South Korean telecommunications firm KT announced Wednesday that the company has teamed up with Posco and Mystech to develop smart urban street furniture. Under the partnership signed Wednesday, the three Korean firms plan to introduce its smart street furniture system to smart cities that the local governments will introduce down the road. In the development phase, KT will provide its Internet of Things technologies. Posco will offer its steel materials, while local street furniture maker M

Line Corp. announced Tuesday that the company has launched messenger-based banking platform Line BK in Thailand, together with one of the largest banks in the nation. The platform will be operated by joint venture Kasikorn Line, forged by Line Corporation’s subsidiary Line Financial Asia and Thai bank Kasikornbank’s subsidiary Kasikorn Vision Company Limited. Line BK is Line Corporation’s first-ever banking service that allows messenger users to easily transfer money, manag

SK Telecom, one of South Korea‘s leading telecommunications firms, announced Tuesday that the company would begin the global expansion of its virtual and augmented reality service, starting with Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, SKT has partnered with Hong Kong‘s top telecommunications firm PCCW Group, the company announced during an online conference held Tuesday. The two firms will invest in creating AR and VR content too, which will be available via SKT’s virtual and augmented rea

SK Broadband will construct a renewable energy-powered hyperscale data center and a startup cluster in the Saemangeum area in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, according to the company Monday. SK Broadband planns to develop the Saemangeum area into Northeast Asia’s data center hub, together with SK group’s energy affiliate SK E&S. “South Korea has optimal conditions to emerge as the region‘s data center hub with its geographical advantage,“ SK Broadband said.

S-Oil announced Monday that the company would secure certified emission reductions by helping a local startup specializing in developing solutions designed to improve access to safe water in developing countries. S-Oil will purchase certified emission reductions of around 13,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide by investing in Glory & Tech, the South Korean firm that is currently providing water solutions to foreign nations including Bangladesh. S-Oil said the latest decision is part of the

LG Electronics has introduced a teaser video on its official website and its YouTube channel, in which the company hinted at a new collection of home appliances it would roll out Wednesday. In the 15-second video, the company showed silhouettes of different types of home appliances, including laundry machines, dishwashers and the company‘s signature steam closet. The new home appliances from LG Electronics are expected to come in refreshed designs and colors, according to the industry s

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, announced Friday that the company has secured 140 billion won of new deals from overseas companies. The Korean shipbuilder plans to deliver a 40,000 cubic-meter liquid petroleum gas carrier to a Singaporean firm and two product carriers to its Liberian contractor, starting in March, 2022. The new ships by Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering are able to control emissio

KT announced Friday that the company has partnered with a Korean firm to develop AI-powered remote health care services. HealthHub, KT‘s new partner company, specializes in facilitating remote analysis of clinical images and videos. HealthHub has partnerships with some 1,200 medical institutions, and currently holds a market share of about 60 percent. KT and HealthHub have agreed to combine their technologies to develop enhanced remote medical solutions, KT said. The telecommunication

SK Telecom announced Friday that the company would spin off its mobility platform and start a new joint venture with US ride-hailing company Uber Technologies. SKT plans to spin off the unit by Dec. 29, according to the regulatory filing. The company’s shareholders would vote on the plan at a general meeting scheduled on Nov. 26. In the spinoff, tentatively named T map Mobility, Uber will invest around $50 million, according to the telecommunications firm. The South Korean telecommunic

The Korea Forest Service will host the 15th World Forestry Congress at Coex in Seoul for five days from May 24 to 28 next year, under the theme of “Building a green, healthy and resilient future with forests.” It is the first time in 40-some years for the congress to take place in the Asia-Pacific region. Indonesia was the last Asian country to bring the international conference to the Asian region in 1978. The WFC is the world’s largest conference on forestry, where stake

LG CNS has rolled out an online platform that provides artificial intelligence services, through which users can select AI services and pay based on the level of use, the company said Thursday. The new platform by LG CNS includes 10 different types of AI engines that can process both verbal and visual information. The company’s computer vision service, for instance allows manufacturers to detect potential defects in their production lines. LG Chem is currently using the computer vision

Starbucks Coffee Korea is accepting applications for the second round of its program to support people in their 40s or older who are looking for opportunities to reopen their stores. Starbucks Coffee Korea‘s support program is a joint project with the Ministry of Startups and SMEs and the Small Enterprise And Market Service, dedicated to supporting troubled small business owners who have recently closed their businesses. Applicants accepted to the program will go through 16 hours of b

LS Cable & System Asia announced Tuesday that the company‘s operating profit in the third quarter recovered from that of the previous quarter, jumping by 827 percent. The South Korean company’s operating profit in the third quarter reached 5.1 billion won ($4.4 million), while sales marked 145.9 billion won. Compared to the same three-month period last year, the company‘s operating profit decreased by 20 percent, when the sales increased by 6 percent, according to the co

  South Korean mobile messenger giant Kakao has officially launched live commerce service “Kakao Shopping Live“ on its messenger application, the company announced Monday. The new service embedded in KakaoTalk allows sellers to promote their products via live streaming on the messenger application. Customers could directly engage with vendors through the livestream and make purchases on the messenger, the company explained. Kakao said the company plans to air at least one li

SK Telecom, South Korea‘s top mobile carrier, has launched an artificial intelligence-powered voice call application, the company announced Monday. The company’s new voice call application has integrated the company‘s existing voice-activated assistant Nugu, which was previously used in its AI speaker of the same name. SKT’s new application will allows its 1.2 monthly active users to use a wide range of features powered by the telecommunications firm’s AI engine

Around 18.5 percent of South Korea’s total export volume last year was from foreign-invested firms, according to a Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency report Sunday. The export volume generated by firms with foreign investment reached $100 billion last year, while the nation’s total exports marked $542 billion, according to KOTRA’s report, which surveyed 14,000 local trading firms. The number of local firms with foreign capital reached 5,800 as of last year, the report

BMW Korea announced Wednesday that the company would soon launch a blockchain-powered reward program called BMW Vantage in South Korea. The reward program is the company’s new membership scheme that will allow customers to collect reward points and use them to pay or get discounts on services that the program offers. Korea will be the first country to launch the new reward platform before rolling it out globally, BMW Korea said. The automaker’s office here is currently running a

The number of 5G network users who returned to 4G network services has surpassed half a million, according to data released by a local lawmaker, Wednesday. The figure -- 562,656 users who downgraded from their 5G subscriptions -- accounts for 6.5 percent of the total 5G network subscribers in South Korea, according to the report by Rep. Hong Jung-min, who belongs to the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee at the National Assembly. The number of 5G network users as of end-

South Korea’s first smart city project, involving an area of 2,743,000 square meters in Sejong, is expected to take shape soon as local firms have recently joined the bidding competition. Other smart city projects, including one in Busan, are expected to follow as well. Parties that placed bids include a group led by LG CNS and KT-Hyundai Motor consortiums, according to sources familiar with the pilot smart city project. The successful bidder will work on this 2.5 trillion won ($2.1 bil

Google said Tuesday that the company is updating its billing policies to require app developers distributing software through Google Play Store to use its own in-app payment system. All developers who are already distributing their software will have to use Google Play Store’s in-app purchase system instead of third-party payment systems, starting in October next yaer. The billing system charges a 30 percent fee to app developers. As for developers newly launching their applications