[KH Explains] Marrying your virtual partner? Era of AI companionship dawns

Every morning, Jung-in wakes up to her AI boyfriend Tae-joo's video call, telling her she has 30 minutes to prepare for work before her bus comes. As she hurries out the door, Tae-joo smiles and calls out, "Take your umbrella with you, it's raining today!" Tae-joo in real life has fallen into a coma, and Jung-in restored her comatose boyfriend as an astronaut in this virtual world called Wonderland. With AI Tae-ju always accessible inside her smartphone and TV screens, Jung-i

IndustrySept. 4, 2024

LG Innotek to showcase next-gen chip substrates at KPCA 2024

LG Innotek said Wednesday it is showcasing its innovative semiconductor substrates at this week's KPCA Show 2024, held at the Songdo Convensia in Incheon, from Wednesday to Friday. The KPCA Show is the largest annual exhibition of printed circuit board and electronic packaging, hosted by the Korea PBC and the Korea Printed Circuit Association for 21 years. LG Innotek plans to unveil its package substrate and tape substrate products along with high-value semiconductor substrates, called Flip

IndustrySept. 4, 2024

Incheon Airport, Trip.com join hands to win back Chinese tourists

Incheon International Airport Corporation said Wednesday it has signed a mutual partnership with Trip.com Group, a global one-stop travel service provider, to lure more Chinese travelers to Korea. The signing event was attended by Lee Hag-jae, president and CEO of Incheon International Airport, and Edison Chen, vice president of global destination marketing and public relations at Trip.com Group, at the Inspire Entertainment Resort in Incheon on Tuesday. Under the agreement, the two companies

IndustrySept. 4, 2024

SK chief discusses chips, energy, AI cooperation with US senators

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won discussed ways to bolster economic cooperation between South Korea and the United States with a group of US senators on Tuesday in Seoul and asked them for bipartisan efforts to support Korean companies, the Korean conglomerate said Wednesday. “SK Group has been setting up semiconductor ecosystems in both Korea and the US, and through this, we will be able to contribute to strengthening the two countries’ (artificial intelligence) leadership,” sai

CompaniesSept. 4, 2024

SK Telecom, Perplexity team up for AI-powered search engine

SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest wireless carrier by membership, announced Wednesday a partnership with Silicon Valley-based AI search unicorn Perplexity to revolutionize traditional keyword-based search into a more dynamic, conversational experience. With the conversational AI market projected to expand from $13.2 billion in 2024 to $49.9 billion by 2030, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas and its sole Korean partner SK Telecom revealed their collaborative ambitions at a joint press confere

TechnologySept. 4, 2024

Golfzon launches hybrid indoor golf course in China

Golfzon, Korea's leading screen golf operator, said Wednesday that it launched its new City Golf hybrid indoor course in Tianjin, China. This new platform offers an 18-hole golf experience by merging virtual screen golf with actual greens, under the motto "a premium golf course that can be enjoyed in cities." City Golf allows players to tee up and approach shots on a screen, after which the screen opens to enable play on real greens. Depending on the hole, players can also make ap

CompaniesSept. 4, 2024

Celltrion's Stelara biosimilar receives approval in UK

South Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion announced Wednesday that Steqeyma, the company's biosimilar referencing Stelara, has been approved in the UK, following earlier approvals by Korea, Canada and the European Commission this year. According to the company, Steqeyma has received approval from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for its uses in all indications of reference product Stelara, including psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative coli

CompaniesSept. 4, 2024

S. Korean shares open sharply lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean shares opened sharply lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 60.72 points, or 2.28 percent, to 2,603.91 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.51 percent to close at 40,936.93, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 3.26 percent. Tech giants, including Nvidia and Intel, led the decline as the lower-than-expected US manufacturing purchasing managers index (

MarketSept. 4, 2024

Foreign reserves up for 2nd month in Aug. on weak dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves increased for the second straight month in August on the back of the increased value of non-US dollar assets and investment gains, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves had come to $415.92 billion as of end-August, up $2.41 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The central bank attributed the increase to a rise in the converted value of non-dollar assets amid the weak greenback an

EconomySept. 4, 2024

BOK chief says time to consider rate cut as inflation cools

Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Tuesday the time has come to "sufficiently consider" a rate cut as the nation's consumer inflation cooled. "In terms of stability of consumer prices, it is time to sufficiently consider lowering a benchmark interest rate," Rhee told reporters at a forum in Seoul. Rhee said the central bank would review an "appropriate timing" for a rate cut, in his strongest signal yet about a policy pivot. In a meeting of the parliamen

