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Kim Bo-eun

Korea Times Digital Content Reporter

Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.

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Tech & Science

Growing pains of Korea's leading internet firms

Kakao plagued by bullying; Toss suffering high turnover rateBy Kim Bo-eunKorea's leading internet companies have drawn attention and investments from around the world with their leading technology and rapid growth. Firms such as internet giant Kakao and fintech platform Toss are also noted for their progressive working cultures, but the companies have recently been showing signs of internal conflict and difficulty in retaining staff.Industry observers say this illustrates that these firms, which are seen to have modeled themselves after their Western peers such as Google and Amazon, are undergoing “growing pains,” with Korean employees failing to fully embrace an innovative, horizontal corporate culture.Kakao, driven by the success of mobile messenger Kakao Talk, has grown into a big tech firm with numerous acquisitions. The company has consistently been picked by college students as the most desirable employer, with one of the major factors being its organizational culture. Kakao has been defined by its horizontal and flexible work system, as well as its emphasis on inno

Mar 1, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Growing pains of Korea's leading internet firms
Companies

SK Innovation CEOs extend warmth to senior citizens

Left: SK Global Chemical CEO Na Kyung-soo poses on the right with an elderly citizen and a company employee after visiting her home in western Seoul, Friday. Right: SK Lubricants CEO Cha Gyu-tak, left, hands over masks and other supplies to an elderly woman in central Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of SK InnovationBy Kim Bo-eunChiefs of SK Innovation's affiliates visited senior citizens living alone last Friday to hand out meals and face masks.SK Innovation said Monday that SK Global Chemical CEO Na Kyung-soo and SK Lubricants CEO Cha Gyu-tak, along with their employees, visited 59 households in Seoul.The visits were paid to senior citizens who have difficulties preparing meals on their own.They delivered lunch boxes made by the owners of small restaurants with produce purchased from local traditional markets, as a means to support the local community afflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.SK Innovation said the visits were organized considering the support needed by senior citizens who live alone, as welfare facilities have shut down and volunteer activities have been put on hold amid social d

Mar 1, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
SK Innovation CEOs extend warmth to senior citizens
Tech & Science

IT firms battle to secure developers

gettyimagesbankBy Kim Bo-eunCompetition is heating up among startups and established companies in the IT sector to secure programmers, as demand skyrockets for such workers.The firms are racing each other to attract talented workers, even those who are already employees of their rivals. Companies are on their toes as startups have joined the race, unveiling dramatic pay hikes.Zigbang's CEO stated last week that the property search platform operator will offer developers a starting annual salary of 60 million won. The CEO said it would also raise the annual pay for developers at the company by 20 million won. In addition, Zigbang said it would provide a bonus of up to 100 million won to experienced developers that join.This has raised eyebrows in the IT sector, given it exceeds the compensation level of many major IT firms. Zigbang has not been the top destination of developers seeking to beef up their resumes. But this is forcing bigger companies to consider taking similar steps, since moving to different companies is a common practice among developers. Employers are feeling a greate

Feb 28, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
IT firms battle to secure developers
Companies

Volkswagen bets on T-Roc for compact SUV market

Volkswagen's urban compact SUV T-Roc / Courtesy of VolkswagenBy Kim Bo-eunVolkswagen Korea is betting big on its newest urban compact SUV model, T-Roc, unveiled last month.The crossover SUV targeting the millennial generation was launched here for 12 million won below the model's price in Germany. Volkswagen is also running an event where customers can purchase the vehicle for less than 200,000 won in monthly payments for 36 months. The new T-Roc features a sporty and sleek exterior as well as impressive performance.The T-Roc has a shorter overall length (4,235 millimeters), wheelbase (2,605 millimeters), full width (1,820 millimeters) and overall height (1,575 millimeters) than the Tiguan model.Despite being a compact SUV, the T-Roc has a spacious interior with sufficient headroom and legroom in the back seats. Passengers can enjoy 1,290 liters of loading space when folding down the back seats. The vehicle enables 445 liters of loading space when keeping the back seats in position, which is the largest among similar five-passenger models.The SUV can accelerate from zero to 100 kilom

Feb 25, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Volkswagen bets on T-Roc for compact SUV market
Tech & Science

Samsung says seeking to improve working condition

Samsung Electronics' office in Seoul / YonhapBy Kim Bo-eunUnionized workers at Samsung Group affiliates filed a petition with the government Monday, accusing the conglomerate of subsidizing members of a labor-management committee to exercise greater influence over them.The latest development comes after the head of the conglomerate, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, apologized for union-busting practices in the past and pledged in May last year to comply with laws that guarantee workers' rights.Union representatives submitted a petition to the Ministry of Employment and Labor to look into possible violations of labor regulations. The union representatives also filed a complaint against executives of Samsung's affiliates with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency over allegations of breach of trust. "We have taken action because the situation has not improved since the apology. Samsung is attempting to control and manage employees by subsidizing the labor-management committee," Jang Seok-won, an official affiliated with the union told The Korea Times, Tuesday.According to

Feb 23, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Samsung says seeking to improve working condition
Tech & Science

