Apple Korea’s general manager Brandon Yoon will resign from his position, industry sources said Thursday. According to the sources, Yoon tendered his resignation from the position at the company on Thursday. The company refrained from offering a confirmation. Yoon has led Apple Korea since 2018. Before coming to Apple Korea, Yoon worked at Samsung Electronics. He also worked for Microsoft from ...

Google Inc. has pledged to provide an alternative payment system at its app store in South Korea, the telecommunications regulator said Thursday, in what could be a concession amid a tug-of-war over lucrative payment systems in the app market. The commitment is part of follow-up measures to a new South Korean law that restricts app store operators such as Google and Apple from forcing their in-a...

Samsung Group’s leader Lee Jae-yong will have to pay a 70 million won ($59,200) fine for illegal use of propofol, an anesthetic medication, judicial sources said Wednesday. The fine was finalized as both prosecutors and the defendant have not filed an appeal by Tuesday, the last day of the seven-day window to appeal the court order. The Seoul Central District Court last week ordered Lee to pay ...

GC Pharma announced Tuesday that the European Medicines Agency has granted orphan drug designation to its Hunterase ICV, a novel treatment for mucopolysaccharidosis type II, also known as the Hunter syndrome. The designation brings a variety of significant advantages under the EMA’s effort to encourage the development of drugs to treat rare diseases or conditions. GC Pharma said the company wil...

South Korea’s autonomous driving startup 42dot said Tuesday that it has raised 104 billion won ($88.5 million) in a series A funding. That raised the total investment the firm has secured to date to 153 billion won, the company added. The investors include Hyundai Motor, Shinhan Financial Group, Lotte Rental, Lotte Ventures and several local venture capital firms. 42dot plans to use the fundin...

GeneOne Life Science’s investigational oral drug for COVID-19 has received regulatory approvals from the European Medicines Agency and Bulgaria to conduct a phase 2 clinical trial in Bulgaria, the Korean biotech firm said Monday. The Balkan nation is among the five regions where GeneOne Life Science plans to conduct phase 2 studies of GLS-1027. It is also the last of the five to give the company...

Artificial intelligence may hold the key to many of the world’s pressing issues such as climate change, said Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam on Monday. Speaking at an annual AI forum, hosted by his company, the senior executive stressed the wide-reaching capability of AI, not just for businesses, but for the betterment of humankind. “The advancement of AI is going beyond the electr...

South Korean drugmakers are at a crossroads on whether or not to continue developing COVID-19 treatments, as vaccination rates rise across the world and the first drug from global pharmaceutical Merck is set to debut soon. Some have already given up. Merck’s recent decision to give away patents related to molnupiravir, which would become the world’s first COVID-19 pill, for developing countries ...

SK Telecom’s nontelecom split-off SK Square will officially launch on Monday, with a focus on semiconductor and new tech businesses, SK Telecom, the world’s largest telecommunication company said Sunday. The split-off will allow the SK Group company to better respond to changing dynamics in the chip sector through strategic investments, which were partly limited under the fair trade law here. U...

SK hynix said Friday the chipmaker inked a deal to acquire a 100 percent stake in domestic foundry firm Key Foundry for 575.8 billion won ($492.55 million). Key Foundry, based in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, is a foundry-specialized firm producing chips for its customers using 8-inch wafers. It can produce non-memory products such as power management ICs, display driver ICs and microco...

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said Thursday that it will take innovative products of small local companies to next year’s CES, the world’s largest tech show held annually in Las Vegas. For the Korean pavilion at the CES 2022, some 210 companies and 13 institutions will travel to the US, according to Kotra. Among them, some 14 local companies had a chance to showcase their latest p...

LG Electronics hit a new high in quarterly sales in the third quarter, owing to the continued consumption in the consumer electronics sector under the pandemic, the company announced Thursday. The tech giant, the largest home appliance provider in South Korea, posted 18.78 trillion won ($16.1 billion) in sales, the highest-ever in the firm’s history. Compared to the same quarter last year, sale...

Kakao Games Corp. said Thursday its two co-CEOs will assume regional responsibilities as it pushes to expand its foothold in major markets overseas. Namkoong Whon, who currently oversees the company’s management and development as well as new business projects, will now also be representing Kakao Games’ North America and Europe studio, the firm said. Fellow CEO Cho Kye-hyun will be directing bu...

Amid supply chain issues and pandemic, Korea‘s top conglomerate continues to rewrite sales record this year

South Korea's dominant internet portal operator Naver Corp. on Thursday introduced a new personalized search service dubbed AiR Search. The service, powered by Naver's artificial intelligence (AI) technology, will provide results in block units that reflect current trends and individual interests. "AiR Search will be the beginning of a big change representing Naver's new search, as much as the ...