SK chief claims 'flagrant error' in divorce settlement ruling

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won issued an apology Monday for raising public concerns with his high-profile divorce settlement but made it clear that he will appeal to the Supreme Court because a “flagrant error” was found in the court ruling that now threatens his grip on the telecom-to-chips conglomerate. Last month, the Seoul High Court ruled in favor of Chey's estranged wife Roh Soh-young in their divorce settlement and ordered the SK chief to pay 1.38 trillion won ($1 billion

June 17, 2024

Top 4 conglomerates convene strategy meetings to navigate uncertainties

Top conglomerates in Korea are set to hold their strategic meetings this month to navigate the ongoing economic slowdown and geopolitical uncertainties according to industry sources on Sunday. Samsung Electronics, the country's No. 1 conglomerate in terms of assets, will kick off its series of strategic meetings from Tuesday to Thursday. Top executives are expected to convene to discuss the company’s global strategies in key technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, which touc

June 16, 2024

Science Ministry to cancel license of Stage X as new mobile carrier

South Korea's Science Ministry said Friday that it will revoke the license of new mobile carrier Stage X for failing to meet legal requirements to run the business, including paid-in capital of 205 billion won ($149 million) that was due last month. The Ministry of Science and ICT will carry out a hearing on Stage X's case to finalize its decision on canceling the designation of the firm as a frequency allocation target corporation. Stage X had been expected to become the country'

June 14, 2024

Line Pay service to be terminated in Japan next year: LY

LY Corp., the operator of popular mobile messenger Line, has announced its plan to terminate its Line Pay service in Japan next year, amid criticism over Japan's apparent pressure to shed Naver Corp., South Korea's biggest internet portal operator, from LY. LY, a 50-50 joint venture between Japan's SoftBank and South Korea's Naver, said Thursday the mobile payment service will be terminated by April 30, 2025, in Japan, citing "optimal allocation of management resources.&

June 14, 2024

Samsung chief holds meetings with global tech CEOs in US

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong held consecutive meetings with the chiefs of global tech giants including Meta, Amazon and Qualcomm, in an effort to strengthen ties and boost collaboration during his two-week trip to the US, the company said on Thursday. Lee shared insights and prospects over advanced technology markets with the tech leaders and also checked on the company's business operations, the company said. In his meeting with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon on Monday, Lee discu

June 13, 2024

Tmax’s Gaia allows to build apps without coding

Korean software developer Tmax Group on Thursday unveiled a groundbreaking super-app platform, Gaia, which allows users to create apps without coding skills, declaring a new era of digital transformation. “There have been numerous attempts to achieve great IT integration, but no one has been able to achieve effective integration in the right way,” Chairman and CTO Park Dae-yeon said during a press conference held in Seoul. “The IT grand integration presented by Tmax refers to i

June 13, 2024

SK CEOs to hold strategy meeting at end of June

SK Group, the country’s second-largest conglomerate in terms of assets, will hold its biannual business management strategy meeting June 28-29 to comprehensively review the group’s plans and renew commitment to "go back to basics," according to industry sources Wednesday. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and other members of the founding family, including SK Innovation Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won and SK Supex Council Chairman Chey Chang-won are expected to join the meeting, al

June 12, 2024

[From the Scene] Kakao unveils first data center

Korean IT giant Kakao, having suffered from its worst-ever server shutdown in October 2022, unveiled its first in-house data center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, to local media Tuesday. As part of Kakao's efforts to keep users' daily lives safe, this data center is the first one of its kind to maximize stability. Located on a 47,378-square-meter site, about 2.6 times the size of a soccer field, Kakao Data Center Ansan is situated in Hanyang University’s ERICA campus in the industr

June 12, 2024

Does Apple Intelligence have edge over Galaxy AI?

Months after Samsung Electronics launched the world's first artificial intelligence smartphone equipped with its original Galaxy AI, its archrival Apple debuted its own Apple Intelligence, only to show it lacks any kind of overwhelming advantage to differentiate itself. At the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple presented Apple Intelligence, its AI system that will be incorporated across products from iPhones to Macbooks. “Our unique approach combines generative AI with a

June 11, 2024

S. Korean ChatGPT app users soar 30% in May

The popularity of OpenAI's artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, has surged in South Korea, with the number of monthly users of its mobile app surpassing 1 million for the first time last month. User numbers rose by 30 percent in May, reaching an estimated 1,273,922, compared to 980,318 in April, according to statistics from the mobile big data company IGAWorks released Tuesday. This follows a steady increase from 697,830 in February to 880,364 in March. "The mobile app version i

