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Lee Gyu-lee

Korea Times Business Reporter

Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.

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Tech & Science

ICT minister, telecom CEOs pledge trust, cheaper 5G, AI network investment

Deputy Prime Minister and Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon and the CEOs of three major telecom companies — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus — issued a joint declaration Thursday, pledging to restore public trust, deliver tangible benefits such as cheaper 5G plans and expanded service, and ramp up investment in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered networks to secure the nation’s digital future. The minister met with the CEOs in Seoul to discuss how the industry can rebuild public trust following a series of data breach incidents last year, and pursue future growth amid a rapidly changing communications environment. The meeting marked the first gathering between the minister and industry heads since the new CEOs of SK Telecom and KT officially took office. Discussions centered around three key areas: restoring trust, improving affordability and driving AI network investments. Based on the discussions, the ministry and CEOs adopted a joint declaration, reaffirming their commitment to industrywide reform. “The hacking incidents last year made it all the more clear how serious the r

Apr 9, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
ICT minister, telecom CEOs pledge trust, cheaper 5G, AI network investment
Tech & Science

Samsung Electro-Mechanics upgrades ERP software to boost AI push

SAP Korea announced Wednesday that Samsung Electro-Mechanics has successfully completed the implementation of its next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, SAP S/4HANA, enabling an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven transformation framework built on an enterprise-wide integrated platform. With the software, Samsung Electro-Mechanics has integrated key data previously dispersed across ERP for finance and logistics, manufacturing execution systems (MES) and supply chain management (SCM) systems, into a single business warehouse database. “This SAP S/4HANA transition at Samsung Electro-Mechanics goes beyond a simple system upgrade, representing a next-generation digital transformation case built on data and AI,” said Won Young-sun, SAP Korea’s vice president and head of enterprise. “SAP will continue to actively support customers in accelerating business innovation and securing sustainable competitiveness.” The move enables real-time analytics and data consistency across all departments, while also significantly improving the company’s ability to make fast an

Apr 8, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Samsung Electro-Mechanics upgrades ERP software to boost AI push
Tech & Science

Samsung SDS to lead Woori Bank AI agent project, driving finance AX push

Samsung SDS is accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) transformation (AX) across the financial sector, securing a series of key projects with Woori Bank. The company announced Tuesday that it has been selected as the preferred bidder for Woori Bank’s AI agent initiative, the industry’s first large-scale deployment of AI agents across core banking operations. The project aims to connect multiple internal systems and build more than 175 AI agents capable of handling end-to-end tasks using large language model (LLM) technology. “In the financial industry, AI is evolving rapidly beyond simple task support to fundamentally transform how work gets done,” said Lee Jeong-heon, head of the company’s strategic marketing office. “Building on Samsung SDS’s track record in key financial projects and its strengths in AI and cloud technologies, we will actively drive AX (AI transformation) across the banking sector." Woori Bank plans to deploy AI agents across 29 core tasks in five key areas: customer relationship management and corporate lending, wealth management, internal controls, c

Apr 7, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Samsung SDS to lead Woori Bank AI agent project, driving finance AX push
Tech & Science

LG chairman taps Silicon Valley partners to fast-track AI, robotics strategy

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is ramping up the conglomerate’s push into artificial intelligence (AI), using a high-profile Silicon Valley tour to secure strategic partners, refine its commercialization strategy and accelerate execution. Koo met with Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp and Skild AI co-founders Deepak Pathak and Abhinav Gupta on Thursday (local time). The meetings underscore LG’s drive to tighten its AI road map and execution priorities as it races to establish leadership in AI transformation (AX) and physical AI. Koo met with Karp and Palantir executives to discuss the company’s Ontology platform — a software system that integrates data for real-time simulation — as well as its AI-driven decision-making systems and real-world use cases. Palantir has built a strong track record across manufacturing, finance and logistics by leveraging its data integration and AI-powered decision-making technologies. The discussion explored potential collaboration opportunities and benchmarking elements that could enhance LG’s own implementation of AI across its industrial netw

Apr 7, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
LG chairman taps Silicon Valley partners to fast-track AI, robotics strategy
Tech & Science

Major telecoms to see split earnings in Q1 as cyberattack fallout lingers

The nation's three major telecom operators — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus — are expected to post diverging earnings for this year’s first quarter, as the financial fallout from last year’s high-profile security breaches continues to weigh on the industry. While SK Telecom and KT are bracing for weaker profitability, LG Uplus is expected to extend its earnings growth supported by subscriber gains and a relatively limited direct impact. According to consensus forecasts compiled by market researcher FnGuide, the three carriers' combined operating profit is projected at 1.35 trillion won ($896.5 million) for the first quarter, down 10.8 percent from a year earlier. The decline reflects mounting costs for customer compensation, security upgrades and heavier marketing outlays after a series of cybersecurity incidents at SK Telecom in April and KT in August. SK Telecom is expected to post the steepest decline among the three, as the full impact of last year’s massive universal subscriber identity module (USIM) data breach continues to show up in its results. The company’s operating pr

