Players champion donates W100m to build youth center in North JeollaChoi Kyoung-ju, the first Asian to win the Players Championship earlier this month, offered to donate 100 million won ($92,353) to establish a youth support center in North Jeolla Province at an event in Jeju on Saturday.In a joint effort with SK Telecom, Choi’s donation will be used for establishing a “1318 Happy Zone” center for

SK Telecom plans to shut down its free wireless Internet services to subscribers of other mobile carriers starting from July, stoking discontent among smartphone users.The country’s largest mobile carrier said Thursday it would change its Wi-Fi operation policy and only open the service to subscribers of SKT beginning on July 1.“The measure has been drafted for our own customers to enjoy the servi

The Korea Association of Game Industry announced Friday that it seated Choi Kwan-ho, chief operating officer of Neowiz Games, as its chairman, filling in the position which was left vacant for three months.In a press conference held in southern Seoul, Choi said he plans to file a constitutional petition in protest of the government’s decision to implement the new “Cinderella law” later this year.T

Pantech SKY unveiled the world’s first Android-powered smartphone equipped with Qualcomm’s speedy 1.5 gigahertz dual core processor called Vega Racer on Thursday.The company said that its new smartphone with a 4.3-inch display screen would be available in four different colors and serviced by the country’s three telecom suppliers ― SK Telecom, KT Corp. and LG Uplus.“We attempted to upgrade the dua

NHN Corp., an Internet content service operator, announced Thursday it recorded 517.3 billion won ($4.76 million) in operating revenue and 168.5 billion won in operating profit for the first quarter, both figures profiting from an increase in search advertisements.The company, well-known for its search engine Naver and online game site Hangame, said its operating revenue and operating profit surge

Neowiz Games Corp., a Korean online game publisher, said Wednesday it reached 147.7 billion won ($136 million) in sales and 33.8 billion won in operating profit in the first quarter, breaking its quarterly record due to sharply rising overseas sales.The company, well-known for its game portal Pmang, expanded overseas sales by 141 percent ― taking up 48 percent of its overall sales ― compared to th

Company increases Korean sales target for this year to 80 billion wonWith a goal of selling 1 million printers in the Asia-Pacific region, Fuji Xerox Printers Korea plans on introducing its products to 100,000 people here this year.Hwang Yoo-chun, chief executive officer of the company, said that it has fixed its target at 100,000 printers in Korea alone, as well as 500,000 printers in China.“We’v

NCsoft Corp., the country’s second-biggest online game publisher, said Tuesday it posted 155.4 billion won ($142.23 million) in sales and 46.1 billion won in operating profit in the first quarter, both figures down from the same period last year.In its quarterly earnings report, the Seoul-based firm said that its sales and operating profit slipped 7 percent and 40 percent year-on-year, respectivel

The Korea Communications Commission unveiled support measures Monday for mobile virtual network operators so that they can release telecom services that are 20 percent cheaper than what is now available.The state telecom regulator said SK Telecom, the country’s top mobile carrier, will provide the MVNOs with mobile phones until June 2012.It also said SKT will also help the MVNOs, which plan to lau

The Korean branch of U.S.-based global social commerce powerhouse Groupon is facing growing criticism after it posted wrong information about displayed items and even sold products that it had not secured. Groupon Korea on May 2 canceled a “secret megadeal” two hours before the event launch, during which the company was expected to hand out 500,000 giftcons ― mobile gift coupons ― which would give

Korean Air, the country’s No. 1 air carrier, said Thursday that it will recruit an additional 500 flight attendants this month.The recruitment, which is on the largest scale ever, comes shortly after the company hired a total of 500 employees in February and March, company officials said.The air carrier also said that it will hire another group of 500 in the latter half of this year, which means 1

Recent research has found that more than three in 10 wireless gadget users own an electronic device that runs on Google’s Android mobile operating system, putting strong emphasis on its openness.According to a market research firm Strategy Analytics’ data, the Android OS garnered a 35.9 percent share in the global OS market, followed by Nokia’s Symbian and Apple’s iOS with 26.3 percent and 18.1 pe

40 billion won R&D plan to start with focus on boosting productivityLG Electronics said Thursday that it will invest 40 billion won ($36.86 million) in research and development with its subcontractors for the next five years as part of its mutual growth plan.In a meeting with about 200 subcontractors at its R&D Center in southern Seoul, the company’s vice chairman Koo Bon-joon said they were all i

Global ministerial meeting focuses on digital convergence, social networking servicesMinisters and vice ministers from 21 countries gathered in Seoul on Wednesday to share views about how innovative solutions and next-generation technologies could reshape people’s lives and offer new opportunities.“A smart society has come, which puts an emphasis on digitalization, mobility and two-way services wi

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee left for the International Olympic Committee’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday.PyeongChang, like all cities bidding to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, is to participate in an official technical briefing at the organization’s headquarters from May 18-19. Lee is one of the IOC’s 110 members. Lee was escorted by his son Lee Jae-yong, a preside

Samsung, LG, KT, SKT to feature gadgets, up-to-date communications technologiesThe 2011 World Information and Technology Show will take place in southern Seoul for four days beginning Wednesday, putting the focus on the new paradigm of multimedia and display.With the theme “Get IT Smart,” the show has prompted the participation of 500 firms, such as well-known local and overseas electronics makers

Samsung Electronics hired Cho Jun-hyung, a lawyer that defended the group in the independent counsel case over Samsung, as the flagship unit’s executive vice president earlier this month.Samsung Electronics confirmed Cho was employed to assist the company’s vice chairman Choi Gee-sung, according to a Samsung official. However, the official said Cho’s exact role at the company was undetermined at t

Korean telecom giant decides to sell its stake in Russian affiliate NTC for $346mKT Corp. said Friday that it posted 5.3 trillion won ($4.88 billion) in sales and 726.3 billion won in operating profit for this first quarter, up 6.1 percent and 61.7 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.In its quarterly report, the country’s biggest fixed-line service operator said the solid performance was mo

Samsung Electronics’ flagship smartphone Galaxy S2 is creating its sales sensation in the local mobile industry as doubled compared to its previous model.The total number of units sold for the upgraded Galaxy S, serviced by the country’s three telecoms, surpassed 120,000 in only three days, according to industry sources.The figure sold by the nation’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom came to abou

SK Telecom said Tuesday that it will invest an additional 300 billion won ($280.12 million) in network establishment this year, raising the total sum to 2.3 trillion won, up from 1.8 trillion won last year.This year’s investment portfolio, which amounts to 17.3 percent of expected sales for this year, is the largest amount ever chipped in by the country’s biggest mobile carrier. The company invest