LG Electronics on Thursday took the wraps off a new premium smartphone that touts brand-new features such as a second screen and dual cameras. The V10 is the first in a new line of Android smartphones from the Korean tech giant since LG’s mobile chief Cho Juno took office in December last year. The new phone comes as the company’s mobile business unit continues to suffer from sluggish sales in a crowded market dominated by Samsung and Apple.  “We can no longer focus only on the sales figures,” s

South Korea reminded Japan on Saturday of the need for “peace spirit” and transparency in implementing its new defense policy supported by the passage of controversial security bills by its parliament.“In deciding and implementing defense and security policy down the road, Japan will have do so with transparency and in the direction of contributing to regional peace and stability, while maintaining the spirit of the pacifist constitution,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.It was respondi

Japan’s parliament early Saturday approved contentious legislation that enhances the role of the country‘s military by loosening post-World War II constraints, after the ruling bloc defeated opposition parties’ last-ditch effort to block a vote.The upper house’s approval makes the legislation into law, reinterpreting Japan’s constitution and fundamentally changing the way it uses its military. Opponents say it violates Japan‘s constitution and puts the country at risk of becoming embroiled in U.

Diverse factors are considered when people choose a home. Not just house prices but also schools, hospitals and big supermarkets near the neighborhood. And then, there is another crucial factor in Korea -- a McDonald’s outlet. Workers sort out parcels at a warehouse in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, Friday, ahead of Chuseok next week. YonhapThe U.S. hamburger chain started a home delivery service here in 2007 -- when McDelivery was still in its infancy worldwide. Currently, some 320 out of its almost

Thanks to the unique “Ppalli Ppalli (hurry, hurry)” culture and one of the best logistics networks in the world, Korea’s delivery industry is thriving, with its range widening and services getting even more specific. From garments and books to groceries and even breast milk, nearly everything can be delivered for a bargain, and the time has reduced to nearly the blink of an eye, offering real-time services. Anything you wantThe most iconic item in the delivery market is food. Whether you call fo

Drones are widely expected to become a game-changer in the future delivery market. Tech firms like Amazon, Google and Alibaba have announced their intentions to use drones for delivery in recent years, and are working on pilot programs. German logistics giant DHL was the first to start a regular drone delivery service, under the project name Parcelcopter 2.0, operating since September last year.  Even though drones are all the rage globally, Korea -- the second nation to develop its own unmanned

People in Korea have long enjoyed convenient food delivery services, ordering in almost all types of food from burgers and fried chicken to jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) and pig’s trotters. Combined with mobile technology, the food delivery services are gaining further traction as more start-ups come up with applications catering to the different tastes of customers and attracting investments.Baedal Minjok, the largest food delivery app here with its monthly users standing at 2.7 million in J

A young man hitting the road on a high-speed motorcycle is the typical image of delivery drivers here, but recently Korean consumers’ growing demands for safer services has been changing the scene.  Park Jae-yeol, 69, delivers some 180 packages spread over three days each week to his apartment neighbors in Eungam-dong, Seoul, using an electric handcart. He is one of some 470 senior deliverymen, aged over 60, working for the country’s largest logistics firm CJ Korea Express.“For the firm, the ‘Si

Lentech Korea, a South Korean security system developer, aims to go global with its new anti-forgery technology called Seegram, which inscribes hidden micro patterns on products to prove their authenticity.The company said the coated patterns with a thickness of just 0.17 millimeter are never worn-out and impossible to duplicate. So the technology can be used widely not just on products, but also on passports and identification cards. Combining optical engineering and semiconductor technologies,

South Korean tech start-up FiveGT said Wednesday it has installed its face-recognition door lock, called Ufacekey, at a residential building in Gugi-dong, northern Seoul.Ufacekey includes a face-recognition robot that detects tens of thousands of face characteristics of a user. It takes less than one second to process the recognition. With an infrared camera embedded, the robot also recognizes faces in the dark. The system is compatible with smartphones so that users can monitor family members,

Samsung Group’s Daegu Center for Creative Economy and Innovation marked its first anniversary Tuesday. Starting with the Samsung start-up accelerator, the Korean government has opened up a total of 17 creative economy centers over the past year in partnership with top conglomerates with aims to nurture competitive venture firms spanning industries.  Samsung Electronics vice chairman and the group’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong has also showed affection toward the center as he has led the company’s

Hanwha Engineering and Construction said Sunday it had received a 240-billion won ($203 million) advance payment for its ongoing new-town building project in Iraq. In April this year, the construction unit of Hanwha Group won a 2.4-trillion won contract to build social infrastructure, including water management systems and roads, in Bismayah, a new satellite city of Baghdad.  The company said the advance payment shows the Iraqi government’s strong commitment to its postwar reconstruction despite

South Korea said Wednesday recovery crews raised a capsized fishing boat off the country‘s southern coast, but no bodies were found.The 9.77-ton Dolphin was found capsized on Sunday morning in waters north of the southern resort island of Jeju, killing 10 people. Three others were rescued by another fishing boat, but eight others were still unaccounted for.South Korea mobilized 25 Coast Guard vessels, four naval vessels and nine aircraft to comb the area to find the eight missing.The Korea Coast

The CEO of South Korea’s Hotel Shilla Lee Boo-jin, held a travel fair in Shanghai on Wednesday to attract Chinese tourists ahead of China’s National Day holiday. The growing popularity of Korean pop culture and beauty products were part of the sales pitch at the travel fair, which drew about 600 Chinese tourism executives and bloggers, Hotel Shilla officials said. Popular Korean boy band SHINee performed at the fair. South Korea‘s tourism industry has been reeling from the aftermath of the MERS

South Korea’s top tech giant Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it plans to begin mass production of the industry’s first 12-gigabit mobile dynamic random access memory chip, which boasts a sharp improvement in speed and capacity.Samsung Electronics said the 12Gb Low Power Double Data Rate 4, based on its 20-nanometer production technology, will boast speed that is 30 percent faster than the preceding 8Gb model, and consume 20 percent less energy.The full-fledged mass production of the latest mo

After reigning through the decline of the British empire and some of the worst scandals in royal history, Queen Elizabeth II is set to become Britain‘s longest-serving monarch Wednesday.With over 63 years on the throne, the queen is one of the most famous and respected women in the world and “embodies the history of the 20th Century,” according to historian Kate Williams.Britain`s Queen Elizabeth waves as she arrives at Edinburgh Waverley Station before boarding a train drawn by a steam locomoti

BERLIN -- The IFA, Europe’s largest electronics show, ended Wednesday in Berlin. Even though there were no big announcements, it was enough for visitors to get a hint of future home appliances. Korea’s Samsung and LG prevailed with pioneering products such as organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, TVs and smart home solutions. LG’s exhibition hall, painted in black for the dramatic expression of OLED’s perfect blackness, was one of the most crowded booths.  Chinese firms further strengthened the

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday denied that it was reducing some management support personnel due to its recent weakening earnings. “The personnel changes were part of our regular staff reshuffle,” said Lee Sang-hoon, president and head of the management support unit. “The relocation is aimed at dispatching more employees to experience field work.”Samsung plans to relocate some 10 percent of its management support personnel, including those in finance, human resources and public relations, to m

BERLIN -- LG Electronics said Saturday it would be expanding its presence in the European premium built-in appliances market after its success story in the U.S. over the past years. “We will enter the Russian market first. Even though the economy is struggling now, the market still has the full potential to explode,” said Cho Seong-jin, head of LG’s home appliance and air solution business division, at a news conference held on the sidelines of the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin. “We aim t