Apr 7, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Major telecoms to see split earnings in Q1 as cyberattack fallout lingers
Health

DGIST professor finds brain immune switch to ease Alzheimer’s

A research team led by brain science professor Um Ji-won at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) has identified for the first time in the world how a biological switch in brain immune cells can ease Alzheimer’s disease, offering a potential pathway to repurpose existing drugs. The study revealed that the brain’s somatostatin, a neuropeptide that dampens neural activity and directly regulates microglia, which are resident immune cells in the brain, shifting them into a protective state that reduces disease pathology. When microglia were treated with somatostatin, their ability to clear toxic waste surged while inflammatory signals sharply declined, suggesting that the peptide effectively puts brain immunity back in balance. “This study is the first to show that the brain neurotransmitter somatostatin can directly reset immune cell states to ease dementia pathology and even improve memory performance,” the professor said. Alzheimer’s disease is marked by the accumulation of sticky protein clumps building up in the brain, known as amyloid‑beta plaques, and

Apr 6, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
DGIST professor finds brain immune switch to ease Alzheimer’s
Companies

Indonesia can emerge as Korea’s energy, minerals hedge: commerce chamber head

Anindya Novyan Bakrie, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is positioning Korea-Indonesia ties as a strategic hedge for Korea’s energy and critical minerals security amid mounting geopolitical risks and energy market turmoil. Bakrie, who joined Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Seoul last week, noted the two countries’ summit has underscored the need to move beyond ad hoc deals toward long-term industrial partnerships. “From a business point of view, the real value of this summit is that the agenda is practical … It covers trade, investment, defense, artificial intelligence (AI), infrastructure, shipbuilding, nuclear energy and energy transition,” he said in a written interview with The Korea Times. “That gives the private sector a clearer signal on where the partnership is heading.” Against the backdrop of the Iran war and renewed jitters over Middle East energy and resource supply chains, the chairman pointed to gas and broader upstream energy cooperation as the front line of Korea’s supply security. “In the near term, Indones

Apr 6, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Indonesia can emerge as Korea’s energy, minerals hedge: commerce chamber head
Companies

Samsung owner family to finish paying $7.95 bil. inheritance tax

The family of late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee is set to complete one of the largest inheritance tax payments in Korea’s history, with the final installment of the 12 trillion won ($7.95 billion) tax due this month. Once the payments are completed, uncertainties surrounding Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s grip on Samsung Group are expected to ease. The heirs — the late chairman’s widow Hong Ra-hee and his children Lee Jae-yong, Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun — will make the sixth and final installment this month, completing the payment process that began in 2021 following the former chairman’s death in 2020. Lee Kun-hee’s estate, valued at about 26 trillion won, included a vast portfolio of Samsung shares, real estate and private art collections. Hong bore the largest share of the tax at approximately 3.1 trillion won, followed by their children at 2.9 trillion, 2.6 trillion and 2.4 trillion, respectively. The family opted to pay the tax in six installments over the past five years. To finance the payments, family members turned to different approaches. Hong and her da

Apr 5, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Samsung owner family to finish paying $7.95 bil. inheritance tax
Tech & Science

Naver, Kakao accelerate tech push with expanded startup investments

Naver and Kakao are stepping up efforts to secure future growth engines by expanding investments in promising startups in fields such as health care and artificial intelligence (AI), signaling a broader push to stay ahead of rapid technological shifts. The tech companies' venture arms, Naver D2SF and Kakao Ventures, are sharpening investment strategies to identify high-potential startups and build long-term partnerships as they seek to secure AI-native capabilities and expand globally. Naver D2SF announced Tuesday that it has made follow-on investments in U.S.-focused health care startups Soundable Health and Nuvilab, the Korean-founded companies that have demonstrated product-market fit in the U.S. market. Soundable Health, which received seed funding from Naver D2SF shortly after its founding in 2019, develops AI models that analyze body sound data to assess health status. Its first product, proudP, uses only a smartphone to analyze urination sounds and monitor symptoms related to conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia. The solution, which was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug

Apr 4, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Naver, Kakao accelerate tech push with expanded startup investments
Politics

Korea braces for prolonged energy price risks as Iran war expected to drag on

The government is preparing for a prolonged period of elevated energy prices and supply uncertainty, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s address on Wednesday (local time) failed to signal that the Middle East conflict will end soon. It plans to maintain the fuel price caps and seek alternative oil sources outside the Middle East, as Trump said countries importing oil through the Strait of Hormuz should make their own efforts to secure passage or pursue other options. Officials here assess that even if the Middle East conflict is “nearing completion” as Trump claims, it is unlikely to restore the energy supply and markets to prewar stability immediately. “Even if Trump ends the war, the war will not be over for us at the industry ministry. We expect to remain in a wartime situation,” Yang Ki‑wook, director general of the industrial resource security bureau at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, said Thursday during a briefing at Government Complex Sejong. “An end-of-war declaration, even if it is made, does not mean that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is s

Apr 2, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Korea braces for prolonged energy price risks as Iran war expected to drag on
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