Latest News

• 
  Lotte Insurance releases indemnity insurance plan for service robots SEOUL -- Lotte Insurance, the insurance wing of South Korea's conglomerate Lotte Group, has partnered with a service robot company to release an indemnity liability insurance plan for store owners who operate delivery or service robots. The insurance will plan will cover almost every accident case caused by robots at the store premise. More service robots are adopted at restaurants, coffee shops, and hotels in South Korea webbed with super-fast 4G and 5G networks. The country 2022-05-06
• 
  Southern port city to demonstrate eco-friendly ammonia hybrid vessel SEOUL -- South Korea's maritime gateway, Busan, has launched a project to develop and demonstrate an eco-friendly 30-ton-class vessel powered by an ammonia hybrid engine. The project also includes the standardization of ammonia fuel tanks and a bunkering technique for fueling ships with ammonia. Global shipbuilders are trying hard to develop efficient eco-friendly fuel-based vessels to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels after the International Maritime Organization (IMO), 2022-05-06
• 
  SK Telecom's in-house alliance invests in game developer to strengthen AI-Verse competitiveness SEOUL -- SK Telecom, a top mobile carrier in South Korea, and its sister company, SK Square made strategic investments in Haegin, a domestic game developer, to strengthen the competitiveness of their artificial intelligence and metaverse businesses and build an infrastructure for their expansion abroad. SK Telecom (SKT) and SK Square will invest a total of 50 billion won ($39 million) together to become the biggest strategic investor in Haegin. The size of their holdings was not 2022-05-06
• 
  SK Geo Centric's pyrolysis technology wins government approval SEOUL -- SK Geo Centric, a chemical company affiliated with South Korea's SK Group, has set the stage for the full utilization of its pyrolysis technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by securing government approval. South Korean research institutes, private companies and academics have joined hands to popularize pyrolysis recycling as a method to respond to climate change. SK Geo Centric has launched a joint study with the Korea Research Institute on Climate Change to 2022-05-06
• 
  CHA Biotech opens cell and gene therapy CDMO facility in Texas SEOUL -- The U.S. subsidiary of CHA Biotech, a biopharmaceutical company with South Korea's largest pipeline of stem cell therapies, has finished the construction of a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) production facility for cell and gene therapy medicines. The manufacturing facility with a 500-liter bioreactor targets the global cell and gene therapy market that is projected to reach $36.92 billion, according to global market research firm ResearchAnd 2022-05-04
• 
  Global EV race 'Formula E' to be held in Seoul after two years of suspension SEOUL -- Formula E, a city-based single-seater electric car motor racing championship originally scheduled to be held in Seoul in 2020, will finally capture motorsport fans in South Korea in August. The global racing event was suspended for two years due to a coronavirus pandemic. Formula E, officially the ABB Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula E Championship, is sanctioned by FIA, the governing body for auto racing events. Unlike conventional racing even 2022-05-04
• 
  Autonomous trucking company Mars Auto raises $12 million Series A SEOUL -- Mars Auto, an artificial intelligence startup that develops self-driving technology for trucks in South Korea, has raised $12 million in the Series A funding round led by GFT Ventures, a venture capital investment firm based in California, reflecting investors' interest in the level of the company's technology development. Autonomous truck driving must be implemented with completely different models in a high-speed environment. Mars Auto develops a perception-ba 2022-05-04
• 
  Kakao promotes B2C2C as new catchword for open chat-based mobile messaging app SEOUL -- B2C2C is a new catchword promoted by South Korea's web service company Kakao to turn its popular mobile messaging app, Kakao Talk, into an open chat room. The ultimate goal is to target global markets through a metaverse platform. B2C2C combines B2C (business to consumer) with C2C (consumer to consumer). It simply means that a company can sell one product to one consumer who can in turn either sell or share the very same product with other consumers without the compa 2022-05-04
• 
  S. Korea starts production of long-range air defense radar prototype SEOUL -- In an effort to replace outdated U.S.-made military radars, South Korea has embarked on the production of a prototype model for a homemade long-range air defense radar system capable of scanning a broad and distant flying zone. The top-notch radar system's performance was enhanced by more than 20 percent compared to the current system. The new system was developed through a 46 billion won ($36.4 million) project led by LIG Nex1, a defense contractor, to cover the Korea 2022-05-04
• 
  SKY Technology ties up with Intel to optimize game environment and promote joint marketing SEOUL -- SKY Technology, the developer of an easy non-fungible token (NFT) business platform in South Korea, tied up with U.S. technology giant Intel to optimize a game environment and promote global joint marketing. Under a memorandum of understanding, SKY Technology and Intel would promote technology cooperation to implement an optimal gaming environment on personal computers equipped with Intel's central processing units and graphics engines and provide industry-leading adva 2022-05-04
• 
