On Feb. 25, patients and their families were filling up seats and waiting in the main lobby of Konkuk University Medical Center in Seoul.Those who could not find a chair either had to stand at the back or find a spot on the second floor.They were not there waiting to be treated at the hospital, but to take in a classical music performance by a special ensemble organized by Olympus Korea, the Korean company of the global camera and medical device maker.Classical music has been known to be highly

Korean consumers will be able to enjoy faster communication services abroad, not only in Japan but also in China as KT Corp., one of the country’s leading mobile carriers, has launched Long Term Evolution cross-border roaming services in joint efforts with China Mobile.KT said Thursday that the company and China Mobile, China’s biggest mobile operator, have jointly commercialized their data roaming services by integrating their LTE networks ― the first time two countries have done so.KT, which u

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics is expected to start anew this week as it relocates its headquarters to southern Seoul.The company, which was acquired by Dongbu Group a year ago, will move from Myeong-dong into the group’s headquarters this Friday in Gangnam, where other domestic tech heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are located.A Dongbu Daewoo Electronics official said, however, that it would be the “same business” as usual for the company, despite media reports that the relocati

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest television maker, introduced the world’s first curved ultrahigh-definition TV in Seoul on Thursday.The new TV, which is curved at a radius of 4.2 meters, features clearer resolution and higher color saturation, and a panoramic view that offers consumers the feel of an “IMAX” experience. It hopes not only to maintain its global TV leadership with its UHD TVs, but also seeks to widen the technology and market gap with fast follower China, and shorten it wit

The conflict between the broadcasting and telecom industries over the lucrative 700 megahertz spectrum band continues to escalate with no progress in sight.Not only has the contentious issue further divided the industries that should seek to collaborate in the era of technological convergence, but also pulled apart the involved parties such as government agencies and business associations.The end of analogue broadcasting in 2012, which made the band of frequencies ranging from 698 MHz to 806 MHz

Olympus, a Japan-based technology company involved in making endoscopy devices, on Monday unveiled a pair of new hybrid medical instruments that would benefit both the doctors who perform surgeries and the patients undergoing them.The Thunderbeat is an instrument that allows simultaneous tissue cutting and blood vessel sealing. It is the world’s first surgical instrument that integrates an ultrasonic system for tissue cutting and dissection with the electrosurgical technology of bipolar vessel s

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics is moving to liquidate its manufacturing plant in Spain as a part of its efforts to boost and realign its production concentration in Korea, China and Mexico, a company official said.The planned sell-off, which was “under consideration for some time,” is in part due to high labor costs in the region. Also, the latest debt crisis that affected the eurozone including Spain had made it move forward with the plan, the official said.Daewoo Electronics’ Spain manufacturing pl

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics is moving to liquidate its assets such as land in Spain, where it used to operate a manufacturing plant, the company said.This was in line with its plan to boost and realign its production concentration in Korea, China and Mexico, a company official said.The planned sell-off was “under consideration for some time,” the official said.Daewoo Electronics’ Spain manufacturing plant was built in 1998 with a capacity to produce 600,000 refrigerator units for Europe and elsewh

President Park Geun-hye said Friday that the country’s push to reform debt-ridden public firms should first focus on making “visible” progress at larger institutions as they are responsible for more than 80 percent of the total debts at public organizations.The remark marked the second time in less than a week that Park has talked about the need for public sector reform after she warned Monday of stern responses to any labor attempts to derail the campaign. This shows how committed she is to the

SK Chemicals, a listed Korean chemical materials company, is seeking to boost its super engineering plastic materials business for automobiles.The company said on Thursday that it is in talks with Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, as well as some European automakers to supply polyphenylene sulfide.When asked whether SK Chemicals is engaging German carmakers such as BMW, a company official said it is too early to disclose this since it is in the “pre-marketing stage.”Hyundai and Kia are still testing

Nexon Korea said on Thursday that it has appointed Park Ji-won as its new chief executive.Park’s predecessor Min Seo, who has been with the game developer since 1997, is expected to serve as the company’s advisor after a vacation.Min has been credited for increasing Nexon Korea’s sales by threefold since he took the helm in 2009, releasing blockbuster games such as “Maple Story” and “Sudden Attack,” the company noted.The appointment of new CEO Park will be finalized at its shareholders’ meeting

KT Corp. said on Wednesday that together with the National Police Agency it plans to export its IT security system to Angola. This marks the first inroads for the telecom company into Angola, where KT, based on the technology of Korea’s police command and control systems, hopes to offer assistance in establishing security infrastructure. For its part, the Korean police will support the Angolan police authority by providing it with administrative and operational know-how on smart security systems

Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee is expected to receive 107.9 billion won ($100 million) worth of dividends this year to mark the fourth consecutive year that he received dividends of over 100 billion won from Samsung’s subsidiaries, according to Chaebul.com, an information provider on large businesses.This year’s figures reflect a 4.4 percent increase from the 103.4 billion Lee received in 2013. The group’s electronic flagship will pay 71.5 billion won to Lee this year, the highest among Sams

[Reporter's Column] Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. This is what most tech-savvy Koreans think when Google comes to mind.It may be big overseas where it spends billions of dollars to invest in and acquire start-ups. But the global search giant is relatively a “small kid on the block” in Korea, the playground of Naver and Daum.This is why, for some observers, it seemed fair when Korea‘s communications regulator recently slapped Google with a fine of just 210 million won ($196,000).It m

Sony’s planned restructuring of its key television business will allow Chinese flat-panel TV makers to buy some time to catch up to Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, analysts and industry sources said.Japan’s biggest electronics company, which led in the analog age with innovative consumer products such as the Walkman and Discman, announced last week that it would spin off its ailing TV unit and sell off the PC business.The move comes after years of steep losses, and Sony is now seeking to

A controversy is heating up surrounding claims that Samsung demanded athletes to cover up their non-Samsung electronic products such as Apple’s iPhones during the Sochi Winter Olympics.Samsung, a major Olympic sponsor, has allegedly set a condition for athletes receiving gift bags with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 smartphones: to physically hide all Apple’s logos if they are using products such as iPhones during the opening ceremony of the games.Details of the clamp-down, which is said to require tha

New media has ushered in a new era where anyone can produce and broadcast content, and become a star instantly.Easier access to the Internet, high-quality cameras and editing software have made video production and distribution simple, allowing platforms such as Google’s YouTube and Korea-based AfreecaTV to gain ground over traditional media.The two share similarities as video-sharing sites and have proven to be effective in marketing brands and stars, as seen from Korean rapper Psy’s “Gangnam S

We talk a lot about corporate culture, but it’s worth dwelling on how Korea’s dominant corporate structure has affected the arts and the ability of Korea’s artists to succeed. The success of Korea’s conglomerates in recent years hasn’t been matched by other parts of the economy. Just two companies ― Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group ― generated over 30 percent of Korea’s operating profits in the fourth quarter. That’s a tribute to those companies’ innovations and hard work. But surely Korea

LG Uplus was always the smallest and branded the worst telecommunication service provider that stood in the shadows of SK Telecom and KT.Feature phones carried by LG Uplus did not work especially in provincial areas, and its fiber optic broadband was weak compared to its rivals, leading many a consumer to shun its services.Just when it was struggling to find the next big thing that could help the company surpass the formidable No. 2 KT, if not SKT, LG Uplus headed by CEO Lee Sang-chul pounced on