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Baek Byung-yeul

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.

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Tech & Science

Naver fails to meet market expectations

Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver / Courtesy of NaverOperating profit down 14% to 302 billion won in 1st quarterBy Baek Byung-yeulNaver's first-quarter earnings fell short of market expectations as its profitability declined, due to soaring labor costs amid slowing e-commerce growth.The internet company said Thursday that it logged 1.84 trillion won ($1.48 billion) in sales and an operating profit of 301.8 billion won in the first quarter, up 23.1 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, from the same period of 2021. But the figures are still 1.6 percent and 11.6 percent below the market forecasts, respectively.Its top executives attributed the lower-than-expected performance mainly to increased labor costs, adding that the company will offset the worsened profitability by controlling the increase in the number of employees to pre-pandemic levels.“This year, we will focus on streamlining costs such as labor costs. We expect the company's profitability to improve soon,” CEO Choi Soo-yeon told investors during a conference call.Naver Chief Financial Officer Kim Nam-sun attributed t

Apr 21, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
Naver fails to meet market expectations
Tech & Science

SK shieldus vows to offer ironclad cybersecurity

Kim Jong-hyun, the chief of SK shieldus's Secudium Center, introduces the company's cybersecurity control system at its headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Courtesy of SK shieldusBy Baek Byung-yeulSK shieldus has been providing cybersecurity services to over 2,000 customer companies through its 24-hour, 365-day control system, in response to the growing threat of cyberattacks.“In the past, cyberattackers could succeed if they tried to send files through malicious emails, but more recently, various methods have been used,” Kim Jong-hyun, the chief of Secudium Center, which oversees the company's cybersecurity, told reporters, Thursday, at the company headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.“Our Secudium Center security control system provides a service that monitors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for external cybersecurity threats and ensures that there are no security problems. For example, when a massive zero-day attack occurred last December, it was difficult for companies to check and analyze the situation one by one to respond,” he

Apr 21, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
SK shieldus vows to offer ironclad cybersecurity
Tech & Science

LG Magna to build EV parts plant in Mexico

From second left to right are LG Magna e-Powertrain CEO Cheong Won-suk, LG Electronics' vehicle component solutions division President Eun Seok-hyun, LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan, Magna Powertrain President Tom Rucker and GM Vice President Jeffrey Morrison, during a groundbreaking ceremony of LG Magna e-Powertrain's new factory in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, April 19. Courtesy of LG ElectronicsBy Baek Byung-yeulLG Magna e-Powertrain, a joint venture between LG Electronics and Canadian car parts maker Magna International, will build an electric vehicle (EV) parts-manufacturing plant in Mexico to supply components to U.S. carmaker GM, LG said, Wednesday.The EV component-making company had a groundbreaking ceremony in Ramos Arizpe for the 260,000-square-meter plant on April 19 (local time). LG Magna e-Powertrain said the plant, scheduled to be completed in 2023, is its first production facility in North America and third overall following its Incheon factory in Korea and Nanjing factory in China.At the factory, the company will produce key EV components such as drive motors and inverters to

Apr 20, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Magna to build EV parts plant in Mexico
Tech & Science

Digital healthcare next growth engine for companies

Visitors try out KT's smart digital healthcare service during the World IT Show at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of KTBy Baek Byung-yeulLG Electronics, KT, Naver, Kakao and other Korean companies are foraying into the digital healthcare business ― including telemedicine ― as the importance of healthcare has been highlighted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, company officials said Wednesday.The officials said that companies are rushing into this business because the digitalization of healthcare is clearly seen as a lucrative opportunity for them, with the development of related technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data analysis.“Providing customized services to customers has become important in the healthcare business. In particular, IT companies with data processing and analysis technologies are actively entering this market,” an official from a local telecommunications company said, requesting anonymity.Data showed that the digital healthcare market will increase rapidly with the development of data processing technology. The K

Apr 20, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
Digital healthcare next growth engine for companies
Tech & Science

Samsung, LG, SKT, KT unveil innovative technologies for endemic era at World IT Show

Visitors view photos taken with Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S22 smartphone through the company's Neo QLED 8K TV during the World IT Show at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Samsung ElectronicsBy Baek Byung-yeulSamsung Electronics, LG Electronics, SK Telecom, KT, Kia and other companies from Korea and abroad are displaying their new products equipped with the latest technologies at the World IT Show, the largest IT event in Seoul, which runs until Friday.Company officials said Monday that the IT event, hosted by the ICT ministry, will be an opportunity to promote new technology as well as see how the market moves at a time when the global community is transitioning from a pandemic to an endemic as well as keeping up with the latest technological trends both at home and abroad.The organizing committee said more than 350 large, small and medium-sized companies and public institutions took part in the event. The major exhibition items consist of non-contact technology; artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT); digital twin and metaverse; smart

Apr 20, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
Samsung, LG, SKT, KT unveil innovative technologies for endemic era at World IT Show
Companies

