Articles by Kan Hyeong-woo
Kan Hyeong-woo
hwkan@heraldcorp.com-
'Squid Game' 9th most searched keyword on Google in 2021
South Korean megahit “Squid Game” ranked as the No. 9 most-searched keyword by worldwide users on Google this year, Google Korea said Thursday. No. 1 on the list of most searched terms was “Australia vs. India,” referring to cricket matches between the two countries. “India vs. England” took second, followed by “IPL,” which stands for the Indian Premier League. Among the TV shows searched on Google worldwide, the Korean drama series was the mos
Technology Dec. 9, 2021
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Kyobo, KakaoBank join hands for platform projects
Kyobo Life Insurance affiliates and KakaoBank signed a memorandum of understanding on data cooperation and financial platform projects, officials said Thursday. KakaoBank, South Korea’s biggest internet-only bank by user base, said it will work with Kyobo Book Centre, the country’s largest bookstore by sales, to develop and upgrade an alternative credit rating model. To do that, the lender plans to research and analyze nonfinancial data such as the history of book purchases by Kyob
Industry Dec. 9, 2021
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[Herald Interview] SBA to guide digital transformation of small businesses
In times of digital transformation, bigger firms have the tools, technology and personnel for digital transformation, but smaller companies often lack the necessary resources. This is where the Seoul Business Agency steps in to support small- to medium-sized companies in the capital. "Conglomerates or IT companies are undergoing digital transformation and making business opportunities out of it. SMEs are aware of the shift, but they are very busy with their daily workload," said Kim H
Industry Dec. 8, 2021
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[Herald Interview] 'Korea has potential to play key role in global bio market'
Led by major biopharmaceutical companies in Celltrion and Samsung Biologics, South Korea is poised to make a bigger impact on the global market, according to German science and technology group Merck. “Executives at Merck headquarters think the Korean government’s vision to turn the country into a global vaccine hub by 2025 is impressive. There were suggestions to actively cooperate with the Korean government and support its strategic efforts to foster the bio industry,” said
Industry Dec. 7, 2021
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Trade Week provides export chances for Seoul SMEs
Trade Week 2021 -- the Seoul Business Agency’s global trade conference, established to offer export opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in Seoul -- began its four-day run Tuesday. The SBA, a city-run agency that supports SMEs in the capital, said a total of 300 companies will participate in more than 1,200 online export consultations with 500 foreign buyers from more than 20 countries. The participating companies work mainly in the categories of beauty, lifestyle, food,
Industry Dec. 7, 2021
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'Metaverse is about seeing things in more integrated way'
Metaverse, a shared virtual world where people can interact with others through avatars, has been the talk of the town in the second half of this year. While some doubt metaverse will be able to take off or see it as just another marketing strategy, others seem to believe it is the next giant leap in information technology. Regardless of the perceptual divide, Kim Beom-joo, head of evangelism at graphics developer Unity Korea, says the coming of the virtual platform was inevitable and its ar
Technology Dec. 6, 2021
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[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] Kyobo Life Insurance accelerates digital transformation drive
Kyobo Life Insurance, one of Korea’s biggest life insurers, has picked up speed in its digital transformation efforts this year by innovating its traditional businesses and securing future growth engines. According to Kyobo Life Insurance, the company reorganized its structure with a digital transformation, opening departments on digital strategy, digital new businesses and IT support. The life insurer also implemented Amazon’s Public Cloud services in order to cope with the para
Market Dec. 6, 2021
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Korean testing kit makers confident they can detect omicron
Amid worries over the omicron variant of COVID-19, Korean testing kit makers showed confidence in their equipment’s ability to detect the new virus variant, pushing up their stock prices again. GreenCross Medical Science said Friday that the effectiveness of its COVID-19 testing kit has been confirmed for the new omicron variant as well. In order to assess the validity of the result from its testing equipment, GCMS conducted the ‘in-silico’ experiment, which refers to a typ
Industry Dec. 3, 2021
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Drug Ministry cancels approval of 6 botulinum products
The licenses of six botulinum drugs will be revoked on Dec. 13, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Thursday. The Drug Ministry said the drugs were being sold in the country without obtaining the state approval to sell them in the domestic market. The drugs are four of Hugel’s Botulax units and two of Pharma Research Bio’s ReNTox units. The Drug Ministry will also shut down Pharma Research Bio’s production for six months, citing that the biopharmaceutical firm&
Industry Dec. 2, 2021
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Korea to foster 89,000 more software talents by 2025
South Korea will foster 89,000 more people specialized in software technology by 2025 to cope with a shortage of digital talent in the future, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. Unveiling the government’s plan to support younger generations in times of digital transformation, the ministry said a total of 413,000 software professionals will be supplied over the next five years. The government’s original plan was to raise 324,000 software talents, but the expected demand
Technology Dec. 2, 2021
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Bio firms expand network, gain state project boost
The government’s Innovation-Communication Open Network (i-CON) project has been helping Korea’s small and medium-sized bio companies expand their networks and improve the quality of their products, according to the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization. The organization is currently running the bio and health program of the i-CON project to support small and medium-sized enterprises to develop technology capabilities by using infrastructure and manpower owned by research instit
Industry Dec. 1, 2021
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Celltrion signs COVID-19 treatment supply contract with 9 European countries
Celltrion Healthcare has inked supply contracts for its COVID-19 antibody treatment Regkirona with nine European countries as of Monday, the company said Tuesday. Under the contract, Celltrion Healthcare, an affiliate of local biopharmaceutical company Celltrion, plans to roll out an initial supply of 150,000 vials of Regkirona to the countries before the end of the year. The amount is enough to treat 50,000 people. More supply orders of the antibody are expected to be placed in consideratio
Industry Nov. 30, 2021
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SK Square now 2nd-largest shareholder of Korbit
SK Square became the second-largest shareholder of Korbit, one of South Korea’s top four cryptocurrency exchanges, by investing about 90 billion won ($75.5 million) to acquire a 35 percent stake, the company announced Monday. The largest shareholder of Korbit is NXC, the holding company of local online game maker Nexon. SK Square expects that holding a stake of Korbit itself will increase the net asset value of SK Square, as the volume of cryptocurrency transactions has rapidly increase
Industry Nov. 29, 2021
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Korea’s bio technology exports nears $10b
The total value of South Korean biotech and pharmaceutical companies’ technology exports is expected to reach $10 billion for the first time this year, according to the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association. The country’s biotech and pharmaceutical companies’ technology exports amounted to 11.4 trillion won ($9.6 billion) as of Nov. 17, the KPBMA said Monday. As there were deals that did not disclose their contract values, the KPBMA expected the total
Industry Nov. 22, 2021
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Why politicians head to national cemeteries in election season
South Korea’s two presidential front-runners -- Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon Seok-youl of the major opposition People Power Party -- paid their respects at the Seoul and Daejeon national cemeteries soon after winning their parties’ primaries. “The state’s first duty is the security to protect the national community,” Lee said during his visit to the Daejeon National Cemetery on Oct. 11, a day after winning the primary. “Of
Politics Nov. 22, 2021
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