South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics said Sunday that its premium OLED TV lineup had aced recent evaluations conducted by consumer magazines from 14 countries. In particular, the OLED evo introduced this year was recognized for its outstanding performance, earning the best score from consumer outlets in seven European countries, it said. French consumer magazine Que Choisir gave LG’s OLED evo a score of 16.2, the best among the 264 TVs it reviewed. The magazine said the prod

After Google’s move to allow a free choice of payment options for digital purchases made on its app store in South Korea, attention is turning to Apple, the other global tech giant targeted by a new law here. As of Friday, Apple remained silent on how it plans to comply with the law, which was passed by the National Assembly in August as the world’s first aimed at curbing the dominance of Google and Apple in the app ecosystem. On Thursday, the Korea Communications Commission said

SK Bioscience announced Friday positive results from phase 1 and 2 clinical studies of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate GBP510, increasing the prospect of Korea’s first homegrown coronavirus vaccine debuting next year. The Korean firm said people who received the vaccine candidate had neutralizing antibodies at levels 3-6 times higher than those of people who recovered from COVID-19. No severe side effects were reported during the clinical studies, it added. The phase 1 and 2 clinical

Samsung Biologics has purchased land in Songdo, Incheon, to build a production facility for genetic medicines, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said Thursday. The pharmaceutical firm has signed a deal with the authority, which oversees a plan to develop a bio cluster in Songdo, to purchase 10,000 square meters of land in the city. The site was put up for sale in June. There, Samsung Biologics is expected to construct a new facility to produce materials and drug platforms for genetic

Apple Korea’s general manager Brandon Yoon will resign from his position, industry sources said Thursday. According to the sources, Yoon tendered his resignation from the position at the company on Thursday. The company refrained from offering a confirmation. Yoon has led Apple Korea since 2018. Before coming to Apple Korea, Yoon worked at Samsung Electronics. He also worked for Microsoft from 2003-2015. Industry sources said Yoon’s resignation is sudden and unexpected, given t

Google Inc. has pledged to provide an alternative payment system at its app store in South Korea, the telecommunications regulator said Thursday, in what could be a concession amid a tug-of-war over lucrative payment systems in the app market. The commitment is part of follow-up measures to a new South Korean law that restricts app store operators such as Google and Apple from forcing their in-app payment systems on developers. Wilson L. White, Google's public policy and government relations s

Samsung Group’s leader Lee Jae-yong will have to pay a 70 million won ($59,200) fine for illegal use of propofol, an anesthetic medication, judicial sources said Wednesday. The fine was finalized as both prosecutors and the defendant have not filed an appeal by Tuesday, the last day of the seven-day window to appeal the court order. The Seoul Central District Court last week ordered Lee to pay the fine and an additional forfeiture of 17 million won for violating the Narcotics Control Act

GC Pharma announced Tuesday that the European Medicines Agency has granted orphan drug designation to its Hunterase ICV, a novel treatment for mucopolysaccharidosis type II, also known as the Hunter syndrome. The designation brings a variety of significant advantages under the EMA’s effort to encourage the development of drugs to treat rare diseases or conditions. GC Pharma said the company will be able to speed up regulatory procedures to market Hunterase ICV in Europe. Hunterase ICV

South Korea’s autonomous driving startup 42dot said Tuesday that it has raised 104 billion won ($88.5 million) in a series A funding. That raised the total investment the firm has secured to date to 153 billion won, the company added. The investors include Hyundai Motor, Shinhan Financial Group, Lotte Rental, Lotte Ventures and several local venture capital firms. 42dot plans to use the funding to accelerate its autonomous driving technologies and beef up human resources. The start

GeneOne Life Science’s investigational oral drug for COVID-19 has received regulatory approvals from the European Medicines Agency and Bulgaria to conduct a phase 2 clinical trial in Bulgaria, the Korean biotech firm said Monday. The Balkan nation is among the five regions where GeneOne Life Science plans to conduct phase 2 studies of GLS-1027. It is also the last of the five to give the company a go-ahead. The four others are the US, South Korea, Puerto Rico and North Macedonia. Gene

Artificial intelligence may hold the key to many of the world’s pressing issues such as climate change, said Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam on Monday. Speaking at an annual AI forum, hosted by his company, the senior executive stressed the wide-reaching capability of AI, not just for businesses, but for the betterment of humankind. “The advancement of AI is going beyond the electronics industry and expanding to various fields, such as basic science. We expect AI to

South Korean drugmakers are at a crossroads on whether or not to continue developing COVID-19 treatments, as vaccination rates rise across the world and the first drug from global pharmaceutical Merck is set to debut soon. Some have already given up. Merck’s recent decision to give away patents related to molnupiravir, which would become the world’s first COVID-19 pill, for developing countries to produce generic drugs, could prompt latecomers to drop out of the race, industry sou

SK Telecom’s nontelecom split-off SK Square will officially launch on Monday, with a focus on semiconductor and new tech businesses, SK Telecom, the world’s largest telecommunication company said Sunday. The split-off will allow the SK Group company to better respond to changing dynamics in the chip sector through strategic investments, which were partly limited under the fair trade law here. Under the restructuring, the first since SKT Telecom was founded in 1984, SK Square will

SK hynix said Friday the chipmaker inked a deal to acquire a 100 percent stake in domestic foundry firm Key Foundry for 575.8 billion won ($492.55 million). Key Foundry, based in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, is a foundry-specialized firm producing chips for its customers using 8-inch wafers. It can produce non-memory products such as power management ICs, display driver ICs and microcontroller units.  Key Foundry was formerly LG Semiconductor, which was established in 1979.&n

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said Thursday that it will take innovative products of small local companies to next year’s CES, the world’s largest tech show held annually in Las Vegas. For the Korean pavilion at the CES 2022, some 210 companies and 13 institutions will travel to the US, according to Kotra. Among them, some 14 local companies had a chance to showcase their latest products at Korea Electronics Show 2021, underway at Coex in southern Seoul, from Tuesda