The Korea Herald

Nexon faces mounting criticism after founder’s acquittal

Dec 15, 2016

A recent ruling by a South Korean lower court that acquitted the founder of Nexon of bribery charges involving a former senior prosecutor is further eroding the major game firm’s public image, which has been plunging since the scandal erupted early this year.　The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday said that Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju was found not guilty of providing some 953 million won ($808,000) worth of bribes in stocks, cash and spendable goods to former senior prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon
Nexon faces mounting criticism after founder’s acquittal

Dec 15, 2016

A recent ruling by a South Korean lower court that acquitted the founder of Nexon of bribery charges involving a former senior prosecutor is further eroding the major game firm’s public image, which has been plunging since the scandal erupted early this year.　The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday said that Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju was found not guilty of providing some 953 million won ($808,000) worth of bribes in stocks, cash and spendable goods to former senior prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon
Korean app store estimated to take 39 pct share of domestic market

Dec 15, 2016

A unified app store formed by South Korea's three mobile carriers and Naver Corp., the country's dominant Internet portal, is estimated to have taken 39 percent of the domestic market for Android-based app content, industry data showed Thursday. The One Store was launched by KT Corp., SK Telecom Co. and LG Uplus Inc. in June last year to better compete with the Google Play store. Naver joined One Store in June this year. Based on transaction volumes of 100 mobile games available for both One Sto
SK Hynix, Seagate may partner on SSD

Dec 14, 2016

South Korea’s second-largest chipmaker SK Hynix is expected to set up a joint company on solid-state drives with US data storage company Seagate, according to news reports on Wednesday. When the new company is created, SK Hynix is expected to hold a 51 percent share and Seagate to hold the remaining 49 percent. SK Hynix said in its regulatory filing on Wednesday evening, “Although we are reviewing various plans to boost business competitiveness of NAND flash business for the mid and long term, n
Netmarble releases new mobile RPG ‘Lineage II: Revolution’

Dec 14, 2016

South Korean game company Netmarble Games released its latest mobile role-playing game “Lineage II: Revolution” via the Google Play and Apple app stores Wednesday.　Netmarble’s new mobile game -- categorized as a “massively multiplayer online role playing game,” or MMORPG -- is based on NCSoft’s original online role-playing game “Lineage II.”　“Lineage II: Revolution,” Netmarble’s biggest mobile release of the year aimed at global success, has been garnering keen attention from users, surpassing m
Possible probe into iPhone battery shutdown in Korea

Dec 14, 2016

South Korea's industrial standardization bureau said Wednesday it is mulling over an investigation into Apple Inc.'s iPhone handsets, which randomly shut down despite battery remaining.The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) said it is looking into the matter as the iPhone 6S battery problem could potentially be a safety issue, like Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, which underwent a global recall over a safety risk."The agency is well aware of recent iPhone issues and is taking a close l
Huawei to supply network equipment for Olympics

Dec 13, 2016

Chinese tech giant Huawei is slated to provide its network equipment for the upcoming PyeongChang Olympics, Huawei and the Olympics committee confirmed Tuesday. Under the supply deal signed Tuesday, Huawei plans to supply wired network equipment and related services for the Olympics. The Chinese firm will also provide various network services including real-time data transmission, broadband certification and event network security monitoring based on an integrated network system. Huawei’s enterp
KT on track for 5G pilot service at 2018 Olympics

Dec 13, 2016

South Korean telecommunications company KT on Tuesday unveiled its latest preparations for the successful deployment of a pilot 5G network service at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.　　Short for fifth-generation, 5G is an ultra-fast wireless network system offering up to 20 times faster transmission speeds than the existing 4G or Long-Term Evolution networks. The futuristic network is expected to be fully commercialized around the world in 2020.　KT has pledged to run the world’s first-ever 5
A look into Seoul startup life at Google Campus recruiting day

Dec 13, 2016

To help South Korean startups find new talent and allow job seekers to learn more about the community, Google Campus Seoul hosted a recruiting event at its headquarters here Thursday. Google Campus Seoul, a co-working space for startups operated by the US internet giant, invited 12 startups looking to hire interns, entry-level designers, software developers, project coordinators and marketers.The recruiting program, in its 10th year, was organized by Google Campus Seoul and Korean startup recrui
Trade and industry ministry to spend 3% less on R&D in 2017

Dec 13, 2016

South Korea's trade ministry will spend 3 percent less on research and development (R&D) in 2017, officials said Tuesday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the R&D budget allocated for the ministry for next year is set at 3.33 trillion won ($2.86 billion), down from 3.44 trillion won in 2016.The ministry's R&D budget has been on a downward trend, taking 18.3 percent of the total spending in 2015 compared to 17.2 percent in 2017.South Korea's combined budget for R&D will reach 19.5 t
Samsung’s curved panels for Galaxy S8 questioned

Dec 12, 2016

Samsung Electronics is rumored to be ditching flat screens for its Galaxy S8 smartphones, and going solely with dual-edge panels, but industry watchers doubt whether there is sufficient demand for a curved screen-only model.According to recent news reports, the upcoming Galaxy S8 may come in 5.7-inch and 6.2-inch variants, with both adopting dual edge screens. This would be a new strategy for the tech giant, which has unveiled its Galaxy S6 and S7 series with both flat and dual-edge screens. The
Apple Korea to report strong earnings this year: sources

Dec 12, 2016

Local unit of the US-based tech firm Apple is estimated to post 800 billion won ($680 million) in earnings this year on the back of strong sales of its iPhone lineup, industry sources said Monday.The operating profit of Apple Korea Inc. is expected to reach over 800 billion won with its sales to reach 3 trillion won, they said. A total of 2.6 million iPhones were sold in South Korea as of November, they said, adding that the number is expected to reach 2.9 million by the end of this year. That
Suspicions persist over process of Samsung BioLogics’ public listing

Dec 11, 2016

Legal procedures that enabled Samsung unit’s Kospi debut to be scrutinized again at next parliamentary hearing, despite strong refutation from company
Samsung's Note 7 return rate tops 80% in Korea

Dec 11, 2016

Samsung Electronics Co. said Sunday it has retrieved over 80 percent of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold in South Korea, about three months after it conducted a global recall of the smartphones over a safety risk. Samsung started selling the Note 7 in South Korea on Aug. 19, but halted sales and conducted a global recall in early September following reports of some of the devices catching fire while being charged. Last month, Samsung completed a replacement program in South Korea that encouraged
[Eye Interview] At Naver, the user is always king

Dec 9, 2016

Naver’s head of service design defines brand as an experience, aims to move services across devices