KT chairman and CEO Hwang Chang-gyu said Monday that the company would be seeking consolidation this year after having launched a slew of new businesses in recent years. “The results of our new growth-engine businesses will start to come out from this year,” he told reporters after attending a ceremony celebrating the opening of the company’s new headquarters building in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.Hwang, who took office as chief executive of the nation’s No. 2 telecom carrier in January last yea

Apple is rapidly catching up with Samsung Electronics in South Korea’s smartphone market, following the launch of the U.S. tech company’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the country in November last year.Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone series had been dominating with a market share of about 60 percent in the local smartphone market, with its close rival Apple at only 15 percent.The launch of the new products pulled up Apple’s Korean market share to 33 percent, knocking Samsung’s share below 50 percent

Oracle CEO Mark Hurd emphasizes change in era of digital disruption

The number of requests by investigative agencies for information from the nation’s Web-portal giants ― Naver and Daum Kakao ― have steadily increased over the years, raising public concern about the government’s infringement on users’ privacy online.The number of search and seizure warrants for user information increased 6.3 times from 1,487 in 2012 to 9,342 in 2014, according to a transparency report released by Naver on Thursday. Around 9,244 warrants were issued in 2013. “The requests for war

The Korea Communications Commission, the nation’s top telecom regulator, said Thursday it would file a complaint against Uber Korea with the prosecution on charges of violating laws related to telecommunication information.The decision came after the Seoul Metropolitan Government requested last week that the state regulator ban Uber’s services, which it said had breached laws related to location-based services.(Bloomberg)The local government has stepped up its efforts to keep the taxi-hailing ap

The global supply of smartphones has outnumbered that of PCs for the first time.According to the “2015 Mobile Trend Prospects” report published by KT Economic Research Institute, the global supply of smartphones stood at 24.5 percent of the population, surpassing that of the PCs (20 percent) and conquering the 40-year-old market within just four years of its release.While the supply of smartphones has been rising ― from 5.2 percent in 2012 to 19.8 percent in 2013 ― PCs’ penetration rate has stal

Having benefited from fast network infrastructure since the early 2000s, South Korea has been considered a global Internet powerhouse, but the era of the Internet of Things may put an end to that, according to the chief of Cisco Systems Korea. “Korea used to be far ahead of other nations in terms of Internet capabilities, but it is losing steam and failing to achieve changes, while other nations are quickly catching up,” said Cisco Systems Korea general manager Chong Kyung-won at a media briefin

South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will start sales of the Galaxy A5, the latest in its low-end smartphone lineup, at home Thursday, as it seeks to expand its footing in the low-end sector.The 5-inch Galaxy A5, equipped with a metal frame, will cost around 484,000 won ($445.26) at home, the company said. It is equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera with a 2,300 mAh battery capacity. Models pose with Samsung’s mid-range Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 smartphones, featur

LAS VEGAS ― Starting a business is not an easy job. Even if you have a great idea, you may not know where and with whom to start. U.S.-based crowdfunding firm Kickstarter says it provides an ideal platform which anyone can use to launch a start-up and achieve innovation through sharing their ideas with others.“Kickstarter is a much more democratic system,” Kickstarter representative David Gallagher told The Korea Herald at the International CES, held from Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas. Kickstarter repre