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.
Models showcase Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S26 series smartphones and Galaxy Buds4 wireless earbuds. The company launched its third-generation AI-powered series along with the new earbuds in major markets worldwide, Wednesday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
![[PHOTO] Samsung rolls out Galaxy S26 series globally](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) is moving to extend its footprint in Europe’s hydrogen market, partnering with Czech energy group CEZ to cooperate on clean hydrogen projects and technology development. KHNP announced Wednesday the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a clean hydrogen partnership in Prague, the Czech Republic, deepening their current nuclear ties for the Dukovany nuclear power project. The agreement aims to leverage both sides’ nuclear power expertise and hydrogen technologies to jointly pursue new opportunities in Europe’s clean hydrogen market and contribute to global carbon neutrality efforts. “This MOU marks a meaningful milestone in expanding KHNP’s nuclear-based clean hydrogen business into the European market,” said Kong Young-gon, the head of KHNP’s hydrogen and smart business department. “KHNP will combine its technical and business capabilities to build a sustainable hydrogen ecosystem together with the Czech Republic.” Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate on low-carbon and renewable hydrogen produc
LG CNS has made a strategic investment in U.S. robotics company Dexmate to strengthen its hardware capabilities for industrial humanoid robots. The company announced on Tuesday that it became the first Korean firm to invest in the U.S. company, using LG Group’s corporate venture capital arm LG Technology Ventures. Based in Silicon Valley, Dexmate builds high-performance humanoid robots that have been recognized as standard research hardware by global artificial intelligence (AI) developers. Its robots are designed for human-like motion. Each robot features a wheeled lower body, dual arms for high-speed operations and a vision-sensor head designed to perceive its surroundings. With over 36 independent axes of motion, the robots can perform precise two-arm cooperative tasks, carry up to 15 kilograms per arm and operate for over 20 hours on a single charge. “This investment is LG CNS’ strategic step to tightly integrate robotic hardware, robotics foundation model (RFM) and platforms to enable large-scale robot operations and accelerate adoption across industrial sites,” Lee Jun-ho,
CJ Olive Young is taking its signature beauty festival, Olive Young Festa, to the global stage this year, hosting the event across key overseas markets. Korea’s largest beauty retailer said Tuesday the festival will expand abroad, with events scheduled to roll out sequentially in major hubs in Japan and the United States. The festival, built around the retailer’s curation and trend insights, serves as an experiential event where its partner brands meet customers face to face to showcase their products and brand identity. The upcoming Olive Young Festa 2026 will adopt a world tour format while maintaining its focus on hands-on experiences with K-beauty. The festival also aims to cultivate local fan communities for K-beauty brands by allowing visitors to explore the brands’ philosophy, stories and products. The world tour will kick off in May at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, alongside KCON Japan 2026, before heading to Los Angeles in August. The event will feature interactive zones offering Korean skin care routines and product testing, as well as networking opportunities for influe
Leading map platforms are racing to reinforce their services with artificial intelligence (AI)-driven assistants, as the Korean government’s recent approval of Google’s long-sought request to export high-precision map data is expected to intensify competition in the location-based services market. The government finally decided late last month to approve the U.S. tech giant’s request to transfer 1:5,000-scale map data overseas on condition of implementing additional safeguards. The decision comes nearly two decades after Google made its first such request in 2007, and 10 years after its second request in 2016, both of which were rejected over national security concerns that sensitive facilities, such as military bases, could be exposed. Under the conditions, Google is required to process raw maps on a domestic partner’s servers and export only limited navigation layers, use security-processed imagery with military sites blurred, while allowing Seoul to halt exports if it breaches the conditions. The 1:5,000-scale map, which allows higher precision with 1 centimeter on the map rep