Doosan, SK, Samsung rush to harness next-generation nuclear reactors

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's policy shift spurs bold investmentsBy Baek Byung-yeulDoosan Enerbility, SK Inc., Samsung Heavy Industries and other Korean companies are rushing to develop technologies for small modular reactors (SMRs), a type of next-generation nuclear reactor that are smaller and potentially safer than conventional nuclear reactors, according to industry officials, Tuesday.This trend has been accelerating in recent months as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has pledged to revive nuclear power as an important energy source and pledged to make Korea a nuclear reactor powerhouse country again, a major shift from the Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phase-out policy of the past five years.Industry analysts and officials say that SMR technology, which is cheaper and potentially safer than existing large-sized nuclear power plants, will become the core of the next-generation nuclear power plant industry, adding that it is too early to draw conclusions because the incoming administration's energy plan is scheduled to come out later in 2022.They presumed that if Korean com

Apr 19, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
Doosan, SK, Samsung rush to harness next-generation nuclear reactors
Tech & Science

LG CNS to build AI smart farm platform

LG CNS employees promote the company's intelligent smart farm platform, Tuesday. Courtesy of LG CNSBy Baek Byung-yeulLG CNS will build a smart farm helping farmers to grow high-quality crops by utilizing the company's digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and sensors, the IT solution arm of LG Group said Tuesday.The company said the project is promoted jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and South Jeolla Province and involves smart farming on open land rather than inside a greenhouse. The smart farm will be built on 54.3 hectares of farmland in the country's southwestern city of Naju by 2023. The area is about the size of 76 football fields. “The smart farm we have been calling for was to install facilities inside a greenhouse, but this project will be built on open land. According to data from Statistics Korea, about 95 percent of the nation's agricultural land is cultivated in open fields and we expect that this smart farm project will become a leading global model,” a company spokesman said.The smart farm intelligent platf

Apr 19, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
LG CNS to build AI smart farm platform
Companies

Samsung expands customer services in war-torn Ukraine

Samsung Electronics' Experience Store in Kyiv, Ukraine / Courtesy of Samsung ElectronicsBy Baek Byung-yeulSamsung Electronics is expanding its customer service in Ukraine, expressing its willingness to share in the difficulties faced by Ukrainian customers amid the Russian invasion, the company said, Tuesday.The Korean tech giant's Ukraine branch said on April 16 that it will operate customer service remotely for customers who want to fix their Samsung mobile devices such as smartphones, tablet PCs and smartwatches.The company continues to operate its offline customer service centers in areas where business activities are available. And in other places where service centers cannot be operated, it will provide a free pick-up service for users of mobile and wearable devices who can send their devices to the service center or call a courier.For the remote customer service, Samsung is cooperating with Ukrainian logistics company Nova Poshta. Samsung joined the Ukraine market back in 1996, selling its home appliances and mobile gadgets there.“Despite all the challenges facing Ukrain

Apr 19, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
Samsung expands customer services in war-torn Ukraine
Companies

Hyundai Motor chief's EV first strategy shines in global market

Chung Euisun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, speaks with reporters at Genesis House, a showcase center for the group's Genesis luxury vehicle brand, in New York, Wednesday (local time). Courtesy of Hyundai Motor GroupBy Baek Byung-yeulHyundai Motor Group's electric vehicles (EVs) have been sweeping prestigious awards in the global automotive industry with their superior performance and distinguished design, according to company officials, Thursday. They say such a good response was possible as their Chairman Chung Euisun set a strategy to become a “first mover” in the EV era by developing an EV-only platform and offering technologies different from competitors.On April 13, Hyundai Motor said its EV IONIQ 5 won three big awards at the prestigious 2022 World Car Awards ― World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle of the Year and World Car Design of the Year.The vehicle, the first model of Hyundai Motor's dedicated battery EV brand IONIQ, won the awards after being recognized by a jury of 102 automotive journalists from 33 countries. Not only the IONIQ 5, but also Kia's

Apr 14, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
Hyundai Motor chief's EV first strategy shines in global market
Tech & Science

KT targets Vietnam's digital healthcare market

Ko Hun-seok, left, a project manager at KT's Digital and Bio Health Business Department, and Yim Seung-hyouk, second from left, senior vice president of KT, pose with Le Thi Huong, center, dean of the Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health at Hanoi Medical University, and other staff of the school after signing an agreement at Hanoi Medical University in Vietnam, Wednesday. Courtesy of KTBy Baek Byung-yeulKT plans to expand its digital healthcare business to Vietnam. Using the Southeast Asian country as a bridgehead, the company also aims to expand its operations to other countries in the region, the mobile carrier said, Wednesday.The company said it signed an agreement with Hanoi Medical University in Vietnam to offer pilot telemedicine services for chronically-ill patients. The agreement includes the development of chronic disease management services, joint research on artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the medical sector and training of Vietnamese medical staff.Based on the cooperation, KT will launch a pilot telemedicine platform service there by the end of t

Apr 13, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
KT targets Vietnam's digital healthcare market
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