Facebook said Monday that “ad breaks,” ads that appear partway through videos uploaded on the social networking site, are now available as a monetization method for video creators in South Korea.The US social networking giant initially introduced the feature in August in five countries -- the US, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand -- and has since been expanding it to new territories. As of Monday, ad breaks are available in three Asian markets: Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam. Creators obt

Beginning later this week, South Korean travelers in Japan will be able to use the Kakao T taxi-hailing app to fetch taxis locally. The app is set to be interlinked with JapanTaxi, the biggest taxi-hailing company in Japan.Starting Thursday, the option will become available on the Kakao T app, enabling users to hail taxis in Japan without additional registration procedures, said Kakao Mobility, the mobility business unit of Korea’s mobile-messaging giant Kakao.The service is not free -- a “call

Internet-only Kakao Bank said Monday it has unveiled a passbook for members of mobile communities and group communication. An administrator of a mobile community can open a passbook that can be used to collect membership fees, the bank said.  (Yonhap)As many as 100 members, who are aged 14 or older, can join one passbook, the bank said. For security reasons, the passbook's account is available for a virtual account to members of a mobile community, the bank said. Lee Byeong-soo, a senior Kakao B

Businesses start using 5G for robot, artificial intelligence, self-driving car and factory

Singaporean gaming device developer Razer introduced the Razer Phone 2, a gaming smartphone, in South Korea on Friday, with aims to entice mobile gamers in one of the world’s biggest markets for video gaming and esports.　The Razer Phone 2 will officially begin sales next Tuesday, exclusively via local distributor All Life Technology and CJ Hello, a minor mobile carrier and cable TV operator in Korea.  The Razer Phone 2 (Razer)The new gaming smartphone is officially priced at 990,000 won ($884),

Samsung SDI, the battery-making unit of South Korea’s Samsung Group, will be expanding its battery pack plant for electric vehicles in the Unites States, the company said Thursday. Samsung SDI will be investing over $62 million to extend its existing plant in Auburn Hills in Michigan nearby Detroit. (Yonhap)The company had acquired the electric battery pack plant that had been owned by Magna Steyr, an automobile manufacturer based in Graz and Austria.Industry insiders predict that the expansion

`LINEAGE REMASTERED` UNVEILED -- NCSoft CEO Kim Taek-jin introduces “Lineage Remastered,” an upgraded version of the company’s flagship online PC game “Lineage,” at a launch event in Seoul on Thursday. The new “Lineage,” fitted with improved graphics, an auto play mode, new character classes and battle modes, was launched in celebration of the game’s 20-year anniversary. (Yonhap)

South Korea’s three major telecommunication providers, SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, will officially deploy the world’s first commercial fifth-generation services here Saturday by sending out the first 5G signals in Korea together.Despite a recent fire at the Ahyeon branch of KT in Seoul, which led to a major network blackout and the cancellation of 5G demo sessions and promotional showcase events this week, the three Korean telcos will commit to their original 5G deployment schedule, they said.F

High-profile startups optimistic about the Korean startup scene in 2019

LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it opened two new organizations under the direct control of its chief executive officer that will focus on bolstering its robot and self-driving solution businesses.The two were created as part of a regular reshuffle which promoted 56 executives. LG Electronics said it decided to bring some changes to the structure as well to reflect its business strategy.LG Group`s Twin Tower headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul (Yonhap)The South Korean tech giant said it opened the

The number of mobile phone subscribers at KT Corp., the nation's second-largest mobile carrier, sharply fell for three days in a row after a fire at one of the company's facilities in western Seoul led to major Internet and phone disruptions, market data showed Wednesday. The fire broke out at a building in western Seoul on Saturday, paralyzing the fixed-line, mobile and Internet networks for individuals and businesses using KT in Seoul's western wards of Mapo, Seodaemun and Eunpyeong, as well a

Dutch health care giant Philips on Tuesday announced the launch of Lumify, a portable, app-based ultrasound solution compatible with Android mobile devices, in South Korea.According to the company, Lumify delivers data acquired via portable ultrasound transducers to connected Android devices through a mobile app, allowing health care providers to deliver ultrasound scans anywhere, anytime. In short, they would not need to access a cart-based ultrasound system.　 Lumify (Philips Korea)Philips had

South Korea is scheduled to launch its small satellite from an Air Force base in the United States later this week, Seoul's science ministry said Tuesday. (Yonhap)The Ministry of Science and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said the Falcon 9 is scheduled to lift off at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 3:32 a.m. (local time) on Thursday with the aim of putting the satellite, the Next Sat-1, into orbit.The 107-kilogram satellite, developed by KAIST from 2012-2017, w

Minister, CEOs of top 3 telecom giants discuss launch of joint response system

The sixth OECD World Forum will be held in Songdo, Incheon, for three days from Nov. 27. More than 1,500 stakeholders from around the world will gather to discuss issues related to the quality of life at the forum held every three years since 2004.The forum has gone through several major turning points so far. The second forum created a strong sense of consensus that the issue of quality of life should be raised beyond quantitative economic growth, after the global financial crisis in 2007. This