  Yanolja's cloud solution wing makes strategic investment in India's Innkey SEOUL -- The cloud solution wing of Yanolja, a leading travel and leisure activity reservation service platform in South Korea, will make a strategic investment in Innkey Infosystems with the conditional acquisition of the India-based service provider of cloud-based hotel management software. Yanolja Cloud said the investment is aimed at expanding its global Software-as-a-Service (Saas) solution business by combining the technology and know-how of the two companies. Innkey provide 2022-05-04
• 
  Hanwha Defense secures opportunity to broaden K9's overseas supply network through user club meeting SEOUL -- Hanwha Defense, a major defense company affiliated with South Korea's Hanwha Group, has secured an opportunity to broaden the overseas supply network of the world's most popular self-propelled howitzer, K9 Thunder, through a meeting of user countries such as Norway, Finland and Estonia. At the first meeting of a K9 user community on April 27-28 at its home base in the southern city of Changwon, Hanwha Defense drew favorable reviews. The user community meeting takes 2022-05-03
• 
  Researchers develop quick and accurate infectious disease diagnosis kit technology SEOUL -- Researchers have developed a quick and accurate diagnosis sensor kit technology that can effectively detect infectious diseases in 50 minutes. The rapid diagnosis technology is almost as accurate as the polymerase chain reaction technique that can detect diseases including COVID-19 with an accuracy rate of about 95 percent in about six hours. Polymerase chain reaction test equipment that uses blood samples is very bulky and requires many hours to come up with results. Rapi 2022-05-03
• 
  Seoul to offer useful bicycle-related information through smartphone app SEOUL -- As an effort to popularize bicycles as the city's main transport medium, Seoul will offer bicycle lovers useful information such as the location of nearby bike repair shops and public bicycle parking spaces through a smartphone app. Currently, such information is accessible through Seoul districts' official websites. Seoul has adopted many different programs to encourage the use of bikes. In January 2022, the city partnered with bicycle trading platform operator Wr 2022-05-03
• 
  Seoul to adopt smart water meters for unmanned tap water usage monitoring SEOUL -- An internet-of-things-based smart water meter will be adopted by Seoul City to conveniently monitor and record tap water consumption at homes. Currently, government workers visit each house regularly to check and record water consumption regardless of weather conditions. Smart water meters are automated remote metering devices that measure water usage to enable accurate billing. As of December 2021, about 350 water metermen are deployed in the capital city to inspect some 2022-05-03
• 
  Hyundai Motor's first metamobility NFT collection to be offered through official NFT website SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai auto group will offer its first exclusive metamobility non-fungible token (NFT) collection, "Shooting Star," through its official NFT website. A full-fledged NFT project will be created within the concept of the group's metamobility universe. As the first automaker which has built a global NFT community, Hyundai Motor launched an official website on May 2, as well as dedicated channels on Twitter and Discord, a VoIP, instant messagin 2022-05-03
• 
  Samyang Foods builds smart factory to meet rising demands for Korean instant noodles SEOUL -- To meet growing global demands for South Korea's instant noodles known as ramyeon, domestic food company Samyang Foods has built a smart factory with an annual capacity of 600 million instant noodles. Ramyeons made through an automated process will be exported to more than 100 countries. According to data released by state-run tax organization Korea Customs Service, exports of ramyeon achieved the highest record of $71.5 million in March 2022, up 20 percent from a year 2022-05-03
• 
  Seoul to expand IoT-based monitoring device for prevention of lonely death SEOUL -- Seoul will distribute more internet of things-based "smart plugs" to vulnerable single households. The smart monitoring device will monitor the electricity consumption of home appliances and notify human caregivers if the energy usage is too low. According to data released by the national statistics office in 2021, the number of South Korea's single-person households reached 6.64 million in 2020, accounting for 31.7 percent of total households. Some 50 perce 2022-05-02
• 
  Lego-themed amusement park ready for grand opening in S. Korea SEOUL -- The world's 10th Lego-themed amusement park is ready for its grand opening in South Korea, with all opening-day tickets sold out in advance, 11 years after developers launched the idea of turning a lake island into a tourist attraction with full support from local governments. Construction has been delayed due to opposition from civic groups and disputes over how to finance it. The Legoland park in Chuncheon some 75 kilometers (46.6 miles) northeast of Seoul is to off 2022-05-02
• 
  Naver's webtoon service attracts 180 million monthly active users worldwide SEOUL -- The webtoon service wing of South Korea's web service giant Naver has seen on a roll by attracting some 180 million monthly active users worldwide in March 2022, up 291 percent from 46 million in May 2017. Webtoon, also known as webcomics, is an online cartoon service that is based on a free-to-read payment system. Customers can read comics freely but they have to pay for the latest issues or special content. According to global market research firm MarketResearch, 2022-05-02