SK Innovation said Friday it will establish a joint venture with Chinese battery maker EVE Energy to build electric vehicle battery plants in China. 　The project will involve $525 million to build factories capable of producing 20 to 25 gigawatt-hours. 　Established in 2001, EVE Energy is a leading Chinese lithium battery maker. Earlier this month, the company won a contract to provide EV batteries for Hyundai Motor.  　To seize opportunities in the Chinese EV market, SK Innovation has been

　LG Chem said Friday it has filed additional lawsuits against SK Innovation and its US affiliate, raising the stakes in a monthslong legal battle over electric vehicle battery patents.  　In a statement, LG Chem said SK Innovation and SK Battery America are infringing its patents for lithium-ion batteries. The lawsuits were filed Thursday with the US International Trade Commission and the US District Court of Delaware. 　The move came in response to SK Innovation’s Sept. 3 lawsuits alle

　Despite South Korean mobile carriers’ efforts to rekindle the use of text messages, the prospects of the once-lucrative business continue to look grim.　The country’s three biggest telecom firms -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- have upgraded their text message services with advanced features like group chatting and video sharing in recent years. 　But the moves have so far failed to draw users away from the popular messenger service KakaoTalk. While the chatting app has seen a dramat

　South Korea’s telecom giant SK Telecom said Wednesday that it is inviting online applications for free trials of Microsoft’s upcoming cloud-based game-streaming service Project xCloud.　According to SKT, Android-based smartphone users who subscribe to its 5G wireless service can sign up until Oct. 8.　Those selected to take part will get a glimpse of Microsoft’s game-streaming service next month, SKT said. Trials in the United States and the United Kingdom are scheduled to run s

Global electric scooter operators are entering South Korea’s micro-mobility market, intensifying competition in the bike-sharing market. According to industry sources, US-based e-scooter and bike company Lime is gearing up for its debut in Korea. The company is expected to announce the launch on Oct. 1 in Seoul. Lime has been preparing to enter the Korean market and has been recruiting local employees since earlier this year. Currently, the company is operating in more than 120 cities in o

　The government and companies are seeking to help senior citizens benefit from technological innovations, in light of concerns they might be left behind amid fast-changing digital trends. 　The Seoul Metropolitan Government said earlier this month it would make its high-tech welfare program available to more senior citizens. Using internet of things technology, the program helps deal with emergencies by monitoring the temperature of houses and physical movements. 　Meanwhile, mobile carrier SK Tel

South Korea’s internet giant Naver on Tuesday announced its plan to boost online cartoon business’ global market presence by establishing a massive ecosystem for diverse contents and talented artists. Speaking at a press conference in Seoul, Naver Webtoon’s chief Kim Jun-koo unveiled the company’s global market strategy and content creation plans. After its launch in 2004, global services began in 2014.To attract more users to its online cartoon platform, the company

　South Korea’s biggest internet search company Naver has finalized its plan to launch a financial subsidiary by November, presenting a challenge to the country’s leading messenger app operator Kakao in the mobile payment market. 　During a meeting with stockholders on Friday, Naver decided to change the status of its in-house venture company Naver Pay to a separate entity. Named “Naver Financial,” the new subsidiary is to be officially launched Nov. 1.　To expand its platfo

　South Korean panel maker LG Display on Thursday pledged to expand its cutting-edge panel business in China, aiming to increase its organic light-emitting diode panel production to 2 million by 2021. 　During a meeting with the Chinese companies and media in Beijing, LG Display unveiled its future business plans there. Dozens of Chinese TV manufacturers and retailers, including Skyworth and Suning, participated in the event called OLED Big Bang Media Day. 　Stressing that its OLED production

　South Korean tech company LG CNS said Wednesday it has agreed to work with foreign-language education firm YBM NET to develop a mobile language-learning app using artificial intelligence technology. 　The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on the AI-based foreign-language education service. The signing ceremony was held at LG CNS’ headquarter in the Magok district of western Seoul. 　Combining LG CNS’ voice recognition and machine learning technologies

