Kakao Mobility, South Korea’s largest mobility-as-a-service platform operator, is expected to accelerate its business expansion with a recent investment from Carlyle Group. International investment firm Carlyle Group Thursday agreed to invest $200 million in Kakao Mobility, valuing the South Korean mobility platform operator at 3.42 trillion won ($3.09 billion). Kakao Mobility currently operates Kakao T, the country’s most popular taxi-hailing platform used by around 28 million u

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Friday underscored the importance of cooperation among players in the lithium-ion battery industry during a webinar hosted by the group’s foundation. During the online seminar hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, the chairman attributed the recent success of the battery industry to “the longtime cooperation among researchers from the academia and industry.” “Such cooperation is crucial to expand the battery ecosystem i

Apple Inc. is expected to open its second store in South Korea later this month, expanding its presence in the country to compete with local tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. The company said Friday it will hold a press preview event for the store in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 24. While Apple did not specify when the store will be open to the public, it opened its first store in southern Seoul in 2018 just a few days after a press event. The company is reportedly planning to further exp

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading petrochemical, high-tech material and biopharmaceutical company, has set out to innovate its business model as it shifts focus to sustainability. Last year, the flagship LG affiliate announced its sustainability strategy that pivots on carbon neutrality to be achieved by 2050 as the first Korean chemical firm. The company has recently committed to using 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 to join the global clean energy RE100 initiative led by the in

Samsung Electronics will hold a launch show for its TV products, dubbed “Unbox & Discover,” next month. Samsung said Thursday it has sent out invitations to global partners and media for the event set for March 2. “Samsung will share its vision for how the company’s latest innovative products are set to redefine the role of the TV through cutting-edge technologies, beautiful design and impactful partnerships,” it said. The company is expected to unveil

The invitation-only audio chat application named Clubhouse is surging in popularity around the globe by picking up millions of people on social media. Launched in March 2020, the niche platform facilitates audio conversations between users. Once users are invited to join, they can enter various chat rooms and communicate about those topics. The types of chat rooms are diverse and the most popular ones are operated by a handful of users speaking to a silent audience. The chat rooms range fro

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it has decided to spend a total of 34.7 billion to build research facilities for robotics and artificial intelligence near Suseo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The central government will inject 24.2 billion won in the project, while the city government and the Gangnam-gu office will invest 2.5 billion won and 7.8 billion won, respectively. The region near Suseo Station has remained idle since December 2019, when the city government decided

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has appointed the institution’s provost and executive vice president Lee Kwang-hyung as its new president, it said Thursday. KAIST held a board meeting to appoint Lee the 17th president of the institution upon approval of Minister of Science and ICT. Lee, who is known as a futurist who introduced convergence studies at the academic institution, is an alumnus who earned a master‘s degree in industrial engineering at KAIST in 198

Naver plans to raise as much as 700 billion won through bond sales to secure funds required to set up a new data center in South Korea and invest in foreign platform startups. The South Korean internet giant disclosed the plan, which would be the largest in its history, in a regulatory filing with the Financial Services Commission on Tuesday. The target amount is set initially at 400 billion won, with a possibility of rising to 700 billion won, it said. The bond issue will be Naver’s

Employment restrictions have been imposed on the jailed Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong following his conviction for bribery. Observers said, however, that since Lee is not employed by Samsung and holds only a symbolic title, the ban wouldn’t change the conglomerate’s top leadership. According to local reports Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice notified the Samsung Group’s de facto chief of the employment ban against him and the procedures required to gain appr

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday said it has launched a kiosk machine in South Korea that highlights advanced security and hygiene features as the South Korean tech giant enters the self-service machine business amid the pandemic-induced contactless trend. Samsung Kiosk is an all-in-one self-service machine that allows consumers to select, order and pay for services and products at restaurants, marts and pharmacies. Samsung said its first-ever kiosk machine will be globally available in th

SK Telecom Co., the country's largest mobile carrier, said Wednesday it joined hands with its security subsidiary ADT Caps Co. and local video management solution company Innodep Inc. to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based video analysis services. Under an agreement, the three companies will develop such services to effectively manage video surveillance systems in the growing local market in the private and public sectors, according to SK Telecom. The mobile carrier said it will optimiz

It has been four weeks since Samsung Group’s de-facto chief Lee Jae-yong has been jailed for bribery, and all eyes are on what large-scale investment plans are to come from the imprisoned Samsung Electronics vice chairman as visitation restrictions are set to be lifted. According to industry sources on Tuesday, the Samsung scion has been moved to a regular cell at Seoul Detention Center on Sunday, after a four-week quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the facility. In t

Google’s revenue from app store fees in South Korea could increase by more than 150 billion won a year when the company’s billing policy changes take effect later this year, a local lawmaker said Tuesday. In September last year, Google announced that the company would enforce a 30 percent commission on all in-app purchases of digital content from its app store, starting in October, 2021. Google has so far charged fees on game content sales only. Rep. Park Sung-joong of the oppos

Emotion detection system can prevent potential crimes or accidents, research says