South Korea’s largest biopharmaceutical business association has kickstarted preparations for a support center that will leverage artificial intelligence to help Korean pharmaceutical companies accelerate new drug development processes.The move comes as Korea seeks to catch up with big pharma firms in the US and Europe which have begun to pour investments into AI for drug discovery. Uses for AI in developing medicines include identifying promising drug candidates and determining the right biomar

Industry March 5, 2018

SK Biopharmaceuticals, the new drug development unit of South Korea’s telecom-to-energy conglomerate SK Group, is drawing closer to launching its investigational narcolepsy drug in the US, raising hopes for a fresh influx of profits in the near future. SK Biopharmaceuticals and its partner Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced Monday that the US Food and Drug Administration has accepted for standard review their new drug application seeking marketing approval for solriamfetol, an investigational drug t

Industry March 5, 2018

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles highlighting South Korea’s promising startups in the emerging sectors of digital health care and next-generation medical devices. This is the 16th installment of "Health-tech Korea". - Ed.Despite persistent public campaigns by municipal governments to promote clean tap water, South Koreans are known to refrain from drinking it or even using it for cooking. Their heavy reliance on bottled water for consumption shows the lack of trust in water st

Technology March 4, 2018

South Korean internet giant Naver said Wednesday that it has partnered with the Seoul-based Hankuk University of Foreign Studies to improve and update its online dictionaries for 11 languages over the next four years.　The move comes as part of Naver’s pledge made in 2016 to invest 10 billion won ($9.24 million) toward upgrading and expanding its online dictionaries for five years.(123RF)　Under the partnership, Naver will fund HUF’s efforts to upgrade outdated definitions, fix existing errors and

Technology Feb. 28, 2018

South Korean video game company Pearl Abyss officially released its latest open-world mobile role-playing game “Black Desert Mobile” in Korea on Wednesday, with servers crashing due to user traffic overload.“Black Desert M” is a mobile remake of the hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game “Black Desert” by Pearl Abyss. The original game was launched in December 2014, and has more than 8.5 million registered users worldwide, including those in Asia as well as the US and Europe. Prior t

Technology Feb. 28, 2018

South Korea’s video gaming giant Nexon on Tuesday announced the official launch of the Nexon Foundation which has been tasked with spearheading Nexon’s various social contribution programs here and abroad.In doing so, Nexon is joining the likes of its domestic rivals Netmarble Games and NCSoft which also operate similar foundations dedicated to corporate social responsibility projects.The new foundation will continue to operate and expand Nexon’s existing CSR programs, while initiating new proje

Industry Feb. 27, 2018

Lee Hae-jin, the founder of South Korean internet giant Naver, has officially stepped down from the company’s board, Naver said in a disclosure Monday.During an internal board meeting held the same day, Naver decided not to extend Lee’s board membership that expires next month. Naver’s executive director Choi In-hyuk will be filling in Lee’s position, according to the firm.With the change, Lee will only retain his position as global investment officer, focusing on Naver’s global expansion and in

Technology Feb. 27, 2018

No one expected it, but they’ve done it. South Korea’s women’s curling team has made Olympic history at PyeongChang by clinching silver. Never considered a medal contender in the sport, the team crushed the world’s top curling powerhouses to arrive at Sunday’s final match, where it lost to Sweden 8-3 to take home silver.Having won its first-ever Olympic medal in curling, South Korea is more excited than ever for its “Garlic Girls” who have emerged as the surprise stars of the 2018 Winter Olympic

Olympic Games Feb. 25, 2018

At the PyeongChang Games, South Korea’s athletes have defended their Olympic titles in speed skating and formed the first-ever joint Olympic team in women’s ice hockey with North Korean athletes, among other feats.　While the biggest stars of the Olympics are the athletes themselves and their records, they did not get there on their own. Behind the glory of the Olympic champions are dedicated coaches who have been guiding the athletes in the trenches.　Among them, South Korea owes its success to t

Olympic Games Feb. 22, 2018

The trail-blazing women’s curling team of South Korea is making Olympic history at PyeongChang, as it prepares for the medal match after securing a string of surprise victories over the world’s top teams in the winter strategy sport. And the team’s fast-growing fan base in Korea can’t seem to get enough of the four Olympic curlers from the small town of Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province.From curling-imitation parodies featuring vacuum robots and broomsticks to memes commemorating the team’s ste

Olympic Games Feb. 21, 2018

If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you may have been confused to see winning athletes being handed not medals, but dolls of Soohorang, the official white tiger mascot of the PyeongChang Games.You might also have wondered whether the flower bouquets, which traditionally get presented with the medals at the Olympics, have entirely disappeared. Stuffed Soohorangs wearing a usahwa hat, which are awarded to the medalists at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics (Yonhap)Why the stuffed tigers instead of

Olympic Games Feb. 20, 2018

Until the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, curling was a sport largely unknown to South Koreans. However, the latest string of breakout performances by the women’s curling team has thrown the strategic winter sport into the limelight.　South Korea’s female curling team has risen to fresh international stardom at PyeongChang. Ranked eighth in global rankings, the host country has secured victories over some of the world’s top contenders in curling, including Canada, Switzerland and Great Britain.　On M

Olympic Games Feb. 19, 2018

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Typically, world-class athletes make up the core of any Olympic Games. At PyeongChang, however, an unlikely entity has emerged as a new star: high-tech robots roaming the premises of the Olympic venues.　From a self-navigating cleaner bot vaguely resembling Star Wars’ R2-D2 to autonomous drink-serving robots and robotic fish swimming inside water tanks, South Korea’s service robots have been capturing the attention of Olympic guests from around the world.Korea has

Technology Feb. 18, 2018

After suffering two shutout losses against Switzerland and Sweden, the unified Korean women’s ice hockey team made Olympic history by scoring its first and only goal in its match against Japan on Wednesday.Although Korea ended up losing to Japan in a 4-1 loss, the goal was celebrated by South Korean and American spectators as well as North Korea’s all-female cheerleading squad at the Kwandong Hockey Center.Takeuchi Aina of Japan (left) in action against Randi Heesoo Griffin of Korea (right) duri

Sports Feb. 15, 2018

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- South Korea’s lone Nordic combined skier Park Je-un expressed regret Thursday that he failed to overcome his nerves during his first Winter Olympics performance. 　Park finished 46th among 47 competitors in the individual Gundersen normal hill/10-kilometer event at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Wednesday with a time of 30 minutes, 56.5 seconds. He was more than six minutes slower than gold medalist Eric Frenzel of Germany. 　Although he became the first South

Olympic Games Feb. 15, 2018