The way mobile messenger Kakao Talk has changed how people in Korea communicate is undeniable.Many have embraced the messenger service as a new and much cheaper means of dialogue, and the numbers are the proof of its popularity, with 120 million subscribers worldwide and almost 35 million domestic users. Based on this success, Kakao Corp., the operator of the messenger service, appeared to be ready to take the next big step. “We’re seeking higher levels of coprosperity with our partners by utili

Samsung Research America, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new research and development center in Mountain View, California, on Wednesday. Its 8.5-acre campus will have two six-story buildings, which take up approximately 385,000 square feet, and two multistory parking lots. “Our new state-of-the-art R&D center will provide an outstanding environment to support our plans for strategic growth and attracting the very best employees,” said SRA president Da

A senior Korean software developer working for Google pledged to help develop a search engine that provides better and accurate results.“We’ll try to develop Google’s search system so that it can become a more advanced computing system to better meet the needs of the users,” said Kim Young-jin, a senior software engineer at the Internet giant, who participated in a developers conference held by Korean Web portal service provider Naver in Seoul on Tuesday. In Korea, Naver is the dominant search e

Sitting at the console of robotic surgery system da Vinci S at the Robot Training Center of Yonsei University Health System, urologist Rha Koon-ho was performing prostate removal surgery.Peering into a viewer showing a 3-D image of the prostate and managing a controller with each hand, Rha remotely maneuvered tiny robotic arms mounted with surgical scissors and a pincer to cut away the prostate. “Performing robot surgery is now like driving a car or playing a video game,” said Rha after wrapping

Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly held a meeting with LG electronics executives late last week to discuss expanding sales channels for LG handsets and its new consumer electronics lineups for the next year in the U.S., sources said on Friday.LG Electronics’ head of Home Entertainment Kwon Hee-won and other top officials were among the participants. “The meeting was about the products that will be introduced in the U.S. market next year,” the sources said. Increasing the sales channels for LG’s latest han

Cook Medical is not hesitant about competing with Samsung, which runs medical equipment maker Samsung Medison and hospitals in Korea, believing that smaller companies with firmer roots in the business have a better chance of success than those with no medical business history. “When it comes to Samsung, which is getting into the medical device market, the firm is another competitor. We will adapt and I am very confident about competing (with Samsung) because of our advanced technology and becaus

Science, ICT and Future Planning Minister Choi Mun-kee and eBay CEO John Donahoe discussed ways to grow the creative economy through online commerce during their meeting on Tuesday, officials said.During the meeting in Seoul, Minister Choi asked for the e-commerce giant‘s efforts to support and protect online merchants and consumers, the officials said.They said Donahoe expressed his support for government measures including the expansion of cross border trade enabling Korean merchants to sell t

LG Chem announced the mass production of a series of new batteries Tuesday ― stepped, curved and cable-type ― heralding the imminent arrival of wearable smart gadgets with unique designs including curved and bendable smartphones and smart necklaces. The announcement is expected to spark renewed competition between Samsung and LG, as the former has been saying it may release the “Galaxy Round,” a curved smartphone that will be fitted with flexible AMOLED displays from Samsung Display, as early as

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest electronics maker, is expected to record its highest-ever operating profit in the third quarter of this year, according to financial analysts on Thursday. The market consensus for Samsung’s operating profit released on Tuesday by financial information institute FnGuide prior to the release of the earnings guidance on Friday was 9.9 trillion won ($9.2 billion), up from 9.5 trillion won in the previous quarter. The FnGuide report estimated that Samsung woul

Refrigerators and clothing dryers made by Samsung Electronics were picked as the best products of the year on Thursday by Consumer Reports, a U.S. monthly home-appliance magazine.According to the magazine’s list of the best products of 2013, the Korean firm’s double-door refrigerator outperformed other products in such categories as noise, energy efficiency, and convenience. Its French-door refrigerator was recognized for its twin-cooling system in which the freezer and refrigerating space have

