI lies the Nugu platform, which was unveiled in September through its voice-enabled speaker of the same name.  A Spanish model poses with SK Telecom’s artificial intelligence robot Albert at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona,

Industry May 29, 2017