EconomySept. 3, 2024

Posco invests $40m to enhance graphite supply chain

Posco International, the trading and energy arm of Posco Group, announced Tuesday that it has signed a $40 million contract with Australian mining company Black Rock Mining to secure natural graphite, a key material for secondary batteries. The signing event was held on the sidelines of the joint annual meeting between the Australia-Korea Business Council and the Korea-Australia Business Council in Perth, Australia, Tuesday. The event was attended by Korea’s Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo, A

CompaniesSept. 3, 2024

AmCham partners with Tools for Humanity for privacy protection

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea joined hands with Tools for Humanity, the developer of Worldcoin, to stress the importance of personal data protection in the era of artificial intelligence. On Tuesday, the two entities signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony held in Seoul, agreeing to launch the “#IAmHuman” campaign here, highlighting the importance of safeguarding personal identity within an AI-driven economy. “The partnership is focused on promoting the p

EconomySept. 3, 2024

Agriculture expo offers glimpse into the future of rural areas

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will open “Korea Agri Expo 2024,” the largest agricultural exposition in the country, at aT Centre in Seoul on Thursday for a four-day run. Marking its sixth year, this annual event has been a platform for showcasing the diverse value and growth potential of agriculture and rural regions since its inception in 2019, ministry officials said Tuesday. Last year's exposition drew significant interest, attracting approximately 94,00

IndustrySept. 3, 2024

Daewoo E&C, CSCEC team up for global infrastructure projects

Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Tuesday it has signed a strategic partnership with China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the world’s largest construction company by revenue, to team up on international projects. The signing event was held Monday at the CSCEC’s headquarters in Beijing, where Daewoo E&C Chairman Jung Won-ju and CSCEC International Operations Chairman Gao Bo were present. Founded in 1957, CSCEC has held the top position in US weekly ENR's

IndustrySept. 3, 2024

Seoul shares close lower ahead of US jobs data

South Korean shares fell as investors took to the sidelines ahead of key US data. The local currency lost ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 16.37 points, or 0.61 percent, to close at 2,664.63. Trade volume was moderate at 291 million shares worth 8.8 trillion won ($6.56 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 458 to 416. Foreign investors turned net sellers, offloading a net 287.5 billion won worth of shares, one day after they ended a six-day

MarketSept. 3, 2024

Inflation falls to 2% target

South Korea may be nearing the end of its fight against inflation, as the rate of rising prices eased to the 2 percent target last month, backed by a retreat in the prices of international crude oil and farm produce, data showed Tuesday. The Consumer Price Index, a key gauge of inflation, advanced 2 percent on-year last month, according to Statistics Korea. It was the lowest advance since 1.9 percent in March 2021. CPI inflation, which remained at 1.9 percent in March 2021, reached its peak at 6

EconomySept. 3, 2024

Ripple CEO slams SEC chair to win back Korean investors

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of San Francisco-based Ripple Labs, on Tuesday sharply criticized US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler over the recently concluded legal tug-of-war with the regulator. Reflecting on Ripple’s recent legal win against the SEC, Garlinghouse doubted Gensler’s tenure would continue regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election, saying, "I'll make a gentleman's bet that won't happen," during a press conference

IndustrySept. 3, 2024

BMW’s Korean expansion driven by local sourcing, innovation

BMW Group emphasized Tuesday it has been actively involved in South Korea for the past three decades, focusing on sourcing parts from local companies, investing in infrastructure and contributing to corporate social responsibility initiatives. The company’s activities in the region reflect its commitment to maintaining and expanding its presence in the Korean market, the group said. In 2023, BMW Group purchased parts worth 6.53 trillion won ($4.86 billion) from Korean companies. This fig

MobilitySept. 3, 2024

Samsung rolls out artwork subscription service for premium TVs

Samsung Electronics introduced Tuesday an annual artwork subscription service for The Frame, the company’s premium TV, offering access to more than 2,500 pieces of art in a vivid 4K QLED display all year round. Samsung Art Store is the company’s digital curator service, delivering 4K-quality artworks from the most distinguished artists, museums and industry tastemakers. The subscription service is available on The Frame, the lifestyle TV that doubles as a digital canvas. It displays

IndustrySept. 3, 2024

Coupang pledges over 10,000 hires to boost local economy

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang announced Tuesday that it will recruit more than 10,000 new personnel as part of its initiative to expand logistics facilities across the nation. This decision follows the company's March announcement of its plan to invest over 3 trillion won ($2.23 billion) in expanding its logistics operations, primarily focused on fulfillment centers, to enhance its one-day delivery service nationwide. The new fulfillment centers in Daejeon and Gwangju, expected to b

CompaniesSept. 3, 2024