A general manager of IBM’s security business division warned that attacks would be more malicious and sophisticated than in the past, urging companies to be prepared and vigilant. “There will always be attackers, especially when all of those technologies including cloud and mobile newly emerge,” said Brendan Hannigan, general manager of IBM’s security systems division, at a meeting with reporters in Seoul on Tuesday. “IBM’s aim is to address the need for new approaches to secure businesses.”Ther

Merck KGaA, a leading chemical and pharmaceutical company, held its Displaying Futures Symposium in Seoul on Wednesday under the theme of “ubiquitous interaction.”The annual event was held in Japan and Taiwan in 2011 and 2012, respectively. “The conference provides a chance for all participants to rethink the interaction between people and displays,” said Walter Galinat, president of performance materials of the German firm, at a press meeting in the morning prior to the symposium. “With the Dis

A series of patent disputes between the world’s two leading display manufacturers came to the end as Samsung Display and LG Display decided to drop all the related lawsuits early this week. Analysts said the two giants shared the view that their long legal disputes would undermine their competitiveness in the ever-fierce competitive market. They said the sense of crisis in the display market, which is suffering from a prolonged period of weakness, might have prompted them to bury the hatchet. Ac

Science, ICT and Future Planning Minister Choi Mun-kee expressed skepticism about the possibility of an early opening of the so-called M&A exchange for start-ups and small and medium companies in the country.“I am well aware of the importance of the M&A market, but it is too early to set up an M&A exchange in Korea,” Choi said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Herald.“The local M&A market appears to be not yet mature enough to accommodate such an exchange. Confidentiality and reliability

Park Byeong-yeop, founder and vice chairman of Korea’s third-largest mobile device maker Pantech Corp., decided to leave the firm to take responsibility for sluggish business.He is the latest casualty among a list of so-called legendary businessmen after Woongjin Group founder Yoon Seok-keum and STX Group founder Kang Duk-soo, who had once garnered respect from office workers for their dramatic success stories.Starting his career as a salesperson at telecommunications device maker Maxon Electron

Samsung Electronics held global media events for its flagship phablet Galaxy Note 3 and smart watch Galaxy Gear prior to the official worldwide release Wednesday. The electronics giant said it held a media event in Beijing Monday as part of Samsung’s global release of the new gadgets. Some Chinese news outlets predicted the success of the new Galaxy phablet, with one saying, “The new Galaxy lineups are all set to take on the Chinese market with a solid fan base of 8 million users.”Monday’s event

LG Electronics said Tuesday that it won for the first time a “water footprint” certification from an international product safety testing organization. The Korean electronics firm said its two washing machines WM8000HVA and WM8000HWA received the certification from Underwriters Laboratories, a safety consulting and certification company based in the United States. The recognition came after the firm completed a similar energy efficiency test of its washing machine lineup with Det Norske Veritas,

About 70 percent of Korean companies consider applicants’ foreign language skills when they recruit new employees, according to a survey released on Monday. The companies also responded that they would prefer those who have a good command of English among foreign languages.The online job portal Saramin polled 362 people dealing with personnel management for private companies. The survey showed that 251 of the participants said foreign language skills help job seekers in getting a job. In additio

Korean mobile carrier KT chairman Lee Suk-chae stressed the importance of collaboration between governments and private firms to help developing nations improve their economies at the eighth meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development in New York on Saturday. “KT’s joint establishment of an LTE firm with the government of Rwanda will be an exemplary model available for developing nations that seek cooperation of private firms for social and economic development,” Lee said in a sp

Apple’s new iPhones released last Friday are already making waves around the world, with many wondering if a new Apple frenzy will sweep the Korean market once again. One thing that has urprised market experts and others is that the new 64-bit A7 processor for the high-end iPhone 5S is reportedly manufactured by Samsung Electronics.“Apple and Samsung have maintained a business relationship for a long time since the release of the first iPhone, and the relations will be solid for a while if the m