Naver’s annual sales surpassed the 6 trillion won ($5.06 billion) mark for the first time in 2019, but its operating profit decreased due to the sluggish performance of Line and related platforms, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. The South Korean internet giant’s annual sales totaled 6.59 trillion won, marking an 18 percent increase. The figure is four times greater than that of 2015, 3.25 trillion won. However, Naver’s operating profit fell to 710 billion won

The Mobile World Congress 2020 will proceed as planned, according to a statement released by London-based GSMA on Tuesday local time. The event will kick off in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 24-27. The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with almost 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem. It organizes MWC events annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai. The announcement comes amid mounting concerns over the novel coronavirus

SK Group is fast catching up with South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group, even as Samsung Group continued to maintain the top spot last year with a sizable lead over them, according to a report on Wednesday. Samsung Group has remained the largest conglomerate in terms of fair value, revenue, operating profit and operating margin for the past five years, local corporate research center Korea CXO Institute said. Fair value represents the estimated worth of various

The Korea Communications Commission is stepping up its efforts to monitor online posts concerning the new Wuhan coronavirus, to counter rapidly spreading falsehoods that could mislead the public.  The agency said late Monday that it was focusing on preventing false information about the virus from spreading online. The existence of a fourth coronavirus patient has been confirmed in South Korea, with 15 suspected cases under investigation. KCC Chairman Han Sang-hyuk visited local broadca

South Korea’s 5G equipment providers could grow in the near future, as the demand for network infrastructure is anticipated to increase worldwide at a steady pace, according to local financial reports. The earnings of 5G equipment companies here could regain momentum down the road as global telecom firms seek to raise their capital expenditure on 5G infrastructure.  The improved prospects of Samsung Electronics, the major provider of telecom equipment here, will also lead to earnin

The webcomic unit of Korea’s largest internet portal operator Naver is ramping up efforts to attract more foreign users, launching services in French and Spanish recently. Naver Webtoon, also known as Line Webtoon in the United States, is a Korean web comic platform.  The online cartoon service is increasing efforts to increase its foothold in the global market. The company added Spanish on Nov. 22 and French on Dec. 19, while continuing its existing service in Engl

LG Hausys is increasing its presence in North America by operating its third engineered stone production line at a plant there. The South Korean construction and interior materials company is also introducing its new product lineup at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show 2020 in Las Vegas, which runs through Thursday. At the show, the company has introduced 20 artificial marble products, it said in a statement released Tuesday. “The company this year will try to attend exhibits and events,

South Korea’s ICT Ministry on Tuesday gave its thumbs up to the merger of SK Broadband and T-broad, the second-largest cable TV operator here. The ministry has also listed conditions aimed at minimizing side effects from new service providers that could drive out relatively small-sized media businesses across the country. The government has been cautious over the merger as it is the first case between nationwide IPTV operator and a local cable system operator.The conditions include sp

SK Telecom said Tuesday it has reached a deal with Microsoft to expand the service of 5G-based cloud gaming platform Project xCloud here. The two firms hope to increase the number of games available on the platform. An alpha test is planned before the official launch -- the beta test was only opened to a select few.In September, SKT became an exclusive operating partner of Microsoft’s cloud gaming service in Korea. Since the company started the test run in October, the mobile carrier

The Korea Communications Commission on Monday conditionally approved a merger between SK Telecom’s pay TV unit, SK Broadband, and T-broad, the country’s No. 2 cable TV operator. After its meeting on Monday, the KCC announced that it had approved the merger under 14 conditions and three suggestions, which will require the company to protect users’ rights and serve the public interest. The KCC will deliver the results of its review to the ICT Ministry, which is expected to issue

Red ginseng health supplement brand CheongKwanJang of Korea Ginseng Corp. said Monday it has collaborated with Spain’s renowned chocolate and nougat brand Vicens.The products, released last month, are the result of a partnership between the 120-year-old South Korean firm and Vicens -- with 250 years of tradition -- to introduce six different chocolate types featuring red ginseng. Vicens has been making chocolates and turrons (nougats) since its establishment in 1775. The latest collaborati

The Seoul High Court said it will take into account the effectiveness of a new internal compliance committee at Samsung Electronics in its ruling on Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong’s jail term, during the fourth hearing of Lee’s retrial on Friday.  The court said it will designate third-party experts to check on the implementation of compliance rules at Samsung, and only successful results will be considered in its decision on the length of imprisonment for Lee in the bribery case inv

Samsung Electronics’ de facto leader Lee Jae-yong on Friday appeared at the Seoul High Court with his lawyers to attend the fourth hearing of the retrial on Lee’s bribery scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye. Lee remained silent on questions asked by reporters on the scene. At the entrance to the Seoul High Court, a group of people from local labor unions demonstrated in support of more jail time for Lee. For this hearing, Samsung tried to bring CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyu

The Ministry of Science and ICT said fostering the industries of data, network and artificial intelligence will be a priority this year in its annual policy briefing to President Moon Jae-in on Thursday. This year, the ICT Ministry will control some 24 trillion won ($20.7 billion) for its research and development budget, an increase by about 18 percent from 2019, it said in the presentation held at Daedeok Innopolis, an R&D complex in Daejeon. The budget will be spent in sectors with growing

South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Wednesday that Netflix would make changes in their terms of use that are deemed unfair, including changing subscription plans and prices without consent, in accordance with instructions it made to the company. The company’s revised terms of use will take effect starting on Jan. 20. This is the first time the government has ordered such changes to be made by a global over-the-top streaming service.The Fair Trade Commission also signaled that it w

Ride-hailing platform Macaron Taxi’s operator KST Mobility said Wednesday it has received additional 5 billion won ($4.3 million) investment from NHN, capping the initial 18-billion-won investment required for its app-based service.  The two firms also agreed to collaborate on adding new services to the platform for user convenience, starting with NHN’s online payment system Payco.KST Mobility started its test run of the platform, titled “Series A,” in February last

The world’s biggest boy band from South Korea has teamed up with internationally acclaimed artists and curators to hold joint exhibitions around the globe. Titled “Connect, BTS,” the band’s latest project involved collaborating with artists and curators to showcase artworks that are in line with the boy band’s philosophy, which stresses on diversity and supports those who are marginalized. A total of 22 international artists have joined the event dire

Samsung announced Tuesday that it will acquire TeleWorld Solutions, a Virginia-based network service provider. TWS specializes in providing network designs, installations, testing and optimized solutions to mobile service and cable operators as well as original equipment manufacturers. With the latest deal with TWS, Samsung Electronics is expected to increase its presence in the network infrastructure market as an end-to-end service provider.The South Korean company has been supplying netwo

KT and the Samsung Medical Center announced on Tuesday that they have started an official test-run of 5G-powered medical solutions designed to enhance health care. During a press conference held Monday at the Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul, the two companies introduced several applications that make use of the 5G network throughout the hospital complex.The RAN-based 5G network at the tertiary hospital makes certain procedures possible at lower cost, when compared with the cost of

SK Telecom said Monday it has initiated a group of multinational mobile carriers to cooperate on the development of a pan-national 5G network environment in the Asia-Pacific region. The six entities joining the group -- titled Bridge Alliance -- include South Korea’s SKT, Singapore Telecommunications, Hong Kong Telecom, PCCW, Globe Telecom Philippines and Taiwan Mobile. The South Korean mobile carrier’s recent initiative comes as part of its efforts to take the lead in multiaccess ed