Next-generation networks to be set up from this yearThe government said Wednesday that it will speed up the establishment of next-generation mobile communication systems, aiming to lead the global wireless market by 2015.The Korea Communications Commission and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said they will secure key technologies, such as fourth-generation telecommunication technologies, and bui

Olympus Korea launched a new hybrid camera PEN E-PL2 on Tuesday, calling it the new “killer item” for this year.The product, coming between a DSLR and a compact camera, features a classic design and an upgraded art filter that enables people to add touches of soft focus, dramatic tone and art frames to the photos, according to company officials. Models present Olympus’ new hybrid camera PEN E-PL2

SK Telecom, the country’s leading mobile carrier, is expected to launch Samsung Electronics’ Wave 2, which runs on Samsung’s proprietary mobile operating system, in Korea as early as this week.Wave 2 will be the first model introduced in the local market that runs on Samsung’s mobile operating platform Bada, developed more than a year ago.“The telecom will make the last call for the launch date, h

Carrier to invest 3 trillion won to boost service quality, global presenceKT Corp. said Thursday it plans to record 20.5 trillion won ($18 billion) in sales and spend 3 trillion won in investments this year to boost its service quality and step up its presence in global markets.KT, the exclusively provider of Apple’s iPhone in Korea, also said that it aims to reach 30 trillion won in sales by 2015

A top executive of Boeing Korea said Wednesday the global aircraft builder is planning to make a second bid to provide the presidential airplane after its failure last year. “Providing presidential airplane is very important to Boeing,” Pat Gaines, president of Boeing Korea, told reporters during a press conference in downtown Seoul.  Pat Gaines, president of Boeing KoreaThe statement comes as Boe

Twitter Inc. introduced two new services for Koreans on Wednesday, seeking to gain greater influence in a nation with an advanced communications infrastructure and one of the most active Internet populations.In a press conference in Seoul, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams said Twitter has opened its website in the Korean language Wednesday.Twitter has also formed partnerships with local companies

LG Uplus, the country’s smallest mobile carrier, said Tuesday that it will officially begin providing mobile office support for small and mid-sized firms.In a joint effort with Microsoft, the company will use the global firm’s software platforms and cloud services like Software as a Service in a bid to jump into the local mobile office market.This comes after LG Uplus and Microsoft formed a strate

A fresh price war among coffee vendors looms as a domestic franchised shop began to sell its standard product at close to one-fifth the market price last week.Manoffin, owned by popular local pizza franchise Mr. Pizza Corp., offers Hawaiian Kona coffee, one of the most popular brands here, at 790 won ($0.70) per cup. This price is far lower than its peers from Starbucks, Coffee Bean and other bran

Operating profit for 2010 increases 58.1%Samsung Electronics saw its yearly sales reach an all-time high to post 150 trillion won ($133.9 billion), buoyed by marked growth in the field of semiconductor sales. The country’s largest electronics firm said Friday that it recorded 41 trillion won in sales and 3 trillion won in operating profit for the fourth quarter of last year, leading to yearly sale

Asiana Airlines, the country’s No. 2 air carrier, said on Thursday that it sealed a deal with Airbus to introduce six A380-800 planes by 2017.Starting from 2014, Asiana Airlines will bring in European manufacturer Airbus’ upgraded and environmentally friendly airplane which is planned to be used for long-term routes to the Americas and Europe. A380-800 airplane (Asiana Airlines)“The introduction o

Hyundai Motor to invest W12tr, Hynix W3.4tr following Samsung’s W43trThe country’s large firms are unveiling their big investment plans for this year, hinting that many of them will take a more aggressive stance in expectation of a recovery in global demand.This week, a number of big firms and conglomerates, such as Hyundai Motor Group, LG, Samsung and Hynix Semiconductor, announced their larger i