The chiefs of South Korea’s Hanwha Group and the US-based Heritage Foundation called for efforts to strengthen the US-Korea alliance during a meeting in Seoul on Friday, the conglomerate said Sunday.　Hanwha Chairman Kim Seung-youn and Heritage Foundation founder and former president Edwin J. Feulner Jr. exchanged ideas on various topics, including cooperation on strengthening US-South Korea relations, forging peace on the Korean Peninsula and the US-China trade war. The two have met regularly si

Industry Oct. 14, 2018

From indoor navigation using augmented reality to ultra-high definition mapping technology for autonomous driving, South Korean internet giant Naver is developing a range of location-tracking technologies it believes will form the backbone of new offline services in the future. Some of these technologies were unveiled Thursday at Naver’s annual developer’s conference Deview 2018 held in Seoul, organized to showcase the Korean portal site operator’s future tech development direction each year. St

Technology Oct. 11, 2018

South Korean biopharma company Celltrion is on track toward launching its Rituxan biosimilar in the US market, as the drug has obtained the endorsement of the US Food and Drug Administration’s drug advisory committee.Celltrion and its marketing partner Teva Pharmaceutical Industries said Thursday that the US FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted unanimously 16-0 to recommend the approval of CT-P10, indicating the drug is highly likely to win the FDA’s final approval. The decision came a

Industry Oct. 11, 2018

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT will consider launching a joint government investigation into the tax and network usage fee arrangements of foreign information and communication technology companies such as Google and Facebook. 　During the ministry’s parliamentary audit held at the Gwacheon Government Complex on Wednesday, Science and ICT Minister Yoo Young-min said that it would work with multiple ministries to determine the exact amount of taxes foreign ICT firms pay in Korea, and th

Technology Oct. 10, 2018

NAVER MOBILE REVAMP — Naver CEO Han Seong-sook speaks during the Naver Connect 2019 conference held in Seoul, Wednesday. During the event, Naver officially announced a series of changes to its mobile site, including changing its starting page to include only a search bar, similar to Google’s website. The news section can be accessed by sliding to the right, where articles curated by artificial intelligence engines will appear. (Yonhap)

Technology Oct. 10, 2018

VISIT TO BIOTECH PRODUCTION SITE -- South Korea’s Deputy Finance Minister Ko Hyung-kwon (center) looks around a research lab at Celltrion’s headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, Wednesday. His visit to the biopharma company came as part of the ministry’s efforts to meet with on-site biotech industry employees and listen to their opinions, it said. (Yonhap)

Industry Oct. 10, 2018

South Korea’s largest internet companies Naver and Kakao together invested nearly 1 trillion won ($878 million) in overseas businesses this year, a ninefold growth in foreign investments from the previous year, government-tracked data showed Tuesday.According to data provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT to Rep. Byun Jae-il of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Naver and Kakao’s overseas investments this year reached 979.7 billion won. This is around 8.8 times bigger than last year’s 11

Technology Oct. 9, 2018

LG CNS, the information technology services unit of South Korea’s LG Group, has launched a next-generation enterprise resource planning solution with aims to take over the local ERP market currently dominated by foreign software firms like SAP and Oracle.　The LG unit on Tuesday announced the launch of an upgraded ERP solution, promising higher cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency through design changes and integration with new technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computin

Technology Oct. 9, 2018

In South Korea, it is fairly easy to fetch a taxi in the daytime. You can flag down an empty cab on the side of the road, or summon a taxi to your current location via the Kakao Taxi mobile app on a smartphone.　However, the situation changes drastically at certain times of the day, including the morning and evening rush hour as well as late at night. Gangnam and Hongdae are notorious areas in Seoul where catching a cab after midnight seems almost impossible, with demand outweighing the supply of

Technology Oct. 8, 2018

Ground X, the blockchain subsidiary of South Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao, on Monday unveiled plans to launch a testnet version of its proprietary blockchain platform Klaytn.The firm introduced a position paper highlighting Klaytn’s technical architecture and direction on its official homepage for the first time, inviting interested players to join the platform.According to Ground X, Klaytn has prioritized user experience and developer experience in its design, under an aim to allow end u

Technology Oct. 8, 2018

Samsung Electronics’ operating profit in the third quarter rose 20.44 percent on-year to a record 17.5 trillion won ($15.4 billion), the company said in an earnings guidance report released Friday. Revenue during the July-September period was estimated to have increased by 4.75 percent on-year to 65 trillion won, according to the South Korean tech giant.The July-September performance marked the highest quarterly achievement for the company to date. The previous record was 15.6 trillion won set i

Technology Oct. 5, 2018

South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Thursday that it had voluntarily terminated its clinical trial application for its type A botulinum toxin drug Nabota that was approved by China’s drug regulator in January, citing the need for a production site change. The firm plans to submit a revised CTA by the year’s end, it added.　After submitting the CTA and successfully obtaining approval, Daewoong expects that it can initiate phase 3 trials for Nabota, to prove the drug’s efficacy in treating f

Industry Oct. 4, 2018

K-POP IN MEXICO -- Dancers perform at the “K-pop Party” festival organized by South Korea’s Daewoo Electronics in Mexico City on Sept. 30. The company said Thursday that the event featured a “Gangnam Style” dance contest, traditional Korean music performances and activities related to traditional culture, alongside booths introducing home appliances under the Daewoo Electronics and Dayou Winia brands. (Daewoo Electronics)

Technology Oct. 4, 2018

South Korea’s National Assembly is slated to summon the heads of domestic and foreign information and communication technology companies during this year’s parliamentary audit that is scheduled to kick off on Oct. 10.　The National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on Tuesday confirmed a list of 26 figures to be summoned to testify at the committee’s audit this month.Included in the list are chiefs of Korea’s top internet companies, including Naver founder and Glo

Technology Oct. 3, 2018

South Korea’s media regulator said it would impose penalties on Facebook if it finds that Korean users were among those whose personal data were compromised in the latest massive security breach affecting 50 million users worldwide.The Korea Communications Commission said Monday that it had requested Facebook to provide comprehensive information on the latest hacking attack’s motives and its potential impact on Korean users.“If found to have compromised the personal data of Korean users, Faceboo

Technology Oct. 2, 2018