　Despite worsening youth unemployment in South Korea, more than two-thirds of small and medium enterprises here appear to have trouble hiring young people, a survey showed Wednesday. 　Online recruiting company JobKorea surveyed 526 companies with less than 300 staff and found that 67 percent of the companies suffered from labor shortages. 　The result appears to be in contrast to reports about worsening employment among young people. According to 2018 data from the Korean Education Development In

South Korea’s cable network JTBC and entertainment giant CJ ENM announced Tuesday the launch of a joint video-streaming service amid intensifying competition in the broadcasting industry. The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch an integrated over-the-top video service by combining their video contents. The new platform is expected to become available early next year.The upcoming service will be modeled after CJ ENM’s video-streaming platform Tving, which con

South Korea’s Hanwha Defense said Tuesday it has been shortlisted for the Australian military’s multibillion-dollar plan to replace its current aging fleet of mobility vehicles with advanced capability.　According to the company, its AS21 Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle is one of two contenders for the Land 400 Phase 3 Program. Competing against Hanwha’s Redback is German firm Rheinmetall Defence’s Lynx KF41.　　The two companies’ IFVs were selected over other global

　Copyright violation accusations filed by the country’s major broadcasters number over 150,000 so far this year, with nearly 90 percent against global video-sharing platform YouTube, a lawmaker said Monday 　Citing data from the Korea Communications Commission, Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea said as of last month there were 153,081 requests made by broadcasters for the media watchdog to address copyright infringement. 　The broadcasters, which include four territorial br

　South Korea’s three territorial broadcasters and mobile carrier SK Telecom held an event Monday to mark the launch of a massive video streaming service Wednesday, with an aim to attract 5 million paid subscribers by 2023. 　The heads of the broadcasters and SK Telecom gathered in Seoul to celebrate the launch of their new over-the-top video service Wavve, which combines SKT’s Pooq and the broadcasters’ Oksusu into one integrated platform.　The participants pledged to develop Wav

　The South Korean government on Wednesday filed a complaint over Japan’s tighter export curbs with the World Trade Organization, accusing Tokyo of taking discriminatory measures against Korea for politically motivated reasons.　During a press briefing in Seoul, the country’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said the Japanese government’s export controls targeting Korea violate WTO rules by regulating free trade for political purposes.　Early in July, Japan imposed export curbs on thr

　The government’s plan to use a SpaceX projectile to search the orbit of the moon has been postponed to July 2022, the Science Ministry said Tuesday, amid lingering disputes over the projectile’s weight and design. 　During a press briefing in Sejong city, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced it had decided to delay the lunar projectile’s launch by 19 months. The projectile was supposed to be launched in December next year. 　According to the government, there had been dispu

　SK Group’s semiconductor component maker, SK Siltron, has acquired a wafer division from US chemical giant Dupont as the South Korean company aims to raise its profile in the global semiconductor component market. 　According to SK Siltron on Tuesday, the company’s board of directors agreed to purchase Dupont’s silicon carbide wafer business unit for $450 million. The acquisition is expected to be finalized by year-end after the necessary government approvals are obtained. 

With Google, Amazon and Apple in hot water for enabling their artificial intelligence speakers to collect recordings of users’ voice commands, similar incidents are now occurring in South Korea, where the country’s tech giants have been found gathering personal dialogue with their speakers. Naver and Kakao admitted last week that their AI-based interfaces have been collecting users’ audio data and converting it to written files. Such processes were also found to have been condu

Where in Seoul is it hardest to get a taxi? Which tourist destinations do users type in most frequently when searching a navigation app? South Korea’s Kakao has come up with answers to readers’ burning questions about Koreans’ mobility habits.Kakao’s mobility affiliate, Kakao Mobility, announced the publication on Monday of the “2019 Kakao Mobility Report,” produced by analyzing user data from its various mobility apps. Kakao Mobility has published the annual