Enhanced connectivity in Korea leads to less latency, mobile game competition

　Following telecom LG Uplus’ decision to acquire South Korea’s largest cable TV operator last week, the country’s biggest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, is planning to take over the country’s second-biggest cable TV operator, amid growing competition in the local pay TV market. 　According to industry sources here Monday, SK Telecom is seeking to have its internet service subsidiary, SK Broadband, merge with cable TV operator Tbroad. The company is owned by local conglomerate Taekwang Group. 　While

With the United States continuing to warn its European allies against deploying equipment from China’s Huawei, debate is taking place over the 5G race among South Korean telco companies and how the government should respond.The Trump administration is seeking to prevent US companies from using Chinese telecom equipment to establish fifth-generation networks and is pressuring its allied countries to do the same, saying Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. are under orders from the Chinese govern

Lotte Duty Free, Korea’s largest duty-free operator, saw a solid sales growth last month led by Chinese shoppers despite Beijing’s introduction of a new e-commerce law, according to latest data on Feb. 18.The law targets Chinese traders known as “daigou,” who make overseas purchases for resale in the mainland. Chinese authorities are clamping down on the practice of proxy purchasing, subjecting it to registration and tax payments since Jan. 1. (Yonhap)The goal is to increase online sales via cro

LS Industrial Systems, a South Korean power and energy solution provider, was named one of the world’s 100 most innovative companies regarding intellectual property rights by Clarivate Analytics, a consulting group formerly owned by Thomson Reuters. The company made the list for the eighth straight year. LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics also made the list.  (LSIS)LSIS was one of the three energy companies along with Exxon Mobil of US and Total of France included in the list of the world’s

The merger plan between Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is facing opposition from workers of the two firms, who say it would lead to possible technology leaks and restructuring. A labor union of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering said Monday it has started voting on whether to go on a strike over the acquisition by Hyundai Heavy Industries. (Yonhap)The voting involves 5,611 workers at its shipbuilding plants in Okpo, a neighborhood in the city of Geoje

South Korean coffee chain Ediya Coffee will inject 350 million won ($311,291) to establish a coffee bean roastery that can produce up to 6,000 tons of coffee beans annually, the company said Monday.The roastery, called the Ediya Coffee Dream Factory, will be the company’s first coffee production facility since it was established in 2004. The roastery will be built on 12,982 square meters in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. The factory will have environmentally friendly roastery facilities equipped

South Korea's science and technology capabilities ranked seventh among other major economies in 2018, a state-run think tank said Monday.The Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning said its evaluation was compared against one done on the 34 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development last year. (KISTEP)The evaluation was based on five categories: research environment, support from both the public and private sectors, quality of work carried out by scientists

South Korea will spend 2.93 trillion won ($2.61 billion) this year to develop new bio technology, as part of efforts to become the leading industrial hub, the government said MondayThe 2019 biotech support budget, which received a 2.9 percent increase from a year earlier, aims to develop critical medical sectors, such as genomes and brain science, the Ministry of Science and ICT said. (Yonhap)The plan was finalized during a government meeting presided over by ICT Minister Yoo Young-min earlier i

KT is launching a mobile application that tracks fine dust levels over the Korean Peninsula, where worsening air quality in recent years has become a national emergency. The app, called Air Map Korea, allows users to access a real-time big data analysis of fine dust concentrations for a particular region, the South Korean telecom firm said Monday. (Yonhap)Other features include instant updates on dust warnings and daily activity recommendations based on dust levels -- such as whether it’s advisa

SK Telecom Co. said Monday it will unveil its media upscaling solution, based on its artificial intelligence (AI) technology, in Barcelona next week. South Korea's top mobile carrier said it will show off Supernova, which improves quality of image and sound source based on the AI's deep learning algorithms, at the upcoming MWC 2019. (Yonhap)The MWC is the world's largest mobile show and will run from Feb. 25-28 in the Mediterranean city.Supernova can analyze images from camera, media files and i

The Korea Customs Service, the body in charge of clearing all goods that enter and leave South Korea, is out to become a leader in “smart customs” systems powered by next-generation technologies.The KCS continues to improve its automated customs administration solution, UNI-PASS, which has so far been exported to 13 countries and is spreading Korea’s high-tech customs management know-how around the world, it said.With UNI-PASS as its anchor, the customs service provider will work to establish a

The global trade volume has expanded at a drastic pace over recent years on the back of e-commerce growth, but has also led to increasing abuse of simplified customs procedures.Responding to such a market reality, it is inevitable that customs offices should fundamentally innovate their administrative systems with key technologies of the “fourth industrial revolution,” according to the head of the information bureau at South Korea’s customs agency.“It is now time that customs administrations ado

5G services to enable transcending of time and space, connecting industries and increasing user convenience

The Amorepacific Museum of Art in Yongsan, Seoul, will host an exhibition showcasing some 40 contemporary art pieces until May 19.The exhibition, titled “APMA, Chapter One -- from the APMA Collection,” will fill eight exhibition halls and include a range of art genres, from painting and photography to sculpture and media arts. Notable pieces in the exhibition include “Love” by American pop artist Robert Indiana, which was also installed on Manhattan’s 55th street in New York City. And local inst