The metaverse is a 3D virtual world that combines cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality.  Recently, the latest technology is being applied not only to various industries, but also to everyday life, receiving a great deal of attention globally. On Sept. 2, industry officials look inside VA Studio Hanam, a virtual studio located in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province.  An antique, classy staircase and hallway are shown through a virtual

Company embarks on production of coronavirus vaccine for overseas markets as govt seeks to obtain more for Korea

CJ OliveNetworks, the ICT solutions provider of CJ Group, said Friday it is joining hands with Germany’s largest electric and electronic business Siemens on smart factories. On Thursday, CJ OliveNetworks CEO Cha In-hyok and Siemens Korea’s Digital Industry President Thomas Schmid signed an agreement at Siemens’ head office in central Seoul. Under the agreement, CJ will be responsible for developing solutions for the establishment of smart factories and operation and mainten

SPC Group will open its 18th Shake Shack store in the bustling Hongdae district in Seoul in September, the company said Friday. While the store is currently under renovation, Shake Shack has decorated the fence around the store with a colorful mural by media artist Vakki depicting burgers and milkshakes in an “urban playground,” SPC said. Shake Shack has featured similar art on the fence of every one of its stores across the country. To celebrate the opening of the Hongdae bran

Naver, the largest internet business in South Korea, will present seven research papers on natural language processing in artificial intelligence at a globally renowned academic conference, the company said Friday. Set to be held in the Dominican Republic from Nov. 7 to 11, the Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing 2021 is a global conference with 25 years of history. At the upcoming conference, Naver will unveil its hyperscale Korean-language model Hyper Clova and introduce dat

　South Korea’s exports and imports of camping goods reached a fresh high in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed. 　Asia’s fourth-largest economy exported and imported $399 million worth of camping equipment last year, an all-time high and up 40 percent from the previous year, according to the report from the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute. 　In the first half of this year alone, the country’s trade in camping gear stood at $293 million, above the

Pullout follows years of boycotts, numerous scandals

Alongside the highest-end foldable smartphone series Galaxy Z, Samsung Electronics is making a stronger push in the midrange phone market, launching an upgraded version of the Galaxy A52 model. The South Korean smartphone vendor on Thursday announced the release of the Galaxy A52s 5G in the domestic market at 599,500 won ($513) on Friday. The newest A series model hit stores in India, the biggest midrange phone market for Samsung, on Wednesday, two days before the Korea launch. The Galax

DuPont Korea said Thursday the company has appointed Shin Dong-man as its new chief executive officer. Shin, 50, has served as the sales director of DuPont’s mobility and materials group in the Asia Pacific region. He will maintain the position, while heading the overall Korean operation, the firm said. Shin has built his career in the field of industrial materials, mainly silicon, for the past 25 years, the company said. The CEO is recognized for developing DuPont’s flagship e

Hyundai Motor Group chief vows acceleration in transition to future mobility era

New trade minister wants to lead negotiations to maximize national interests

LG Chem said Thursday it will establish South Korea’s first hydrogen-treated vegetable oil factory to bolster its green product portfolio. The HVO factory will be built at the Daesan petrochemicals complex in South Chungcheong Province by 2024, according to the nation’s leading chemical firm. LG Chem will first form a joint venture with Dansuk Industrial, a local chemicals company, to build the factory together. HVO is a diesel substitute made from vegetable oil or waste cookin

Labor unions of South Korea’s largest shipping company HMM on Thursday scrapped a strike plan after reaching a new wage deal with management. HMM officials and representatives of the two unions, separately representing land-based and longshore workers, agreed to a 7.9 percent increase in wages, a bonus payment amounting to 650 percent of their monthly salary and a 2.7 percent increase in welfare benefits. The deal, reached early Thursday morning after marathon negotiations, ended 77 d

Audi Volkswagen Korea has appointed Sacha Askidjian as the new managing director of the Volkswagen brand in Korea, the company announced Thursday. He will replace Stephan Krapp starting from Oct. 1, who will move to the company’s headquarters in Germany to take charge of pricing strategies of Volkswagen cars in Europe. Joining the Audi Volkswagen Group in 2000, Askidjian built a 10-year career in customer service and marketing at the group’s French office. He moved on to the gr

Naver’s storytelling and comic platform has the greatest number of creators and users in the world. Some 6 million creators are registered with Naver Webtoon and its recently acquired Wattpad, and up to 167 million users visit the sites each month. The fact that Naver’s storytelling arm has a vast pool of creators and a global fandom appeals to top global entertainment companies with high-value intellectual properties that are interested in having characters or stories they own made