Samsung Electronics is considering Williamson County in Texas as a possible site for its new foundry plant in the United States, according to industry sources on Friday. The South Korean tech giant confirmed that it is looking at Williamson County in Texas as a potential candidate among various sites across the US. The sources said Samsung is considering several sites in the US, such as Arizona, New York, and Austin, Texas. Earlier, Reuters reported that Samsung has applied for tax incen

The legal battle between US-based streaming giant Netflix and South Korea’s internet service provider SK Broadband is likely to continue centering on the controversial topic of net neutrality. Netflix on Thursday appealed a Seoul court’s decision that sided with SK Broadband. Last month, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed a request from Netflix that the video streaming service operator is not liable to pay network usage fees to SK Broadband. The court also rejected Ne

Medical experts are divided over the safety and efficacy of an abortion pill poised to soon hit local pharmacy shelves. After a Korean firm sought to bring in the drug Mifegyne -- which is sold in over 70 countries -- under a local brand name Mifegymiso, a group of local experts on Thursday called for a bridging study to verify the pill’s safety and efficacy. A bridging study on a drug is an additional study executed in a new region to compare it with foreign clinical data on safety, e

SK Bioscience is to soon begin the Phase 3 clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the firm’s CEO Ahn Jae-yong told a local seminar held Wednesday. Ahn also added the company expects the vaccine to be out early next year. SK Bioscience currently has two COVID-19 vaccine candidates, GBP510 and NBP2001, under development. The Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province-based firm is expected to choose one -- GBP510. The company last month applied for a regulatory permission to start the Phase 3

KT on Thursday announced the launch of pure end-to-end 5G service, becoming the first mobile carrier in South Korea to commercialize a 5G standalone network. Starting from Thursday, users of Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra phones who subscribe to KT’s 5G mobile plans will be able to access the 5G SA connection simply by updating their device software. Standalone refers to it being pure 5G from end to end, without occasional transitioning to 4G Long Term Evolution networks. S

South Korea's ICT ministry said Thursday the country plans to invest nearly 30 billion won ($26.2 million) over the next three years to research digital treatment for depression in a move to find new ways to help the growing number of people suffering from the mental disorder. The number of depression patients in South Korea reached 790,000 in 2019, up 5.9 percent on-year, and the number is expected to rise as the pandemic restricts social activities and triggers economic uncertainty. Digital

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Thursday it has commercialized standalone 5G, becoming the first mobile carrier in the country to deploy the network technology. Although South Korean carriers first commercialized 5G networks in April 2019, they have been available on non-standalone mode, requiring support from 4G LTE. Standalone 5G offers network services by solely using 5G frequencies, leading to lower latency and better battery life, according to KT. The telecom operator said b

Cyworld Z, the 2021 revival of the once-popular homegrown social networking service of the same name, will feature immersive virtual shops, utilizing its metaverse platform, in partnership with local retail giant GS Retail. GS Retail signed a business agreement with Cyworld Z at the GS Group headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday for the project. Cyworld Z is a consortium of five firms including Kosdaq-listed Intromedic and Sky E&M, which purchased Cyworld in January this year, in hopes of

South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom on Wednesday launched a new metaverse platform dubbed “Ifland,” kick-starting its 5G virtual service business. The name signifies a virtual world where users can be anyone they wish, meet anyone they want to and make so many possibilities real. The platform is launched for Android devices first and will later be open to iOS and other virtual reality devices. With a goal of growing Ifland into a leading metaverse platform by drawing mille

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest wireless carrier, said Wednesday it has launched a new metaverse platform in a move to capture growing demand for the technology as more users shift their daily activities to digital spaces amid the pandemic. The metaverse refers to a shared virtual space where users interact with each other through digital avatars. The technology has gained popularity over the past year as the pandemic limits in-person contact. SK Telecom said the mobile app-based platfor

Results of the final, phase 3 clinical trial of Regkirona, an antibody COVID-19 treatment developed by South Korean firm Celltrion, were presented at a conference in Europe, the company said Tuesday. According to the presentation made by Oana Sandulescu, an associate professor at Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, at the 31st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Regkirona, or CT-P59, has significantly reduced the rate of progression for severe sym

From next morning delivery of grocerys to a tech-powered shipping platform for small merchants, e-commerce expansion spurs innovation in parcel delivery

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday announced the launch of a new image sensor for automobiles, taking aim at a market segment controlled by Japanese rival Sony. The new Isocell Auto 4AC will be supplied to a global car brand this year, it said. “Starting with the Isocell Auto 4AC, we plan to expand our automotive sensor lineup to areas such as camera monitor systems, autonomous driving and in-cabin monitoring,” said Chang Duck-hyun, the executive vice president of Samsung’s s

South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday it has opened a testing facility for products that run on 5G networks in a move to support small and mid-sized companies. The country has earmarked a total of 19.8 billion won ($13.8 million) from 2019 to 2023 to develop the testing center in Gumi, about 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The facility aims to support local companies in checking whether their connected devices work properly on local and global

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday released a new automotive image sensor as the tech giant eyes to expand its presence beyond the mobile sector. The ISOCELL Auto 4AC will be used for rear-view cameras and surround-view monitors of a vehicle and offer high-definition resolution images. Samsung's latest image sensor comes in an optical format of 1/3.7-inch with 1.2 million 3.0-micrometer pixels. Samsung said it applied CornerPixel technology for the first time, which will help reduce blind ar