Nam Byung-ho, former general director of KT’s synergy development unit, took office as the head of KT Capital Co. on Wednesday.An affiliate capital firm of KT Group, KT Capital said that Nam was selected in recognition of his rich experience as a finance specialist. A Seoul National University graduate, Nam has served in the public sector since 1994, and built his career in major finance-related government agencies, including the Fair Trade Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and the F

Global tech titans are expected to stage a fierce competition for the dominant operating system for smart devices this year, as Samsung and Microsoft seek to reenter the market with “Tizen” and “Windows 8,” respectively, and Apple and Google are expected to bring forward the launch dates for new products. The world’s bestselling smartphone maker Samsung will launch smartphones with the new operating system “Tizen” in January in Japan, a local report said, citing Samsung officials. OS giant Intel

Packaging company BossPack Co. has been selected as next year’s winner of the WorldStar Packaging Award, presented by the World Packaging Organization, for inventing unique water-absorbing package film, the company said on Thursday. To be presented in May at an award ceremony in Australia, the 2013 WorldStar Packaging Award is conferred to globally competing firms that demonstrated innovative packing technologies in seven sectors: electronics, household, pharmaceutical and medical, health and be

Vacuum cleaners that can both dust and “wash” the floor have been gaining popularity in online stores, offline home appliance shops and on TV home shopping channels. Demand for hydro vacuum cleaners is ever rising, said chief executive Park Myung-duk of Chung Lim Aqua Co., a manufacturer specializing in cleaning equipment and agents. “The vacuum cleaner market operates on one of the fastest-changing trends both at home and overseas,” Park emphasized. In less than a decade, the global trend of va

Sony Corp. is in talks to sell its battery business to Japan’s state-backed investment fund, said a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations. Innovation Network Corp. of Japan hasn’t made an offer for the acquisition, said the person, who declined to be identified as the information isn’t public. Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world’s largest contract maker of electronics, has also shown interest in the buyout, the Nikkei newspaper reported Dec. 22. Sony’s Chief Executive O

The monthly fee for freely listening to music online is expected to more than double next year.The nation’s largest online music service portal Melon has decided to raise its current 3,000 won monthly plan, which provides unlimited access to listen to its music, to 6,000 won, sources said. The price of Melon’s monthly plan to download up to 150 songs will also rise, from 9,000 won to 15,000 won, according to the sources. LOEN Entertainment Inc., which runs Melon, said on Tuesday that the new rat

Renowned for its high standard of attentive service, Air France’s business class has evolved along with customers’ changing taste to present the art of French living. From its cabin amenities to its exquisite meal service, the airline company stresses refinement, modernity and comfort in its services. Operating more than 1,500 flights per day, the French carrier launched its new business class seats in 2011 that is now available on flights to more than 25 destinations. Spacious, comfortable and

The Korea Communications Commission decided Monday to slap business suspension penalties and fines on the nation’s three telecoms for having offered excessive subsidies to attract customers.The state telecom regulator agreed on Monday during a general meeting to penalize the three mobile carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― which gave out more financial subsidies to the customers than entitled by the law, despite the regulator’s continued warnings.Starting from Jan. 7, the business ban will

Kakao, the developer of mobile messenger app “Kakao Talk,” said Sunday that its now 70 million users spend almost triple the time using the app on average as they did five months ago. The average weekly use of Kakao Talk reached 302 minutes, nearly triple the 107 minutes of the first week of July. In other words, Kakao Talk users run the app for about 43 minutes every day on average. The phenomenon indicates that existing Kakao Talk users rely heavily on the app to send mobile messages, Kakao sa

TV home shopping has basked in a sales surge in the nation’s retail industry thanks to its appeal to many Korean shopaholics with its price competitiveness and entertainment quality. The beginning of this prosperous industry and culture followed in the steps of the Western home shopping advertisements that are more informative than entertaining. Even the pioneer show hosts of major Korean home shopping channels still say that, back then, they were not sure why home shoppers would order clothes w

