Six years ago, Line Corp. successfully edged out western rivals like Facebook and WeChat to rise as the dominant mobile messaging service chosen by major Asian markets including Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia.And now, the Tokyo-based mobile messaging app operator is on track to achieve its broader vision of expanding into a full-fledged consumer platform by leveraging its strengths in localization and data-driven artificial intelligence technology.Line, touted as a rare case of a globaliz

Technology Sept. 24, 2017

In South Korea, Kakao Corp. dominates the mobile scene. Since overtaking the country’s mobile messaging market with KakaoTalk, the company has leveraged the clout of its messenger app to provide a range of new mobile services ranging from games, web comics to payment, e-commerce and even taxi hailing.　Despite its domestic glory, 7-year-old Kakao has continuously faced concerns and doubts over its growth potential as its messenger is confined to Korea with little presence in countries abroad.　Tho

Technology Sept. 21, 2017

South Korea’s mobile carrier KT has set out to develop a new nationwide network to monitor and manage ultrafine dust levels by leveraging its existing telecommunications infrastructure and network technologies.KT said Wednesday announced the launch of the “Air Map Korea Project,” pledging to invest 10 billion won ($8.87 million) for the nationwide project.KT's telecommunications infrastructure installed across Korea (KT)The company plans to turn its network infrastructure — most of which are loc

Technology Sept. 20, 2017

DIGITAL HEALTH STARTUPS ON SHOW -- Bayer Korea and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency held Tuesday a “demo day” showcasing the finalists of their jointly-launched digital health care startup accelerator program Grants4Apps Korea. Three local startups -- rapid-cooling anesthesia device maker RecensMedical, Sky Labs, which developed a ring-type wearable that monitors and detects arrhythmia, and pet-tech company GomiLabs -- presented their products and technologies in front of investors an

Technology Sept. 20, 2017

Online shooting game “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” developed by South Korea’s Bluehole Studio has broken the record for the highest concurrent player count on Steam, the world’s largest online video game store platform.The game, which was released as an early access beta version on Steam around six months ago, hit the milestone by achieving more than 1.34 million concurrent player counts Saturday, Bluehole said this week.With the new record, “Battlegrounds” beat the top peak player count recor

Technology Sept. 19, 2017

Samsung Bioepis has become the first company to secure Europe’s backing of its copy of Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer therapy Herceptin, marking a milestone for the South Korean drugmaker, which specializes in making cheaper copies of complex biologic drugs known as biosimilars.　The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use on Friday recommended the approval of Samsung’s Herceptin-referencing biosimilar Ontruzant. It is the first biosimilar copy of Herceptin t

Industry Sept. 18, 2017

SK Holdings, the parent company of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, will be making its way to the US this week to meet with global institutional investors as it seeks new capital to fund its strategic investment activities.Top executives from SK Holdings, including its CEO Jang Dong-hyun, will be holding a four-day non-deal roadshow in major US cities including New York and Boston starting from Monday, with Credit Suisses as the lead manager, the company said.The SK Group headq

Industry Sept. 17, 2017

Naver CEO Han Seong-sook apologized on behalf of the company for providing favors to the children of South Korea’s top legal officials including the daughter of former Senior Prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon, who is currently serving jail time for accepting bribes.　Naver shared a public apology from the incumbent CEO on its official blog Naver Diary following news reports that the company had unfairly provided favors and opportunities to Jin’s daughter.“Naver provided unofficial favors such as a free p

Technology Sept. 14, 2017

The United Nations Security Council holds vote on sanctions resolution against North Korea at United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday. (EPA-Yonhap)진행자: 손지영, Paul Kerry1. 유엔 안보리 대북 제제 결의… 실효성 논란 가열기사요약: 유엔 안전보장이사회가 북한의 6차 핵실험에 따른 새로운 제재 결의안을 채택했다. 대북 유류 공급 축소, 북한 인민무력부장 제재, 외화벌이 노동자 규제 등의 조항들이 포함되어있지만, 이러한 제재들이 갖는 실효성에 대한 의견이 엇갈리고 있다.아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638 Sanctions draw mixed

Podcast Sept. 13, 2017

South Korea’s two biggest IT companies are ramping up efforts to achieve more preorders for their artificial intelligence-powered smart speakers that are slated to hit shelves here soon, with aims to dominate the nascent market. Naver, the operator of Korea’s biggest portal website, and Kakao, which runs the country’s most widely used mobile messenger KakaoTalk, are slated to launch voice-activated standalone speakers here in the coming months.Globally, the smart speaker market is dominated by f

Technology Sept. 13, 2017

TissueGene, a US-based biotechnology subsidiary of South Korea’s Kolon Group, said Tuesday that it had won a new clinical grant from Maryland for its novel cell gene therapy for degenerative arthritis, Invossa. The company has been awarded a $750,000 clinical grant from Maryland Technology Development Corp. via the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund.　The new grant will be used by TissueGene to fund a portion of its US-based phase three clinical trials for Invossa. The clinical study aims to verify

Industry Sept. 12, 2017

The chief of South Korea’s antitrust watchdog, who built his reputation as a “chaebol sniper,” is facing flak from local IT industry leaders after calling Naver founder Lee Hae-jin a figure who “lacks vision for the future,” unlike Apple founder Steve Jobs. 　　Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo criticized the Naver founder, who he had recently met over the Korean internet giant’s listing on a new corporate watch list, in a recent interview with local newspaper Kookmin Ilbo. 　“A company of

Technology Sept. 11, 2017

The US Food and Drug Administration’s first approval of a CAR-T cell therapy is raising market expectations for South Korean biotech ventures that are currently working to develop similar cellular immunotherapy drugs for cancer.　On Aug. 30, the US drug regulator approved Novartis’ Kymriah, a CAR-T cell therapy that genetically alters a patient’s own immune cells into a “living drug” that is trained to recognize and attack cancer cells in the blood.It is the first CAR-T -- short for chimeric anti

Technology Sept. 10, 2017

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 12th installment. - Ed.One of the most common yet underdiagnosed diseases affecting older adults is atrial fibrillation -- an irregular heart rhythm that can cause blood clots, leading to potentially fatal complications including heart failure or a stroke.Some 150 million people worldwide are said to be s

Technology Sept. 10, 2017

Medytox, South Korea’s largest maker of wrinkle-fighting botulinum toxin treatments, has launched its first TV commercial created under the theme of “Studying Time of Mankind”The ad features Korean actor Lee Seo-jin posing within the valleys of Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley in western US. It aims to encapsulate the beauty of nature formed over billions of years.Medytox said it hoped to embody in the ad its vision to grow into a lasting biopharmaceutical company representing Korea in the gl

Industry Sept. 7, 2017