South Korea's largest telecommunications carrier SK Telecom said Monday that it has become the third-largest shareholder of Persona.AI, a Seoul-based artificial intelligence contact center, or AICC. The company did not disclose other details, including the deal size and the amount of the stakes it secured. An AICC offers 24-hour customer consultations via AI chatbots and callbots. Persona.AI, using its own natural language processing engine, offers related solutions and subscription-based s

The Vietnamese arm of Hanwha Life Insurance posted its first accumulated profits since its launch 15 years ago. Marking the local unit’s 15th anniversary, the insurer held a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Friday, where it unveiled its financial achievements. Since posting a net profit for the first time in 2016, the Vietnamese subsidiary has recorded profits for nearly five consecutive years between 2019 and 2023. As of the first half of this year, its accumulated profits reached

South Korean drugmaker SK Bioscience said via a regulatory filing Monday that it had clinched a 67.9 billion won ($50.6 million) deal with a Thai state-run company Government Pharmaceutical Organization to provide undiluted solutions of its flu vaccine for 10 years. According to DART, the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure board, SK Bioscience will be providing undiluted solutions of its SKYCellflu products to GPO's vaccine manufacturing plant in Thailand until Aug.

Innocean Worldwide, the advertising subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, said Monday that it has won a total of 10 Red Dot Design Awards, one of the world’s top design competitions. The prestigious German award, held annually, recognizes innovative works and products from various categories, including product design, brand and communication design, and concept design. This year, Innocean garnered a number of recognitions in the advertising category. Most notably, it secured the Best of the B

Top interior designer Kwon Soon-book has praised Samsung Electronics’ latest WindFree air conditioner under the company's premium Bespoke Infinite line as a stylish home appliance to compliment any luxury interior in a recent interview. “(The) design might appear very simple at first. But it is precisely this simplicity that allows it to coexist with all elements, enhancing its spatial value,” said Kwon, CEO at Magenta Studio. According to Kwon, the key to a timeless aesth

South Korean home appliance maker Coway announced Friday that its ice-making water purifiers posted a 20 percent increase in sales in July compared to last year, amid unprecedented scorching weather. The sales of ice water purifiers during this summer peak season, from May to July, soared almost 50 percent from the previous year, according to the company. “To meet the increasing demand, our production line in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, has been operated at full throttle since May,

South Korean food manufacturer Samyang Foods said Sunday it launched a new spicy ramen brand called Meptaeng to mimic the global success of its bestseller Buldak Spicy Chicken Ramen, the popular spicy ramen product. Targeting consumers' distinctive craving for spicy noodles, the company said it has focused on introducing a diverse range of spiciness for its new noodle products. The three flavors include black pepper beef, garlic clam and chili pepper green onion. In order to help consumers

South Korean carrier Korean Air said Sunday it would be measuring body weights of its passengers in a bid to strengthen aviation safety and minimize excessive fuel use. Passengers on domestic flights will be asked to weigh in from Aug. 28 through Sept. 6, while international flight passengers will be weighed from Sept. 8 to 19. The weight measuring process will take place at the boarding gates. Those who do not wish to partake in the process can notify the staff that they wish to opt out and b

Court rules in favor of NCSoft over Webzen in intellectual property suit

Some 200 participants attended Samsung SDI's job fair in Korea on Friday, the firm said Sunday, as it seeks to secure top tech talent to continue its growth momentum. In cooperation with local universities, the battery maker hosted the 2023 Tech & Career Forum at a Seoul hotel that was attended by professors, PhD students and its own top executives. “It all comes down to people to materialize our business goal. Be the star that shapes Samsung SDI’s bright future,” Sa

Trilateral agreement aims to better control supply chain disruptions, enhance cooperation on futuristic areas such as AI, space

South Korean drugmaker Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Sunday it has set a target of hitting 148.5 billion won ($110 million) in overseas exports this year amid booming sales of its drugs such as botulinum toxin. The company's overseas exports of drugs in 2022 amounted to 134.8 billion won, an increase of more than 200 percent compared to 2020, when it logged 44.8 billion in exports, according to the firm. The company said its growth in exports was largely attributed to the sales of Nabota, or

CHEONAN, South Chungcheong Province -- Commemorating the 78th anniversary of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day this year, the state-run Independence Hall of Korea and the country’s largest telecommunications carrier SK Telecom have joined forces to restore faded photos of independence fighters and animate them using artificial intelligence. Under a partnership signed in 2020, the Independence Hall and SK Telecom kicked off a five-year project to turn the memorial into a high-tech “Eco-Mus

Audi Korea said Sunday that it started receiving preorders for the all-new Audi Q4 40 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron, the German luxury carmaker’s full-electric sport utility vehicles, for them to be delivered to customers later this month. Since their debut in September last year, the two battery-powered compact cars have enjoyed immense popularity in Korea, selling nearly 2,000 units in just over three months, a sales record among premium compact electric SUVs here. The new 2023 models h

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Sunday that it inked a new partnership deal with US and Japanese financial institutions to bolster ties between the three nations, an outcome of last week’s trilateral summit talks. The Eximbank said it signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding with the US International Development Finance Corporation and the Japan Bank of International Cooperation at the US institution’s headquarters in Washington, Friday. The signing ceremony was