With debate brewing over ways to lower the mobile phone expenses, focus is also being paid to the dominance of the three major carriers in the industry.According to industry sources, the mobile market is currently shared by SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus at a ratio of 43.2 percent, 25.7 percent and 19.6 percent, respectively, based on the shares of applicants to mobile phone services as of the end of April. It does not include subscribers to sub-brands. This three-way dominance has been unchanged f

Samsung Electronics’ new flagship smartphones, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, took the top spots in smartphone ratings by the US consumer magazine. Consumer Reports said on Wednesday the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus ranked first and second with 82 points each in its latest smartphone ratings.Galaxy S8’s predecessor Galaxy S7 Edge placed third with 77 points followed by LG Electronics’ premium smartphone G6 and Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus, also with 77 points each.  Galaxy S8 (Yonhap)Jerry Beilinson, a

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are preparing to defend themselves against their US rival Whirlpool, which accused them of circumventing US laws in a recent petition to the US International Trade Commission.The South Korean home appliance manufacturers are currently working on refuting the claim that their businesses harm the US industry, in order to counter their American rival’s call for the US ITC to impose anti-dumping tariffs on Samsung and LG washers. (Yonhap)Whirlpool filed the pet

South Korean exports of information and communication technology  products increased for the seventh month in a row in May on brisk overseas sales of semiconductors and displays, government data showed Wednesday.A total of $15.4 billion in Korean-made ICT products were shipped overseas last month, up 17.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.(Yonhap)May's overseas shipments of ICT products posted a double-digit on-year in

LG Display retained the world’s highest shipments of large panels for 30 consecutive quarters, a global market research company said Tuesday.LG Display, the world‘s largest liquid crystal display panel manufacturer, was first ranked No. 1 in the global large display panel market in the fourth quarter of 2009 and has maintained its position since then. In the first quarter this year, LG Display shipped 35.42 million units, which accounted for 21.4 percent of the global shipment of 9-inch or large

South Korea’s most widely-used online music service platform MelOn has introduced a new music player specialized for Apple’s Mac operating system. 　MelOn on Tuesday officially launched Mac Player in Korea that supports not only music streaming but also music download functions, posing a challenge to Apple’s iTunes and Apple Music players.MelOn’s Mac Player has been optimized for the Mac OS, offering three player modes: “basic,” “mini” and “visual.” It also offers easy access to Melon’s signature

“Onmyoji,” the hit 3-D mobile role-playing game that swept the Chinese and Japanese markets last year, is officially arriving in South Korea this summer through Kakao which hopes to cement the lead in game publishing.Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao on Tuesday announced that its mobile game publishing unit Kakao Games would begin servicing “Onmyoji for Kakao,” the localized version of the hit Chinese 3-D mobile role-playing game, in Korea from early August. Kakao Games CEO Namkoong Whon speak

You Young-min, the nominee for science, ICT and future planning minister, is a software veteran with broad experience in the information technology industry. The nominee, 66, started his IT career in 1979 at LG Electronics, where he spent 25 years. You was among the first generation of chief information officers at Korean IT companies as he was appointed the CIO of LG Electronics in 1996.  Nominee for science, ICT and future planning minister, You Young-min (Yonhap)After serving as the vice pres

President Moon Jae-in's policy advisory panel said Tuesday that the ICT ministry will coordinate various policies related to the ongoing worldwide industrial transformation, dubbed the "fourth industrial revolution."Park Kwang-on, the spokesman for the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, said the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning will be the main government body to coordinate various plans for the next five years. Park Kwang-on, the spokesman for the State Affairs Planning Advi

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has developed the world’s lowest-power-consuming artificial intelligence chips for facial recognition, the institute announced Tuesday. The “K-Eye” series has a wearable type that looks like a necklace and a dongle type that can be connected to a smartphone like a portable USB drive. The wearable K-Eye chip can also be connected to handsets via Bluetooth.  (Yonhap)The chip requires around 1 milliwatt of electricity to fully operate and recognize

Samsung and LG’s home appliances and devices may become compatible with one another as early as this year, according to sources Tuesday. The two Korean tech giants are currently each developing products certified by the Open Connectivity Foundation, an industry group developing specification standards to connect devices made by different brands. The OCF, which was set up in February last year, currently has around 300 member firms including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Intel, Microsoft,

KT announced Tuesday the launch of an all-in-one smart card device, a new network-based financial platform the company expects to be a core business in the artificial intelligence and big data field.Dubbed “CLiP CARD,” the device looks like credit and debit cards issued by financial institutions, but it has a 1.3-inch display on the surface of the card that enables users to register all their cards, which are displayed in barcodes.CLiP CARD can store the information of up to 10 credit cards, 10

South Korea’s Netmarble Games is slated to officially launch its megahit role-playing game “Lineage II Revolution” in 11 countries Wednesday, amid rising expectations that the foray into overseas markets will attract new players and boost the game’s falling revenue.Netmarble will begin offering “Lineage II Revolution” in 11 markets in Asia including Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines from Wednesday. The game is set to arrive in Japan within the third quarter and in China via Tencent

Samsung Electronics has clinched a partnership with Carlos Slim Foundation to help improve the management of health records in Mexico, the company said Monday. Under the partnership, the South Korean electronics giant will provide 1,000 near field communication reader-embedded tablet PCs to digitalize vaccination records at the country’s health authorities.  Samsung Electronics Mexico President Jo Hong-sang (left) holds up a signboard with Carlos Slim Health Institute President Marco Antonia Sli

LG Electronics launched a new lineup of cordless vacuum cleaners Monday, saying it aimed to become a top-tier player in the global market for the appliances. The CordZero ART Series lineup includes the cordless hand-stick vacuum cleaner A9, the deep learning-applied robot cleaner R9 and canister vacuum cleaner T9. The A9 features suction power of 140 watts, the highest in the world for a cordless hand-stick cleaner, according to the company.  LG Electronics H&A Division President Song Dae-hyun (