SK Telecom plans to shut down its free wireless Internet services to subscribers of other mobile carriers starting from July, stoking discontent among smartphone users.The country’s largest mobile carrier said Thursday it would change its Wi-Fi operation policy and only open the service to subscribers of SKT beginning on July 1.“The measure has been drafted for our own customers to enjoy the servi

Industry May 20, 2011

The Korea Association of Game Industry announced Friday that it seated Choi Kwan-ho, chief operating officer of Neowiz Games, as its chairman, filling in the position which was left vacant for three months.In a press conference held in southern Seoul, Choi said he plans to file a constitutional petition in protest of the government’s decision to implement the new “Cinderella law” later this year.T

Industry May 20, 2011

Pantech SKY unveiled the world’s first Android-powered smartphone equipped with Qualcomm’s speedy 1.5 gigahertz dual core processor called Vega Racer on Thursday.The company said that its new smartphone with a 4.3-inch display screen would be available in four different colors and serviced by the country’s three telecom suppliers ― SK Telecom, KT Corp. and LG Uplus.“We attempted to upgrade the dua

Industry May 19, 2011

NHN Corp., an Internet content service operator, announced Thursday it recorded 517.3 billion won ($4.76 million) in operating revenue and 168.5 billion won in operating profit for the first quarter, both figures profiting from an increase in search advertisements.The company, well-known for its search engine Naver and online game site Hangame, said its operating revenue and operating profit surge

Industry May 19, 2011

Neowiz Games Corp., a Korean online game publisher, said Wednesday it reached 147.7 billion won ($136 million) in sales and 33.8 billion won in operating profit in the first quarter, breaking its quarterly record due to sharply rising overseas sales.The company, well-known for its game portal Pmang, expanded overseas sales by 141 percent ― taking up 48 percent of its overall sales ― compared to th

Industry May 18, 2011

NCsoft Corp., the country’s second-biggest online game publisher, said Tuesday it posted 155.4 billion won ($142.23 million) in sales and 46.1 billion won in operating profit in the first quarter, both figures down from the same period last year.In its quarterly earnings report, the Seoul-based firm said that its sales and operating profit slipped 7 percent and 40 percent year-on-year, respectivel

Technology May 17, 2011

The Korea Communications Commission unveiled support measures Monday for mobile virtual network operators so that they can release telecom services that are 20 percent cheaper than what is now available.The state telecom regulator said SK Telecom, the country’s top mobile carrier, will provide the MVNOs with mobile phones until June 2012.It also said SKT will also help the MVNOs, which plan to lau

Industry May 16, 2011

The Korean branch of U.S.-based global social commerce powerhouse Groupon is facing growing criticism after it posted wrong information about displayed items and even sold products that it had not secured. Groupon Korea on May 2 canceled a “secret megadeal” two hours before the event launch, during which the company was expected to hand out 500,000 giftcons ― mobile gift coupons ― which would give

Industry May 15, 2011

Korean Air, the country’s No. 1 air carrier, said Thursday that it will recruit an additional 500 flight attendants this month.The recruitment, which is on the largest scale ever, comes shortly after the company hired a total of 500 employees in February and March, company officials said.The air carrier also said that it will hire another group of 500 in the latter half of this year, which means 1

Industry May 12, 2011

Recent research has found that more than three in 10 wireless gadget users own an electronic device that runs on Google’s Android mobile operating system, putting strong emphasis on its openness.According to a market research firm Strategy Analytics’ data, the Android OS garnered a 35.9 percent share in the global OS market, followed by Nokia’s Symbian and Apple’s iOS with 26.3 percent and 18.1 pe

Industry May 12, 2011