South Korean internet giant Naver said Wednesday that the company will display the user names and comment histories of users who post replies on news stories on its platform. The new online comment system will be in place Thursday. The change is intended to prevent abusive behavior online, the company explained. Naver’s anonymous comment system has often been criticized for allowing abusive and disparaging comments. Commenters’ user names are partially hidden, with only the first

Cass, the leading domestic beer brand produced by Oriental Brewery, has won the 2020 Korea Wine and Spirits Award for five consecutive years. In January this year, OB’s Cass won the top prize at 2020 Korea Brand Hall of Fame, presented by the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies, the company said Wednesday. Cass is OB’s flagship lager beer here first introduced in 1994. Its market share in the local beer market in 2019 reached 36 percent with 1.19 trillion won of sales, accor

South Korea’s exports to China have been showing signs of recovery in March, as the two nations reel from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, data from the government and the industry showed Tuesday. Korea’s daily exports to China for the period of March 1-10 reached $436 million, a 20.8 percent increase compared to the same period in February this year. Korea’s daily exports to China, however, was still 8.2 percent lower than that of the same period in last year at $47

Kakao founder and Chairman Kim Beom-su sold a building located in Seoul’s Yeoksam-dong in Gangnam-gu for 38.2 billion won ($31.2 million) last year, according to local reports Monday. The building was used as Kakao’s first headquarters. Kim purchased the building for 29 billion won in 2011 together with Chun Yang-hyun, executive chairman of Cocone. In 2013, Kim bought Chun’s share in the building for 17 billion won and became the sole owner. Kakao’s headquarters moved

South Korean internet giant Kakao has sold part of its stake in Hanjin KAL, having previously been expected to support Cho Won-tae in a family feud over the control of Hanjin Group, according to industry sources Monday. KaKao’s stake in Hanjin KAL, the holding entity of Hanjin Group, is now lower than 1 percent, down from a previous 2 percent, according to the sources. Kakao said that the sale of several stock items was a way to counter potential uncertainty in the market amid the coro

A total of 314 South Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and SK hynix, will hold shareholders meetings this week. The companies have rolled out measures to counter concerns over potential spread of the coronavirus at the meetings. Samsung Electronics’ annual shareholders meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at Suwon Convention Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, with around 2,000 seats available. Samsung Electronics previously asked shareholders to make extensiv

South Korea’s three largest mobile carriers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- announced on Thursday that they will minimize the number of call center employees who commute to their offices, after the packed working environment was found vulnerable to the viral infection. The decision came after some 90 people at a Seoul-based call center were tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday afternoon. SKT said it has currently allowed 1,500 call center employees -- about 25 percent of the w

Samsung Group’s seven-member compliance committee on Thursday announced three major agendas after its first meeting. The newly established committee addressed issues related to corporate succession, labor unions and communication with the local society. The committee said it will deliver detailed proposals to Samsung’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong, all Samsung affiliates and press outlets as soon as possible. Led by former Supreme Court Justice Kim Ji-hyung, the committee added

Samsung Electronics on Friday launched its flagship smartphone Galaxy S20 models in 20 nations, including the US, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam, Puerto Rico and others -- with plans to release them in 130 nations by end-March. The new smartphone model comes in three types: 6.2-inch Galaxy S20, 6.7-inch S20 Plus and the 6.9-inch S20 Ultra. All the three variants support 5G network and camera system that utilizes artificial intelligence technology and the company’s high-end image sensor. Ho

LG CNS said Thursday that its in-house unit Hempking -- launched in 2018 -- has been spun off after the success of its customs service system that utilizes artificial intelligence and robotic process automation technologies. The newly developed solution can reduce the time required for customs clearance. Instead of the five hours it takes for a single item cargo the time can be cut down to five minutes, according to the company. The AI-based computer program uses optical character reader to r

Kakao founder and Chairman Kim Beom-su has pledged to donate his stocks worth 2 billion won to help combat the nationwide spread of COVID-19, the firm said Wednesday. The company will also separately match the amount. Kim has decided to give 1,100 stocks, based on the day’s closing price, amounting to around 1.97 billion won. Details of where and how the donations will be delivered are yet to be announced. South Korea’s leading online company has been encouraging relief activit

