The Korea Herald

S. Korea's mobile ad market nearly doubles in 2013

Feb 18, 2014

The local market for mobile advertisement nearly doubled on-year in 2013, a government report showed Tuesday, amid soaring number of smartphone users in the country.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said the size of South Korea's mobile advert market was estimated at 416 billion won ($392 million) last year, a leap from the 215.9 billion won in 2012.Last year's figure accounted for 4 percent of the entire advertisement market in the country, a twofold growth from 2 percent tallied
UNIST scientist hopes to supply jam-like batteries for Google Glass

Feb 17, 2014

Korean researchers have developed the world’s first bendable lithium-ion battery that will not explode even when bent or rolled up. The batteries, which were jointly developed by Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology and LG Chem, can be mass-produced as early as three years from now, the developers said.“Any electronic gadget or appliance can become flexible once this battery is commercialized,” said Lee Sang-young, a professor at UNIST, in an interview with The Korea Herald. Lee is
Olympus introduces world’s first hybrid surgical instruments

Feb 17, 2014

Olympus, a Japan-based technology company involved in making endoscopy devices, on Monday unveiled a pair of new hybrid medical instruments that would benefit both the doctors who perform surgeries and the patients undergoing them.The Thunderbeat is an instrument that allows simultaneous tissue cutting and blood vessel sealing. It is the world’s first surgical instrument that integrates an ultrasonic system for tissue cutting and dissection with the electrosurgical technology of bipolar vessel s
Samsung rolls out simpler 3G smartphone

Feb 17, 2014

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it has rolled out a more basic version of its Galaxy smartphone, apparently targeting elderly users.Samsung's Galaxy Core Advance, powered by Android's Jelly Bean, carries an "easy mode" system with simplified menus, larger images and three buttons on the lower part of the display, making it more comfortable for older users who are used to keypad-based 2G phones."The Galaxy Core Advance is suitable for users who are using smartphones f
China's booming LTE market offers chance for S. Korean firms

Feb 17, 2014

China's market size for the long term evolution mobile network is poised to jump overfive-fold in 2014 on-year, data showed Monday, giving South Korean tech players a rare opportunity in the increasingly saturated global market.The number of LTE smartphones in China is estimated to reach 135 million units this year, up 547 percent from 2013, according to the data compiled by market researcher Strategy Analytics.LTE smartphones seized 6 percent of the country's handset market in the first month a
Samsung sues Dyson over patent for vacuum cleaner

Feb 16, 2014

Samsung Electronics Co. has filed a lawsuit seeking 10 billion won ($9.43 million) in compensation from British manufacturer Dyson in a patent row over a vacuum cleaner mechanism, industry sources informed of the legal proceeding said Sunday.Samsung's suit is a counteraction against Dyson, which earlier had accused the South Korean company of violating its patents on the mechanism used in its vacuum cleaners that allows for swift change of direction without flipping or snagging. The British firm
Dongbu Daewoo to sell Spain asset

Feb 15, 2014

Electronics maker’s manufacturing capacity to rise in Korea, China, Mexico
Dongbu Daewoo to sell Spain asset

Feb 14, 2014

Electronics maker’s manufacturing capacity to rise in Korea, China, Mexico
Samsung and Google at odds over Galaxy S5 smartphone

Feb 14, 2014

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong is frantically seeking support from its global partners before unveiling his firm’s Galaxy S5 smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month.The vice chairman and Larry Page, CEO of Google, met late last month to discuss their relationship, but both firms expressed discomfort with each other’s position, according to The Information, a tech news publication.This was mainly due to Google’s move to restrict its partner from tailoring i
Korea's public sector debt totals 821.1tr won in 2012

Feb 14, 2014

South Korea's public sector debt amounted to more than 820 trillion won ($768.9 billion) in 2012, government data showed Friday, renewing worries over the financial health of public organizations. According to the data provided by the finance ministry, the public sector debt owed by central and provincial governments and non-financial state-run enterprises came to 821.1 trillion won as of end-2012. The amount represents 64.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product.No comparison figures w
Smartphone battery sharing service hits Korea

Feb 13, 2014

Choi Hyuk-jae and his younger brother Hyuk-jun together run MycooN Corp., a startup that provides the world’s first smartphone battery sharing service.Through MycooN, which works with up to 70 partners such as mobile dealers in Seoul and Busan, customers can trade off drained smartphone batteries for fully charged ones. The empty batteries will then be charged and passed on to another customer. The brothers said they hope to expand into other regions across the nation.“My goal is to make every s
LG takes on Samsung with G Pro 2 phablet

Feb 13, 2014

LG Electronics unveiled its G Pro 2 on Thursday, its latest effort to gain traction in the smartphone market against rival Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 3. The G Pro 2 is a phablet sporting a 5.9-inch screen, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera, 3 GB DDR3 RAM and a 3,200 mAh battery. Running on the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system, LG’s latest handset is equipped with Qualcomm’s 2.26 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, which was also utilized on the
SK Chemicals makes inroads into auto market

Feb 13, 2014

SK Chemicals, a listed Korean chemical materials company, is seeking to boost its super engineering plastic materials business for automobiles.The company said on Thursday that it is in talks with Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, as well as some European automakers to supply polyphenylene sulfide.When asked whether SK Chemicals is engaging German carmakers such as BMW, a company official said it is too early to disclose this since it is in the “pre-marketing stage.”Hyundai and Kia are still testing
Nexon Korea names Park Ji-won as CEO

Feb 13, 2014

Nexon Korea said on Thursday that it has appointed Park Ji-won as its new chief executive.Park’s predecessor Min Seo, who has been with the game developer since 1997, is expected to serve as the company’s advisor after a vacation.Min has been credited for increasing Nexon Korea’s sales by threefold since he took the helm in 2009, releasing blockbuster games such as “Maple Story” and “Sudden Attack,” the company noted.The appointment of new CEO Park will be finalized at its shareholders’ meeting
LG rolls out new smartphone with wider screen

Feb 13, 2014

LG Electronics Co., a South Korean smartphone maker, on Thursday revealed its newest smartphone model, the G Pro 2, paving the way for the country's No. 2 tech giant to expand its share in the large display smartphone market.LG's phablet, a cross between a smartphone and tablet PC, boasts a 5.9-inch display, larger than its predecessor's 5.5-inch screen, and will compete with rival products such as the Galaxy Note series manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of smart