KakaoTalk, South Korea's No. 1 mobile messenger, became the most frequently visited app in the world in the first quarter, outpacing global rivals like WhatsApp and Facebook, its operator said Friday. As of end-March, KakaoTalk ranked first in the global top apps list compiled by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with the number of sessions per user hitting 55, Daum Kakao Corp. said, quoting the U.S. firm's latest trend report. The number of sessions ref

The Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday it would take stern disciplinary action against insurance firms engaging in irregular sales of financial products on TV home shopping channels.Aside from the insurance sector, other nonbanking financial firms including credit card issuers will also be placed under tough oversight over their sales improprieties on the Internet.The FSS noted that a growing number of consumer complaints and dispute cases have been filed with the regulatory agency, as

South Korea’s leading battery maker LG Chem said Wednesday it has inked a deal with North America’s largest power company Duke Energy to build an energy storage system at a retired coal power plant in Ohio. The company said it would provide the operating system and batteries for the 2-megawatt project at the site of Duke’s closed coal plant in New Richmond by the end of the year. Detailed terms were not disclosed. PJM Interconnection, which runs the biggest U.S. power market, will use the batter

Tech giant vows to take social responsibility