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US steel tariffs on home appliances spark concerns for Samsung, LG
The Trump administration's decision to expand steel tariffs to include washing machines, refrigerators and other household appliances containing steel components is stoking fresh concerns for Korean appliance giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. The Department of Commerce said the steel duties, which are currently at 50 percent, will apply to so-called “steel-derivative products” starting June 23, in a notice published in the Federal Register on Thursday. Newly affected items include c
June 13, 2025 -
Naver-led consortium to build next-gen AI data center in Morocco
Korean IT giant Naver said Friday that it has formed a global consortium with Nvidia, AI infrastructure specialist Nexus Core Systems and international investment firm Lloyds Capital to establish a next-generation AI data center in Morocco. According to Naver, the consortium aims to build a 500-megawatt, renewable energy-powered data center that will serve as a sovereign AI computing hub for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Morocco’s strategic location, 15 kilometers from Europe
June 13, 2025 -
Silicon Valley’s first Korean-founded unicorn Moloco sets sights on web, connected TV ad expansion
Moloco, an AI advertising solution provider, announced its strategic vision to expand beyond mobile app advertising into web and connected TV domains during a press conference in Seoul on Thursday. Founded by a Korean entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, Moloco is the first unicorn of its kind. The company develops AI-powered advertising technologies that help apps, e-commerce platforms and OTT services boost their ad revenue. Its solutions are designed to improve user engagement with ads, enabling b
June 12, 2025 -
KT, Palantir bolster ties to deliver AI solutions across sectors
Korean telecommunications giant KT said Thursday it will expand its strategic collaboration with global AI platform Palantir Technologies, sharing technical and marketing capabilities to accelerate AI transformation across industries. Palantir Chief Revenue Officer Ryan Taylor visited KT's headquarters in Seoul to discuss concrete implementation strategies with executives from both companies, as part of ongoing efforts to deepen their partnership signed in March. "This partnership enables us to
June 12, 2025 -
Naver to debut 'AI Tab’ next year for smarter, task-based search
Naver on Thursday announced plans to roll out a new AI-powered search interface dubbed the “AI Tab” next year, marking a major step in its evolution from keyword-based queries to interactive, task-completing search experiences. Unveiled during a press briefing in Seoul earlier in the day, the AI Tab is designed to provide users with multi-turn conversational capabilities, enabling them to complete complex tasks, such as trip planning, real-time schedule changes and reservations, without leaving
June 12, 2025 -
Yes24 warns of possible data breach as outage drags on; full recovery by Sunday
Yes24 warned Thursday that it would notify users individually if personal data was compromised in the ransomware attack that has shut down its services for four consecutive days. This marks a shift from the company’s earlier stance that no data breach had occurred. The statement, posted on Yes24’s official website and app outage page on Thursday morning, came just one day after South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission launched a formal investigation into the incident. Until now,
June 12, 2025 -
SK hynix CEO warns of looming tariff volatility despite AI chip boom
SK hynix Chief Executive Officer Kwak Noh-jung raised concerns over rising tariff-related risks in the second half of the year, while the company celebrates its record-breaking sales, according to industry sources Wednesday. Speaking at an internal town hall meeting with employees on Tuesday, Kwak said the company's operations are going as planned and called for continued collective efforts to achieve goals. “It is difficult to predict for next year, but for now, we are moving in line with our p
June 11, 2025 -
Veteran negotiator tapped to lead Korea’s trade talks with US
President Lee Jae-myung has appointed Yeo Han-koo, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former trade minister, as the nation's chief trade negotiator, the presidential office announced Tuesday. Yeo, who previously held the same post under the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, returns to lead high-stakes negotiations with the United States over looming tariffs. “Yeo previously served as director-general for trade policy at the Trade Ministry during the fir
June 10, 2025 -
SK hynix unveils 30-year DRAM road map
SK hynix, the world’s largest DRAM supplier by revenue, unveiled a new DRAM technology road map for the next 30 years at a symposium in Japan on Tuesday. Participating in this year’s Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Very Large Scale Integration Symposium in Kyoto, the chipmaker also presented its direction for sustainable innovation, the company said. In a keynote titled “Driving Innovation in DRAM Technology: Towards a Sustainable Future,” SK hynix Chief Technology Officer Cha
June 10, 2025 -
Naver builds digital twin platform for Saudi smart city project
Korean internet giant Naver said Tuesday that it has completed the construction of a large-scale digital twin platform for three major cities in Saudi Arabia -- Mecca, Medina and Jeddah -- as part of the Middle Eastern nation’s smart city ambitions. A digital twin is a virtual replica of a real-world place that uses high-resolution 3D models to help plan and manage cities more effectively. The newly created platform spans about 6,800 square kilometers -- more than 11 times the size of Seoul -- a
June 10, 2025 -
AI teaching assistant shows real promise at S. Korea tech university KAIST
South Korea’s top science and engineering university has rolled out a custom-built AI teaching assistant to help students in large graduate courses, and early results show it helped reduce repetitive student questions while encouraging more active, self-directed learning. At Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, a team of researchers led by AI graduate school professor Choi Yoon-jae and design professor Hong Hwa-jung developed a virtual teaching assistant, or VTA, that can answer s
June 10, 2025 -
OLED growth dims as Trump tariffs threaten smartphone sales
Concerns are mounting over the potential slowdown in global smartphone shipments, triggered by US President Donald Trump’s escalating tariff policies, which may in turn dampen the growth momentum of Korea’s OLED display industry. According to market tracker Counterpoint Research on Monday, the global smartphone shipment growth forecast for this year has been revised down from 4.2 percent to 1.9 percent. The downgrade was attributed to new uncertainties surrounding US tariffs, the report said. Ap
June 9, 2025 -
Ecount surpasses 80,000 corporate clients, eyes 100,000 by 2027
Ecount Co., Ltd, a South Korean provider of cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, announced Monday that its proprietary software Ecount surpassed 80,000 paying corporate clients as of December 2024. Based on current growth trends, the company expects to reach 100,000 clients by 2027. Debuted in 1999, the software was designed to serve small and medium-sized enterprises — a stark contrast to the prevailing ERP market at the time, which largely catered to large corporations usi
June 9, 2025 -
Samsung Electronics to adopt AI coding assistant to boost developer productivity
Samsung Electronics Co. said Sunday it will adopt an artificial intelligence coding assistant service called Cline next month to enhance productivity among its software development employees. In a recent internal notice, the company said it has launched a beta test of Cline for employees in the Device eXperience division, which includes its mobile, TV and home appliances businesses. Cline is an open-source AI tool that helps developers write, edit and test code using simple natural language comm
June 8, 2025 -
Vietnam's top leader congratulates Lee on inauguration
HANOI -- Vietnam's Party General Secretary To Lam on Thursday extended his congratulations to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on his inauguration, the South Korean Embassy in Vietnam said. The message was conveyed during a meeting between Lam and South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young-sam in Hanoi. Lam noted that relations between the two countries have reached their highest level, being elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022. The secretary also conveyed expectatio
June 5, 2025