cap-SKT Samsung GearSAMSUNG SMARTWATCH HITS SHELVES -- Korea’s No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom said Monday it has exclusively launched Samsung Electronics’ Gear S2 Band Classic, a standalone smartwatch that enables users to send text messages and make calls without being paired to a handset. (SKT)

LG OVEN RANGE RECOGNIZED FOR INNOVATION --LG Electronics said Monday its premium oven range, dubbed the LG Studio, had been picked as the 2015 Product of the Year in the kitchen and bath category by leading U.S. monthly magazine Architectural Record. (LGE)

LG’S UNESCO CAMPAIGN -- Participants of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference COP21 watch LG Electronics’ organic light-emitting display TV featuring royal penguins on Macquarie Island, Australia. The South Korean tech giant ran a campaign with UNESCO to raise awareness of natural assets and endangered species at the conference held from Nov. 30 to Friday.(LGE)

SKT OPENS LAB FOR VR -- SK Telecom launched a research and development center Thursday for virtual reality technology called the OpenNFV Lab together with network equipment firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province. In the photo, Park Jin-hyo (fifth from left), head of SKT’s network technology research and development center, poses with officials from both firms at the opening ceremony of the lab.(SKT)

KOREA-AUSTRALIA FTA ANNIVERSARY -- Australian ambassador to South Korea Bill Paterson (left) and director general of the trade policy bureau at the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Park Jin-kyu pose during a ceremony held in Seoul on Thursday to celebrate the upcoming one-year anniversary of the Korea-Australia FTA. The bilateral free trade pact took effect on Dec. 12, 2014. (Australian Embassy in Korea) 

SAMSUNG UHD TV SWEEPS AWARD -- Samsung Electronics’ ultrahigh-definition TV lineup, the JS9500, has received the Best of What’s New award, the tech giant said Thursday. U.S. science magazine Popular Science picks the greatest innovations every year in different industrial categories including aerospace, auto and entertainment for the accolade. (Samsung Electronics) SAMSUNG UHD TV SWEEPS AWARD -- Samsung Electronics’ ultrahigh-definition TV lineup, the JS9500, has received the Best of What’s New

S-OIL AWARDS CIVILIAN HEROES -- S-Oil CEO Nasser al-Mahasher (left) awards a total of 140 million won ($119,000) to 20 civilian heroes in South Korea in a ceremony held in Seoul on Wednesday. Lee Seong-sun (right) was awarded the top cash prize for his courageous act of saving 10 lives in a fire that broke out in an apartment complex in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, this year. (S-Oil)

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OBJECTS -- SK Telecom said Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with network equipment maker Nokia to jointly research and develop a network technology, called the narrow band Long-Term Evolution, which allows low power machine-to-machine communication. (SKT) COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OBJECTS -- SK Telecom said Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with network equipment maker Nokia to jointly research and develop a network technology,

EXPANDING MOBILE PAYMENT SYSTEM -- Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that rechargeable public transportation cards T-Money and Cashbee are now available on its mobile payment solution Samsung Pay. (Samsung Electronics)

MID-END HANDSETS WITH PREMIUM FEATURES -- Samsung Electronics unveiled its updated midrange smartphone lineup Galaxy A in Seoul Thursday. The lineup consists of three models, the A7, A5 and A3. The A7 and A5, fitted with a fingerprint sensor, support mobile payment solution Samsung Pay. (Samsung) MID-END HANDSETS WITH PREMIUM FEATURES -- Samsung Electronics unveiled its updated midrange smartphone lineup Galaxy A in Seoul Thursday. The lineup consists of three models, the A7, A5 and A3. The A7 a

  LG RECOGNIZED FOR SUPERIOR DESIGN -- LG Electronics said Thursday its premium fridge Double Magic Space had won the Compasso d’Oro Award, Italy’s highest accolade for design. The company has also won prizes for the high-end fridge at IDEA, iF and Red Dot design awards. (LGE)

LG OLED TV IN NYC -- LG Electronics said Wednesday that it would run a roadshow to display its high-end organic light-emitting diode TVs at Grand Central Station in Manhattan. The event will be held until the end of this month. (LGE)

GEAR S2 POP-UP STORE FOR HOLIDAY -- Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it would operate a pop-up store for its smartwatch Gear S2 during the year-end holiday season in Garosu-gil, Seoul, a street brimming with upscale coffeehouses and clothing shops. (Samsung)

LNG COOPERATION -- ExxonMobil vice president of gas and power marketing Richard Guerrant (left) and the president and Korea Gas Corp. chief executive Lee Seung-hoon pose after signing a memorandum of understanding to jointly pursue new opportunities in the natural gas value chain at a ceremony held in Seoul on Wednesday. LNG -- a cleaner burner fuel compared to other non-renewable energy sources -- is expected to replace coal as the No. 2 global source of energy, a shift that reflects the versat

Asiana Airlines employees pose with Christmas carol album “Christmas Time Again,” produced by the Korean air carrier and supported by Arts Council Korea, at Asiana’s headquarters in western Seoul. Having started Tuesday, Asiana offers five Christmas carol tracks free of charge via its homepage www.flyasiana.com. (Asiana Airlines)