Kakao Brain, an artificial intelligence technology research and development subsidiary of Kakao, said Monday it has temporarily suspended its generative AI-based chatbot service, within a day after its open beta release, due to technical glitches. At around 4 p.m. on Monday, Ddmm was unexpectedly closed after too many users flocked to try out the service. By the time Kakao had suspended the service, some 13,000 users had added the service to their mobile messenger, KakaoTalk. The exact date for

GI Innovation, a local biotech firm, said Monday its initial public offering price has been set at 13,000 won ($9.90), lower than the minimum price range that the company targeted. The IPO price was determined after GI Innovation conducted a two-day book-building process targeting institutional investors last week. A total of 563 institutions, including 46 foreign entities, joined the process, the company said. The overseas institutions reserved some 13.77 million shares, while local institution

Lunit, a provider of artificial intelligence-powered cancer solutions, said Monday that it has received approval from the European Union for the commercial launch of its AI-based medical software used in detecting breast cancer. The solution, dubbed Lunit Insight Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, is an AI-based software solution to help identify suspicious lesions with 3D mammograms. “(Lunit) has laid the groundwork for sales in European countries by earning the CE marking in around one month

By Nam Sung-hyun Today is the International Day of Forests. Forests account for 31 percent of the land surface area of the Earth. They play a crucial role in responding to climate change as they absorb 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly as a major terrestrial carbon sink. Forests also provide habitats to 80 percent of terrestrial species, proving to be the cornucopia of biodiversity. In other aspects, approximately 1 billion people worldwide obtain essential nutrients from forests

LG Electronics said Monday it presented a blueprint for ThinQ, a platform brand that connects home appliances and consumer electronics with smart technology for higher efficiency, at the Connectivity Standards Alliance member meeting in Seoul. Jung Ki-hyun, vice president of LG's platform business center, attended the four-day event as a keynote speaker and shared the company's vision for providing more consumer-friendly smart home services. He outlined three core values of ThinQ: adva

S. Korean startup’s liftoff marks first space vehicle launch by country’s private sector

Innospace, a South Korean space startup, said Monday its suborbital test launch vehicle, HANBIT-TLV, has been launched. The 8.4-ton thrust single stage hybrid rocket was fired from the Alcantara Space Center in northern Brazil at 2:52 p.m. Sunday (local time), or 2:52 a.m. Monday (Korean time), according to the company. "We are now verifying the flight performance of the engine and its payloads," Innospace said in a statement. "We will announce the final result of the launch later

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for close cooperation of businesses of South Korea and Japan, especially in cutting-edge fields of semiconductors and batteries, during a meeting of entrepreneurs of the two countries, Friday. The two biggest business groups of South Korea and Japan, Korean Federation of Industries and Japan Business Federation -- commonly known as Keidanren -- hosted the Korea-Japan Business Roundtable on the second day of Yoon's two-day visit to Tokyo. Yoon held

Samsung Biologics said Friday it is investing 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) to build its fifth production plant as part of efforts to meet market demands and bolster its manufacturing competitiveness. The company announced the plan after an approval from the board of directors earlier in the day. Last year, the company’s revenue exceeded the 3 trillion-won mark for the first time within the bio pharma industry, with its operating profits reaching some 1 trillion won. While its fourth pla

Tech giant becomes 2nd-largest shareholder of humanoid robot developer

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- While forecasting a grim business outlook amid a global economic downturn, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee vowed to overcome difficulties by focusing on the "fundamentals" and to maintain investment, during this year's annual shareholders meeting Wednesday. “We expect this year to be more difficult than ever, as management uncertainties surrounding the company would continue. But even in these situations, we were able to overcome

Trade ministers of South Korea and the Netherlands on Tuesday agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation on various industries, especially in the semiconductors amid growing pressures from the US to curb investment in China. South Korean Minister for Trade Ahn Duk-geun met with Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher to exchange views on the two countries' partnership on economic security. They agreed to further strengthen complementary c

LG Chem said Tuesday that the company signed a deal with the United Nations Children's Fund to supply two pediatric vaccines. Under the deal, LG Chem will supply $100 million worth of its polio vaccine Eupolio and $100 million worth of pentavalent vaccine Eupenta, which works for five different indications including tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae. LG Chem will supply Eupolio for two years from 2024, while the supply of Eupenta will begin this year and

South Korea’s IT solutions provider LG CNS said Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with SAP, the German software giant, to bolster their strategic partnership in building next-generation enterprise resource planning, or ERP, solutions. The MOU signing ceremony was held at SAP’s headquarters in Walldorf, Germany, on March 10, with LG CNS CEO Hyun Shin-gyoon and SAP CEO Christian Klein in attendance. Under the MOU, the two companies agreed to develop and operate new ER

South Korean telecom operator LG Uplus announced Tuesday that it will launch a live chat customer service platform in foreign languages, including English, Chinese and Vietnamese, to better respond to a recent surge in visitors to Korea. The company said more than 1,000 customer consultations were carried out during the pilot operation period over two months, confirming the increased demand for foreign language services. According to recent immigration data, about 460,000 foreign nationals arriv