The chairman of South Korean pharmaceutical giant Dong-A Socio Holdings has been detained on charges of tax evasion and offering illegal kickbacks to local doctors as bribes for prescribing the firm’s drugs. The Busan District Court late Monday issued an arrest warrant for Dong-A Socio Holdings Chairman Kang Jung-seok, who the prosecution has charged with embezzlement, breach of medical law and tax evasion.Kang is alleged to have embezzled around 70 billion won ($62.67 million) in total of the c

Industry Aug. 8, 2017

CallApp, a free mobile app for caller identification and call blocking services, developed by an Israel-based tech startup, has been banned in South Korea for illegally collecting and mishandling users’ private data.　The Korea Communications Commission said Monday that CallApp had been terminated from service in Korea. It asked Google Korea to take down the app from the Google Play app store from Friday, according to the commission.The KCC began investigating CallApp on allegations that it was i

Technology Aug. 8, 2017

 　North Korea is likely to complete the development of nuclear weapons next year and could carry out its sixth nuclear test in the near future to achieve that goal, a Seoul-based security expert said Monday. 　Chung Sung-yoon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Pyongyang may declare success in acquiring full nuclear capability in 2018, when the reclusive regime marks the 70th anniversary of its establishment. 　“We cannot rule out the possibility that North Kor

North Korea Aug. 7, 2017

South Korean game giant NCSoft posted a weak second-quarter performance on Monday, largely due to the cost of marketing its new mobile game “Lineage M” and shrinking sales of its online games.The firm’s operating profit shrank 56 percent on-year to 37.6 billion won ($33.34 million) while net profit dropped 66 percent on-year to 30.8 billion won during the April-June period, it said.At the same time, its second-quarter revenue rose 8 percent on-year to 258.6 billion won during the cited period, a

Technology Aug. 7, 2017

For those who are not fans of permanent tattoos etched onto the skin, alternative options have long been limited to either body painting or slapping on a tacky tattoo sticker by rubbing it with water.　But now, a South Korean tech startup spun off from Samsung’s in-house venture program Creative Lab has developed a new portable printer that lets users instantly custom-print temporary tattoos using cosmetics-grade ink.The new gadget, named “Prinker,” allows users to design their own tattoos using

Technology Aug. 6, 2017

　Calls are mounting for a prosecutorial probe into the nation’s spy agency, after it was revealed that it had operated a 3,500-member cyber team to manipulate public opinion during the Lee Myung-bak administration. 　According to a special task force on the reform of the National Intelligence Service on Thursday, the NIS created as many as 30 units dedicated to posting online comments in favor of the then-conservative administration. 　The units then hired more than 3,500 civilians to post such co

Defense Aug. 4, 2017

South Korea has approved its first locally developed surgical robot, marking a step forward for Korea’s medical robotics technology and its ecosystem.　The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday approved Revo-i, a surgical robot system designed to carry out endoscopic surgical procedures including cholecystectomy and prostatectomy. It was developed by local tech firm Meere Company. In an operating room, the device, equipped with four robotic arms, is positioned directly over a patient. The

Technology Aug. 4, 2017

　Controversy continues to grow over President Moon Jae-in’s ambiguity on the deployment of a US advanced anti-missile system in South Korea, with the government failing to come up with a specific schedule. 　The presidential office and Defense Ministry remained mum Thursday about when four launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system could be put in place to complete a full set of six for one THAAD battery. Two are already deployed at the battery site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang P

Latest News Aug. 3, 2017

South Korean scientists from the Daejeon-based Institute for Basic Science have contributed to safely repairing a disease-causing mutation in human embryos via gene-editing technology, marking a major step toward a viable method to prevent inherited diseases.　They co-authored a study published Thursday in the scientific journal Nature, showing that a mutation linked with a deadly, hereditary heart disease can be corrected in early stage embryos using the CRISPR-Cas9 “gene editing” tool.The findi

Technology Aug. 3, 2017

  When Kwon Tae-jin (not his real name) joined the Navy after finishing his freshman year at a prestigious university in Seoul, the then-20-year-old had high expectations about spending his mandatory service sailing distant seas.  　Having endured six months of basic military training and another six months of life in the barracks, Kwon was promoted to a seaman and waited for his assignment. But the assignment he received was something he had not anticipated: becoming the commander’s housekeeper.

National Aug. 2, 2017

LG Chem said Wednesday that South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had approved Zemiro, a combination drug that simultaneously treats diabetes and dyslipidemia, a condition in which an abnormal amount of lipids exist in the blood.　Developed by LG Chem’s biopharmaceuticals unit, Zemiro is a new combination tablet that merges LG’s diabetes drug Zemiglo -- a Diepeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor -- with the lipid reduction drug ingredient rosuvastatin.  LG Chem`s production plant in Osong, Nort

Industry Aug. 2, 2017

“Onmyoji,” the hit 3-D mobile role-playing game that swept the Chinese and Japanese markets last year, has officially arrived in South Korea via Kakao’s game publishing unit Kakao Games.Kakao Games on Tuesday launched “Onmyoji for Kakao,” the localized version of the hit Chinese mobile RPG, via the Google Play store and Apple App Store in Korea.Developed by Chinese game developer NetEase, “Onmyoji” is a turn-based mobile RPG that has racked up more than 2 million downloads worldwide. It is the m

Technology Aug. 1, 2017

During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, South Korea launched a clandestine military project in 2003 to protect itself from North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats: developing its own nuclear-powered submarines and deploying them by 2020. 　Dubbed “362 initiative,” the program was derailed just a year later, with classified information leaked to the public and its nuclear activity brought under the scrutiny of UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency. 　After 13 years, calls for bui

Defense Aug. 1, 2017

Kakao Mobility officially took off as an independent subsidiary of Kakao on Tuesday, bringing together the South Korean mobile messaging giant’s key transportation services under one company. The new subsidiary is set to oversee the expansion and monetization of Kakao’s key mobility services including the taxi-hailing app Kakao Taxi, chauffeur app Kakao Driver and mobile navigation app Kakao Navi. Kakao Mobility CEO Jung Joo-hwan (Kakao)It also plans to partner with Korea’s parking space operato

Technology Aug. 1, 2017

FIRST LINE FRIENDS STORE IN US -- Line Friends, the character merchandising unit of Naver-owned mobile messenger Line, marked the grand opening of its first store in the US on Tuesday. Located at Times Square in New York City, the store features rooms that introduce the stories of Line Friends characters. It also sells character goods including those exclusive to New York. More than 300,000 people have visited the store since its preopening on July 21, the firm said. (Line Friends)　FIRST LINE FR

Industry Aug. 1, 2017