Obsession with secrecy and domineering style hampering Apple's car business

By Kim Bo-eunApple has long been seeking to enter the car industry, but its culture of secrecy and its domineering presence over subcontractors appear to be holding it back from striking key partnerships to enable this to happen.These factors are seen as being behind halted talks with major carmakers for an autonomous electric vehicle (EV) Apple is apparently envisioning.Former employees have referred to Apple's obsession with secrecy as being almost cult-like. Hyundai Motor's affiliate Kia had been in talks with the iPhone designer, with various reports saying the entities were nearing a deal, but Hyundai also said earlier this month that it was not in discussions on developing Apple's so-called “i-Car.” The talks are seen to have fallen apart due to Apple's apparent discomfort concerning alleged secrecy violations over the potential manufacturing deal. But recent remarks by Nissan's chief imply that there are more things holding back carmakers from forming a tie-up with the tech giant. Apple is known to have approached the Japanese carmaker, but the "brief" talks failed

Feb 23, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
Obsession with secrecy and domineering style hampering Apple's car business
Tech & Science

LG to supply 'foldable panels' for Apple

LG Display's production base in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of LG DisplayBy Kim Bo-eun, Kim Yoo-chulAs Apple is preparing to launch its first “foldable iPhone” model ― the first to be released in 2023, at the earliest ― LG Display is involved in developing foldable display panels for the device, sources said Sunday.“Given Apple's shift to actively adopt low temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology, and with LG Display investing to guarantee volume capacity and stabilize production yields of LTPO-based OLED panels at its E6 manufacturing line in Paju, the company's main display cluster, it's possible that LG will supply these foldable displays for Apple's new iPhone model,” said a senior industry executive.LTPO combines both LTPS TFTs and Oxide TFTs. More importantly, LTPO is applicable to both OLEDs and LCDs. From Apple's standpoint, as in ITPO, the switching display circuits are using LTPs while the driving TFTs will mainly use IGZO materials, the technology could bring power saving of between 10 percent and 14 percent to the industr

Feb 20, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
LG to supply 'foldable panels' for Apple
Tech & Science

KT, LG Uplus considering legal action over music copyright fee hike

By Kim Bo-eunTelecom firms KT and LG Uplus are reviewing possible legal action against the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which approved rules hiking fees for content involving music copyrights. KT operates the over-the-top (OTT) service Seezn, while LG Uplus runs U+Mobile tv.This development comes after local OTT service providers launched a collective suit over the newly added rule outlining the fee hike, requested by the Korea Music Copyright Association and approved by the Ministry in December.On Feb. 5, the group of OTT service providers, comprised of Wavve, Watcha and Tving, filed a suit with the Seoul Administrative Court against the Ministry. The suit seeks to cancel the Ministry's approval of the revisions of existing regulations on fees collected from content involving music copyrights.Under the new rules, OTT service providers must pay 1.5 percent of their total sales in music copyright fees. The rate has been set to be gradually raised to nearly 2 percent by 2026. The rationale of the music copyright association is that separate fees should be collected when con

Feb 19, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
KT, LG Uplus considering legal action over music copyright fee hike
Tech & Science

LG CNS receives Amazon cloud security certification

LG CNS said Thursday that it has obtained Amazon Web Services' security competency certification for its cloud services. / Courtesy of LG CNSBy Kim Bo-eunIT service provider LG CNS has obtained security competency certification for its cloud services from Amazon Web Services (AWS), the LG affiliate said Thursday.LG CNS received a certification for security engineering, which is one of the four areas for which AWS provides cloud security certifications. The certification is issued for companies that hold security capabilities in designing and setting up cloud systems for client firms. LG CNS became the first local firm to obtain the security engineering certification from AWS.AWS is the world's most widely used cloud platform, and it issues cloud security certification for partnering firms. LG CNS claimed that AWS' certification acknowledges its cloud assessment tool, which employs the company's technology of automatically checking the security status of cloud services. Cloud security features identify and issue warnings for security loopholes, such as the absence of passwords or the

Feb 18, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
LG CNS receives Amazon cloud security certification
Tech & Science

How far has Korea come in self-driving services?

SOCAR has partnered with solutions provider RideFlux to launch self-driving services in the first half of this year. Courtesy of SOCARBy Kim Bo-eunMany people still have reservations when it comes to self-driving cars, but Korea is making strides in the sector. Self-driving vehicles, which had been limited to free trials, are revving up to be commercialized after regulations were established last year.SOCAR in partnership with self-driving systems provider RideFlux is set to launch services on Jeju Island in the first half of the year. This comes after KakaoMobility launched the first self-driving automobile services last month in the administrative city of Sejong. Regulations on self-driving vehicles went into effect in May and the government in November designated six districts where self-driving services could be operated, including Sejong, Jeju and Daegu.Passengers will be able to hail the vehicles and pay fares via mobile applications. At the current stage, however, a driver is seated behind the steering wheels to ensure safety.SOCAR has been testing the self-driving services si

Feb 17, 2021By Kim Bo-eun
How far has Korea come in self-driving services?
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