For the past 12 years, the world’s top five intellectual property offices -- known collectively as the IP5 offices -- have led global efforts to build a unified, applicant-friendly patent system. They have also improved the quality of the patent examination process and the efficiency of relevant administrative work by integrating the concepts of work-sharing, data exchange and standardization, say the organizers of the 12th annual IP5 meeting in Incheon, South Korea’s western port ci

South Korea's major family-controlled conglomerate LG Group said Tuesday it is currently considering selling stakes in its information technology (IT) arm LG CNS."We plan to sell LG CNS to beef up competitiveness, although nothing in detail has been decided yet," an official from LG Group said. The sale apparently comes in response to the Fair Trade Commission's move to bolster regulations against intra-affiliate trades of family-controlled business groups, market watchers said.Co

South Korean battery manufacturers on Tuesday expressed optimism after receiving government approval to resume business in the area of energy storage systems, after being forced to suspend it due to a probe into a series of fires at 23 ESS facilities. After suffering losses in the first quarter of this year largely because of delayed supplies, the country’s two major ESS providers, Samsung SDI and LG Chem, are expected to resume business in the second half of the year in hopes of recoverin

SEJONG -- The automobiles segment was one of the few hot-button issues during South Korea’s respective negotiations for a free trade agreement with the United States and the 28-member European Union.The Korea-EU FTA and Korea-US FTA, which took effect in July 2011 and March 2012, respectively, heralded the era of import cars in the nation under eased tariff barriers. Market insiders say that German carmakers -- the most popular import brands in Korea -- have been propelled forward in

The photo-sharing application Instagram is gaining popularity faster than any other social media app in South Korea with young Koreans leading the trend, a survey showed Tuesday. According to the survey of 33,000 Android smartphone users carried out last month by Wise App, time spent on Instagram amounted to a combined total of 2.6 billion minutes for all respondents -- a 73 percent increase from the same period a year before. Instagram’s on-year growth in Korea was stronger than that of o

Industry Ministry to toughen safety measures to prevent casualties, damage

The surprise return of an heiress to Hanjin Group appears to signal that the family members of the group’s late chairman are close to settling succession plans of the transport empire, with each taking core businesses, according to industry sources and reports on Tuesday.On Monday, Hanjin Group said in a statement that Cho Hyun-min, the youngest daughter of the late Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, has been reinstated as a senior vice president at Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanji

More than 137,000 people entered their names as of Tuesday for the SK Oilro Pass, a travel event that launched a week ago targeting those aged between 25 and 35.The SK Oilro Pass is a 200,000 won ($170) gas charging card by SK Energy that can be used at some 3,600 SK gas stations nationwide. To be given out to 1,000 winning candidates with the most inspirational road trip ideas, each petrol card is enough to power a 5-day trip on the road, the company said.  SK Oilro Pass event kicked off o

YouTube has updated its safety guidelines to restrict creators below the age of 13 from livestreaming without adult supervision. YouTube Korea said Friday on its official blog that it is blocking preteen users from livestreaming without being accompanied by an adult. The change had been announced on the company’s global blog on June 3.   “When it comes to kids, we take an extra cautious approach towards our enforcement and we’re always making improvements to our prote

The younger daughter of Korean Air Lines Co.'s late chairman, Cho Yang-ho, returned to two management positions at logistics-centered Hanjin Group on Monday, 14 months after she was forced to resign amid controversy over her misbehavior. Hanjin KAL, the holding company of parent Hanjin Group, has appointed Cho Hyun-min as its senior vice president and executive vice president at the group's real estate developer."At Hanjin KAL, she will be in charge of managing corporate social responsibili

Ediya Coffee, which focuses mainly on small shops offering low-cost coffee, has been boosting its investment in research and development and coffee roasting technology in an effort to increase its competitiveness, the company said Monday. Amid the expanding Korean coffee market -- the world’s third-largest following US and China as of last year -- Ediya Coffee said it has increased R&D spending for its coffee and bakery products by 20 percent each year. As part of its efforts

　Those living in South Korea are expected to enjoy the benefits of hyper-speed internet in every nook and cranny of the country from as early as next year, as the Korean government pledged to designate it “mandatory business” for internet service providers.　The Ministry of Science and ICT said Monday that it will mandate telecommunications companies provide ultra-fast internet to every part of South Korea. The initiative is to be enforced on Jan. 1, 2020 via government decree, the mi

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip provider, has launched a data research lab to seek optimal solutions for its manufacturing processes and R&D projects via the use of artificial intelligence and data analysis. The new lab, along with the existing data science division, will be led by Kim Young-han, a computer engineering professor at University of California San Diego, renowned in the areas of learning theory and quantum information processing, the company said Monday. K

LG Chem expresses regrets, reiterates accusation that SK stole core technologies

Separate ongoing state-run project to develop hydrogen trains by 2022