Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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SK Telecom, CAT to set up JV for Thai e-payment market
[THE INVESTOR] SK Telecom will join hands with Thailand’s CAT Telecom and enter the Southeastern country’s electronic payment market, Thai daily The Nation reported on July 19. Surapant Meknavin, acting president of the public enterprise, acknowledged that the two telecom operators will set up a joint venture to provide an e-payment gateway service. SK Telecom will own 51 percent of the JV, reportedly named Tree Pay, with registered capital of 200 million baht (US$5.72 million). Scheduled to be
July 19, 2016
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Nexon to release ‘Chaos Chronicle’ in 136 countries next month
[THE INVESTOR] Nexon will release its new mobile role-playing game “Chaos Chronicle” in 136 countries, it announced on July 16. China was not included in the list. Developed by Wing Studio, this horizontal scroll game collects and nurtures 103 heroes into the strongest team, and is available in eight languages including Korean, English, Japanese, and Thai.NexonIn advance to the official release, pre-registration is available at the game’s website https://ccc.nexon.com until Aug. 3. All the regis
July 19, 2016
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Naver’s online platform beckons illustrators
[THE INVESTOR] Grafolio, Naver’s online platform for creative contents, will host a Global Storypic Challenge to discover illustrators from around the world, it announced on July 19. Applicants are required to choose a theme on their own and upload an illustrated story, with more than 20 episodes, on Grafolio by Sept. 18. A total of 10 creators will be selected to post their works on the official pages and receive US$10,000 each to support their creative activities. Grafolio offers services in e
July 19, 2016
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Kakao, K Cube Venture to invest W30b in emerging game start-up
[THE INVESTOR] Mobile messenger operator Kakao and K Cube Venture, an early-stage venture capital, will jointly invest 30 billion won ($26.4 million) in Shiftup, a game company.Shiftup was established by art director Kim Hyeong-tae, who participated as an art director in the development of mobile game “Blade & Soul.” The game start-up has recently received the limelight with a hit trailer for mobile game “Destiny Child” which it is currently developing with game firm Nextfloor. Well-known illust
July 19, 2016
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Kakao invests in POS system developer
[THE INVESTOR] Mobile messenger operator Kakao said July 19 that it has acquired 20 percent of start-up CNT Tech, which develops systems that receive orders from customers and transfer them to POS systems at the nearby stores.The start-up has also developed its own POS system which is compatible with any network environment and can be utilized for any business in an easy manner, the mobile messenger firm said.The 10-year old start-up which has built up its expertise in e-commerce and POS sector
July 19, 2016
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Korean mobile users more engaged on Facebook than Kakao Story
[THE INVESTOR] Korean mobile users spend more time on Facebook than any other social network services here, including the most popular Kakao Story. According to a recent survey by local market research firm WiseApp, Facebook users here spend a combined 5 billion minutes per month, which compares to 1.2 billion minutes of Kakao Story and 1.7 billion minutes of Band that is owned by Naver. The firm conducted the survey on 14,439 Android smartphone users in June. The number of Facebook users in Kor
July 19, 2016
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S. Korea to ease online game ‘shutdown law’
[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean government on July 18 decided to ease regulations on the gaming industry, such as revising the online game “shutdown law,” by leaving in to the choice of the gamers’ parents. According to the plans drawn up as part of the government’s strategy for boosting the game industry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to lift the curfew imposed on underage users from accessing online games late at night. PororoEnacted in 2011 to curb video game addiction a
July 19, 2016
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Antitrust watchdog disapproves SKT-CJ HelloVision merger
[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said on July 18 that it has decided to officially oppose the planned merger between SK Broadband, an IPTV unit of SK Telecom, and CJ HelloVision, the nation’s No. cable TV operator, citing monopoly concerns in the media and telecom markets.After holding a meeting early in the day, the Fair Trade Commission announced its final decision, wrapping up a reviewing session that lasted more than seven months.CJ Hellovision headquarter“The FTC has decided
July 18, 2016
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LINE eyes joint venture in China
[THE INVESTOR] China is the only Northeast Asian nation where LINE Corp. has yet to launch its mobile messenger service so far. Line is the mobile messenger service operator owned by Naver (chairman Lee Hae-jin)In a recent media interview, LINE’s chief global officer Shin Jung-ho said the firm could consider “setting up a joint venture with a Chinese company” to increase its foothold in a country where its services are blocked due to government regulations. The banners of LINE Corp. hang on the
July 15, 2016
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LINE stock jumps 52% from offer price in Tokyo
[THE INVESTOR] After its debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 15, LINE Corp.’s share soared around 52 percent to 5,000 yen (US$47.40) from its offer price of 3,300 yen, as of 10:39 a.m. The opening price stood at 4,900 yen. A Line character shop in Seoul / The InvestorTrading of the company’s share in Tokyo was a bit delayed early in the morning as buyers outnumbered sellers around four times.Line is the mobile messenger service operator owned by Korean Internet portal giant Naver (chairman
July 15, 2016
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LINE jumps 26% on first day of trading in New York
[THE INVESTOR] LINE Corp., the mobile messenger service operator owned by Naver (chairman Lee Hae-jin), jumped 26.61 percent on the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on July 14. LINE’s million American Depository Shares (ADSs) began at $32.84 topping the expected price range, and closed at US$ 41.58, rising 26.6 percent over the course of the day. Line Corp. CFO Hwang In-joon (center left), along with chief strategy and marketing officer Jun Masuda (center right), and chief glo
July 15, 2016
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Naver CEO likely to face probe for dodgy stock trading
[THE INVESTOR] The head of Internet giant Naver who is in the hot seat for his alleged involvement in making illegal profits from game developer Nexon’s 2006 initial public offering is likely to be summoned by prosecutors soon.Naver CEO Kim Sang-hun reportedly made profits with inside information for Nexon’s IPO with borrowed money. Naver CEO Kim Sang-hun /The InvestorKim, prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon and Park Seong-joon, a director of Boston Consulting Group, purchased shares valued at 425 million
July 14, 2016
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Pokemon Go takes South Korea by storm
[THE INVESTOR] The global craze for Pokemon Go, Japanese game developer Nintendo’s augmented-reality smartphone game, has taken the nation by storm with downloads exceeding 400,000 as of July 13, according to a survey by market research firm WiseApp. The survey result is based on 14,439 Android phone users in Korea from July 7-13. The mobile game, which has not been officially launched here, achieved the feat in less than two weeks since its release in other parts of the world on July 5, includi
July 14, 2016
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CrucialTec to supply fingerprint module to Huawei’s Honor 8
[THE INVESTOR] Korean fingerprint module maker CrucialTec said on July 14 it will supply its mobile fingerprint module, BTP, to Huawei’s upcoming new smartphone Honor 8. The Honor 8 features a 5.2-inch curved glass display, a 12 mega pixel dual camera, and is powered by an in-house octa-core Kirin 950 processor. The pricing and launch date have not been disclosed. Huawei’s Honor 8CrucialTec has supplied BTP to Huawei’s premium lineup, including the Mate 8 and the P9, and the latest mid-range Hon
July 14, 2016
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Naver to unveil Korean version of Siri next year
[THE INVESTOR] Korean Internet giant Naver plans to unveil its own voice recognition system specialized in Korean language next year, industry sources said on July 13. Based on its own data analysis and artificial intelligence technology, the company aims to unveil the system mimicking Apple’s Siri as early as in January next year. Global IT companies are rolling out their own voice recognition systems mostly in English but it is rare for them to offer Korean language service due to their lack o
July 14, 2016