The Korea Herald

Samsung loses global smartphone market share

Dec 16, 2014

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. lost nearly 8 percentage points of its global smartphone market share in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to industry data Tuesday, contrasting with Chinese rivals. The world's No. 1 maker of smartphones shipped 73.21 million smartphones in the July-September period, down 7 million units from last year, the data compiled by market tracker Gartner Inc. showed.Its world market share fell 7.7 percentage points over the cited period to 24.4 per
Foreigners offload Samsung Electronics amid earnings woes

Dec 16, 2014

Foreign investors have offloaded some 700 billion won (US$637 million) worth of Samsung Electronics stocks in the past four days, roughly half of their total net selling during the period, on renewed concerns over the tech behemoth's fourth-quarter earnings, data showed Tuesday. According to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange, offshore investors extended their selling of local stocks to a fourth day Monday with their net selling reaching 1.39 trillion won over the cited period. In the p
GS E&C mired in controversy over parking spaces

Dec 15, 2014

GS E&C, one of South Korea’s leading apartment builders, has become embroiled in a feud with the buyers of mega apartment complex units over the relatively small number of parking spaces at the complex in Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province. The construction business of GS Group is currently building an apartment complex fitted with some 4,000 units, called the Hangang Central Xi, near Gimpo New Town, west of Seoul. It began presale contracts of the apartments in May. “When the construction firm chang
[Graphic News] Mobile shopping on the rise

Dec 14, 2014

South Korea is witnessing a surge of mobile shoppers on the strength of the solid broadband network and consumers’ preference for faster and easier shopping experiences on the go. The ratio of consumers who use their smartphones to shop online rose to nearly 60 percent this year, sharply up from 24 percent in 2012. The increase in mobile shopping is largely attributed to the growing number of smartphone users in the country. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said the number of Kor
LG Display strengthens ties with Japanese partner

Dec 12, 2014

Aiming to beef up its technological prowess in the world’s organic light emitting diode industry, LG Display, a leading Korean display manufacturer, has agreed to expand its alliance with Japanese display materials firm Idemitsu Kosan, according to the Korean display maker Friday. The expanded alliance includes closer cooperation in developing OLED technology and sharing related technology patents. LG Display president Yeo Sang-deok (left) and Yoshihisa Matsumoto, executive vice president of Id
Samsung to reinforce global public relations

Dec 12, 2014

David Steel, the first foreign national who became an executive at Samsung Electronics in 2002, will come back to Seoul and join the global public relations team following his recent promotion as executive vice president, the tech giant said.In the 2014 executive reshuffle at the group level, Steel became the third foreign executive vice president, following Tim Baxter and Wang Tong, who were promoted to the same rank in 2012 and 2013 respectively. David SteelSome market watchers expect Steel,
Sewol tragedy tops list of 2014 Twitter moments

Dec 11, 2014

Announcing a list of the most viral tweets and memorable moments of the year, Twitter Korea said the Sewol ferry tragedy that took the lives of more than 300 people was at the top. “On the day the Sewol sank, the microblogging service in Korea was flooded with tweets and retweets praying for those on board the ferry to come home safely, and also checking for follow-ups,” Soh Young-sun, market director of Twitter Korea said on Thursday. A slew of Korean Twitter users also joined a yellow ribbon c
(Photo News) Season of giving

Dec 10, 2014
[Herald Review] AKA, a phone with personality

Dec 10, 2014

Even at first glance, it was easy to tell that LG Electronics’ AKA is not just a dumbed-down version of one of LG’s high-end models. With its glossy case and animated eyes, the AKA is aimed at younger consumers who want to stand out. To open the phone, you have to tap on the exposed part of the screen twice, after which a set of eyes appear. It feels a bit odd, and even creepy at first, but before long I become attached to the googly, playful eyes. The phone comes with four covors ― white, yello
KISA to restructure to focus on IoT, security

Dec 10, 2014

The Korea Internet & Security Agency said Wednesday that it would reorganize its key divisions by the end of the month to better handle emerging technologies related to the Internet of Things and online security.KISA CEO Baik Kee-seung, who took helm of the agency that promotes cybersecurity and Web-based businesses last September, said the new technology environment requires the organization to dump old mindsets and tackle problems through collaboration.“We have asked ourselves whether KISA and
[Herald Interview] Finding big spenders with data forecasting

Dec 10, 2014

Artificial intelligence to guide businesses in marketing, says Tapjoy
KEPCO, KT to create smart energy ecosystem

Dec 9, 2014

Korea Electric Power Corporation, the state-run electricity provider, has teamed up with KT Corp., the country’s largest telecommunications firm, to map a blueprint for creating a smart energy ecosystem.Holding a meeting at KEPCO’s new head office in Naju, South Jeolla Province Tuesday, the heads of the two firms signed an agreement on making the combined effort for the smart energy cause.“By working with KEPCO for convergence of telecommunications and energy technologies, KT will try to produce
Bitcoin hacking raises security concerns

Dec 8, 2014

Cyber currency exchange Bitcore condemned for reckless management
Korea behind China in 6 key industries: report

Dec 8, 2014

South Korea has been overtaken by or is trailing China in six key industries, making it imperative for local companies to find new ways to stay competitive globally, a report by the lobbying group of large conglomerates showed Monday.The report by the Federation of Korean Industries showed China outpacing South Korea in the smartphones, cars, shipbuilding and marine plants, petrochemicals, and the steel and refinery sectors.South Korean companies still maintain an edge in semiconductors and disp
CrucialTec recognized for technology prowess

Dec 8, 2014

Fingerprint sensor maker CrucialTec’s biometric trackpad module was picked as one of the world’s leading tech products by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency on Monday. The South Korean company’s BTP is a fingerprint recognition sensor, adopting the so-called nano packaging method, which allows the sensor to be slimmer and easily mounted on other products such as smartphones. The BTP can be utilized for various types of fingerprint