June 11, 2024

IEEE honors Korea’s contribution to CDMA commercialization

South Korean tech firms and a local research center were recognized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, on Monday, for their significant contribution to commercializing the world's first code division multiple access network used in mobile phones in 1996. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Samsung Electronics, LG E

June 10, 2024

SKT brings K-pop fan community service to metaverse platform

South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom has unveiled a new K-pop service for its metaverse platform, ifland, designed as an arena where K-pop idols and their global fans gather and communicate with one another. Starting Monday, ifland will offer a fan community service with hotel-style spaces enabling fans to meet different K-pop groups and solo artists on each floor. Its introduction page provides an overview of the hotel's floors, while an artist lounge where each K-pop idol can check in t

June 9, 2024

Tesla upgrades in-car navigation software in China, introduces lane-level guidance

BEIJING (Reuters) -- Tesla released a software upgrade for its in-car navigation system in China on Friday, introducing new features such as displaying lane markings on its maps that correspond to the actual lanes on the road. The company announced the update on its official WeChat account along with a series of new features added in the latest over-the-air upgrade that it claimed would reduce users' reliance on smartphone applications while driving. Tesla did not specify the provider of th

June 7, 2024

SK, TSMC chiefs agree to boost collaboration on AI chips

SK Chairman Chey Tae-won and TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei agreed to boost collaboration on the development of advanced artificial intelligence chips, including the High Bandwidth Memory chips high in demand, on Thursday. Chey traveled to Taiwan to meet with Wei and other IT leaders in the country, as part of the effort to strengthen SK's network and gain a competitive edge in the burgeoning global AI market. “Together, let’s open the door to the era of artificial intelligence that ben

June 7, 2024

[Innovate Korea] We must control new technology: KAIST president

DAEJEON -- Lee Kwang-hyung, president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, underscored the importance of controlling new artificial intelligence technology ethically in his speech at Innovate Korea 2024, held at the Lyu Keun-chul Sports Complex in Daejeon on Wednesday. “In the era of ‘humanism 2.0,’ we are living with ordinary humans, physically improved humans, mentally enhanced humans and AI," he said. “I think that our country and our society

June 7, 2024

[Innovate Korea] Future of robots depends on AI: Rainbow Robotics founder

DAEJEON -- Oh Jun-ho, founder of Rainbow Robotics and a former mechanical engineering professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, underscored the future of robots lies in artificial intelligence technology. “Robots are ready to do anything, but on their own, they can’t do anything. Bringing movement to them requires human touch like programming, but in the future, AI will be able to take on that role,” he said in his speech at Innovate Korea 2024, hel

June 7, 2024

[Innovate Korea] Innovate Korea 2024 spotlights ‘new humanity’ in AI era

DAEJEON -- Innovate Korea 2024, a major annual science and information communication technology forum hosted by Herald Media Group, shed light on the new form of humanity in the era of advanced artificial intelligence on Wednesday, sharing insights from various experts across a wide range of professions. This year’s event at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon featured K-pop star G-Dragon, who took part in a panel discussion. Some 3,000 participants gathered,

June 7, 2024

[Innovate Korea] Naver CEO affirms commitment to develop safe, sovereign AI

DAEJEON -- Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon highlighted how sincerely the IT giant is approaching the burgeoning artificial intelligence technologies in her speech at Innovate Korea 2024, held in Daejeon on Wednesday. “AI technology is a game changer which is developing rapidly, although it also stirs up several concerns,” she said. “Naver has been sincere about AI and we’ve been putting much effort into making a perfect Korean-language AI model.” The Naver chief pointed out

June 7, 2024

Samsung, Verizon chiefs join hands to promote Galaxy series

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong took off for the US on a trip tightly packed with business meetings with tech leaders and government officials there, with the goal of strengthening existing partnerships for the company's future development, the tech giant said on Thursday. Lee will participate in some 30 meetings scheduled "minute by minute" with heads of major technology firms, and lawmakers and government officials across the US until mid-June, Samsung said. The places

June 6, 2024

LG Electronics introduces AlphaWare at US auto tech show

LG Electronics introduced AlphaWare, its suite of software solutions for software-defined vehicles, at AutoTech: Detroit 2024, revamping its commitment to expanding business in the automotive market. According to the tech giant on Thursday, it joined the global automotive tech show for the first time to share its insights on software-defined vehicles and discuss the challenges and future prospects. During LG’s presentation dubbed, "Beyond the Road: Navigating the SDV Transition,"

June 6, 2024