Mobile carrier KT said Thursday that it has signed an agreement with the National Information Society Agency to join a development consulting project to build a state-run National Data Center in Brunei.Through the project, Brunei will be able to establish an information center to hold and process industrial data. The total consulting expenses for building the NDC in the Southeast Asian state amount to about 2.8 billion won ($2.6 million), the mobile carrier said. KT added that the consulting pro

Home shopping company Hyundai Hmall said on Tuesday that it was slapped with a tax penalty from the National Tax Service for underpayment of sales tax. The fine is worth about 54.2 billion won ($50.5 million), which accounts for about 6.5 percent of the company’s 832.4 billion won in capital. The state-run tax agency imposed the penalty on the company for not following its sales commission tax policy, having paid less tax than other major home shopping firms for the last five years.Hyundai Hmall

Electronics companies are eyeing the Christmas shopping season to boost year-end sales. Home electronics firms suggest that an “easy and cozy, yet romantic Christmas” is the new trend for this year’s marketing strategies. People are turning to stylish but performance-oriented items that can make them feel the Christmas atmosphere. As Bang & Olufsen, a high-end TV and musical equipment manufacturer, put it, “Strolling along a street with Christmas decorations can make you feel merry, but having b

One day ahead of Wednesday’s presidential election, the nation’s three major mobile carriers stepped up intensive mobile traffic control on Tuesday to prevent possible data traffic surges and cyberterrorism. KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus expect that mobile traffic may be overloaded on election day, as the use of mobile social networking services will likely soar as people use smartphones to check out real-time ballot counts and election results.Their election protection plans include expanding the

Homeplus chairman Lee Seung-han received “2012 Korea’s Excellent Business CEO Award” in a business conference hosted by the Korean Standard Association in Seoul on Tuesday. Lee was presented the award in recognition of his strengths as a business leader in quality management, adherence to shared growth, and supporting corporate social responsibilities, the retailer company said. Upon receiving the honor, Lee said that a corporation needed two things: a business vision based on growth and high ma

Mobile carrier KT rolled out “olleh biz talk,” a messenger program specialized for corporate use, on Monday. Combining characteristics of a traditional messenger program and smartphone text-messaging, olleh biz talk provides services including chat, message, fax, phone call, audio and photo message, and group message. Unlike traditional messenger programs, olleh biz talk is accessible both through computers and mobile phones. The contact lists are organized by the company’s structure.The messeng

Korea Exchange Bank opened a branch in Abu Dhabi, UAE, last week, the first time a Korean financial firm has done so in the Middle Eastern city.The bank said in a statement that the Abu Dhabi branch was an extension of the overseas marketing plans of KEB president and CEO Yun Yong-ro. “KEB Abu Dhabi is expected to play a key role in developing the economy of the UAE and supporting Korean companies to advance into countries with great potential such as (those in) Africa,” said Yun during a speech

The International Telecoms Union, the United Nations’ agency for information and communications technology, failed to draw consensus on bringing each country’s Internet regulations under the international community’s control. As Internet traffic has far surpassed telephone use, regulatory powers ― including taxation of cross-border cyber traffic, censorship and network neutrality ― have become key issues.The ITU hosted this year’s World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai bet

KT announced Thursday that its chairman Lee Suk-chae would join the 2013-2014 GSMA Board, an association of international mobile operator firms. Scheduled to serve on the 25-member board for two years, Lee plans to strengthen communications among the CEOs of global mobile telecommunications companies and play an active role in the board’s decision making, KT said. South Korean members of the current 2011-2012 GSMA Board include KT president Pyo Hyun-myung and SK Telecom president Ha Sung-min. Ha

The number of smart device users in their 50s and 60s rapidly increased in 2012 from last year, data showed Thursday.According to research by the Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Internet Security Agency conducted between July 1 and Sept. 15 on some 73,000 participants, the number of owners of smart devices in their 50s increased nearly fivefold in just one year, from 9.5 percent in 2011 to 46.8 percent in 2012. Smart-device users in their 60s steeply increased over the same period