유튜브가 콘텐츠 광고 가이드라인에 코로나 바이러스와 관련 예시를 최근 추가했다. 코로나 바이러스 관련 콘텐츠를 통한 불합리한 수익 활동에 대한 모니터링을 명시한 것이다. 업계 관계자에 따르면 코로나 바이러스 관련 예시를 명시한 것은 2월 중에 한 것으로 알려졌다. 유튜브가 적용하고 있는 ‘광고주 친화적인 콘텐츠 가이드라인’에 따르면, 보건 위기와 관련된 콘텐츠는 광고 게재에 적합하지 않을 수 있다. 일정 요건을 갖춘 크리에이터가 본인의 콘텐츠 앞에 광고를 올리고 수익화하려면 사전에 유튜브에 신청하고 동의를 구해야 하는데, 이 과정에서 광고가 제한되거나 배제될 수 있는 셈이다. 유튜브의 가이드라인은 ▷부적절한 언어 ▷폭력 ▷성인용 콘텐츠 ▷증오성 컨텐츠 그리고 ▷논란의 소지가 있는 문제 및 민감한 사건 등에 해당할 때 광고를 제한한다. 전 세계 보건 위기 관련 콘텐츠는 ‘논란의 소지가 있는 문제 및 민감한 사건’에 해당된다. &lsq

Samsung SDS has signed a memorandum of understanding with Credorax, an Israel-based fintech and smart payments provider to nations in the European Union and European Economic Area, according to the company on Wednesday. The two companies will cooperate on Samsung SDS’ Nexledger Universal platform to develop a blockchain-based finance solution for bank and merchants so they can automatically reconcile payments, remittances and invoices with their bank records. The partners also aim to d

South Korean mobile carriers are struggling to entice more customers for 5G services amid the new coronavirus outbreak, according to latest data Tuesday. In January, the number of 5G network users here increased by 290,000 to 4.95 million in a month, the lowest amount of increase since local mobile carriers launched 5G services in April last year, as per ICT Ministry data. Since April last year, local telecom firms saw the number of new 5G network subscribers increase by more than half a mill

South Korea’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom is betting on high-end virtual and augmented reality technologies to increase its foothold, despite the complexity. Backed by many years of sturdy investments and its 5G mobile network, SKT has been releasing pilot VR/AR services -- promoted in the form of virtual zoo, for instance -- with the aim of eventually creating a whole new experience for customers. Behind its initiatives in the newly emerging market is Jeon Jin-soo, vice president a

Eight out of 10 office workers are concerned that the COVID-19 outbreak could prolong, according to a survey by a local online community operator. Blind, a local operator of employees’ community application, surveyed some 2,427 office workers over the nationwide spread of the viral outbreak. The proportion of workers who expressed concerns increased to 83 percent, when compared to the same survey conducted from Feb. 7-13 (67 percent). Most of those who were concerned said they are wor

South Korea’s exports rose 4.5 percent in February from a year earlier, marking the first improvement after falling for 14 consecutive months, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s report on Sunday.  According to the data, South Korea’s exports in February increased by 4.5 percent to $41.2 billion, compared to $39.4 billion in the same month last year. The average daily exports went down by 11.7 percent to $1.83 billion, compared to the last month, t

  While South Korean broadcasters and mobile carriers are scrambling to roll out new over-the-top services -- pledging to invest in exclusive contents -- it is uncertain whether they can compete with foreign service providers who are dominating the market. The online streaming services -- replacing traditional cable or satellite TV networks -- took off relatively late here compared to the US where user demand is high. But the demand has been rising, coupled with hyperconnected internet t

Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-mobile, will start testing the 5G radio frequency repeater that it co-developed with SK Telecom during the second quarter of this year, according to a statement released by the South Korean mobile carrier on Thursday. SK Telecom’s 5G radio frequency repeater is a wireless device that receives 5G signals from outside and transmits it to users inside buildings and tunnels and on basement floors. In the second quarter of this year, Deutsche Telekom

Korean internet and search giant Naver said it will grant stock options to its employees to purchase up to a total of 1.06 million stocks, the company said in its regulatory filing issued Wednesday late afternoon. The stocks that will go to the company’s employees account for 0.65 percent of Naver’s stocks, the company added. The stocks will be provided to 3,084 workers at a price of 186,000 ($153) won per share. The options are exercisable for a period of five years starting in