Kakao has launched Kanana Scholar, an artificial intelligence (AI) initiative designed to foster collaboration with scholars and emerging experts, forming an advisory group of leading researchers. The company announced Monday that it held an inaugural meeting for the expert advisory group on Friday to outline the group’s advisory direction and set the agenda for the year. The initiative aims to create a platform to jointly discuss and develop Kakao’s AI strategy and technology with the academic community, running an expert advisory group of academic researchers and an outreach program targeting university students and young people. The advisory group consists of seven professors specializing in AI and computing from major Korean universities, including KAIST, Seoul National University and Yonsei University, who will provide guidance on the company’s AI technologies and services across its portfolio. “We expect to refine Kakao’s AI strengths and strategic direction even further through maintaining continuous discussions with Korea’s top AI and ICT experts,” the company’s o
HD Hyundai Electric is strengthening its presence in the North American market, expanding its manufacturing capacity in the United States. The company said Sunday that it held a groundbreaking ceremony in Montgomery, Alabama, Friday (local time), for the second plant of HD Hyundai Power Transformers USA, its North American manufacturing subsidiary. The new facility, scheduled to be completed in April next year, will span 29,000 square meters within the existing Montgomery site. By investing $200 million, the company will expand its ultra-high-voltage transformer production capacity by 50 percent and establish new testing and production lines for 765-kilovolt transformers, a key component seeing rising demand as the U.S. pushes to add high-voltage backbone transmission networks to its power grid. Once completed, the new plant is expected to generate roughly 200 billion won ($134.68 million) in additional annual revenue. “The North American manufacturing subsidiary has played a pivotal role in strengthening our foothold in the U.S. market through localized manufacturing,” a company offi
LG Uplus is partnering with FuriosaAI to develop an on-premises artificial intelligence (AI) system, Sovereign AI Appliance, designed to keep sensitive corporate data within company infrastructure. The telecom company announced Sunday that the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding during MWC 2026 in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday (local time) to jointly build Sovereign AI Appliance. The ready-to-use AI processes data entirely inside corporate networks, eliminating the need for external or public cloud access. Once connected to a power source and an internal network, it can operate immediately without complex server setups or separate AI infrastructure. The device integrates LG Uplus’s enterprise AI platform, LG AI Research’s large language model EXAONE 4.0 and FuriosaAI’s second-generation RNGD neural processing unit (NPU), known for its high efficiency and low power consumption. “For AI to be applied in a work environment in real life, it requires not only performance but also strong security and operational reliability,” LG Uplus Chief Technology Officer Lee Sang-ye
LG CNS has rolled out a compact data center solution, the artificial intelligence (AI) Box, capable of hosting up to 576 graphics processing units (GPUs) per container, aiming to accelerate its push into the global AI infrastructure market. Built as a standardized package, the AI Box can be deployed in about six months since it doesn’t require new building construction, unlike conventional data centers that can take about two years to build. The company explained that each module can operate independently or be connected in clusters of dozens to form a hyperscale AI data center, allowing customers to start small and expand as demand grows while keeping upfront investment low. Leveraging LG CNS’ 40 years of design, build and operate experience, the container-based solution incorporates technologies from across LG Group, integrating power, cooling and IT systems into a unified architecture. It features cooling distribution units, precision air conditioners and chillers from LG Electronics, along with battery systems from LG Energy Solution that support uninterruptible power supply (UPS
Samsung SDS is cementing its dominance in the enterprise generative artificial intelligence (AI) market, signing multiple deals to supply ChatGPT Enterprise to leading companies across key industries. The company announced Thursday that it recently signed agreements with Korea Zinc, iCraft and TmaxSoft, bringing its client base to more than 10 across the public, finance, manufacturing, retail and service sectors. Since becoming OpenAI’s first official reseller partner for ChatGPT Enterprise in Korea last December, the company has gone beyond basic licensing to deliver tailored AI transformation (AX) strategies for its clients. ChatGPT Enterprise features advanced security and management tools that keep businesses’ data isolated from model training. Samsung SDS has introduced a One-Team framework that unifies its AI consulting, development, cloud and security services to deliver end-to-end AX support from initial strategy and system architecture design to deployment, companywide rollout and optimization. To ease adoption, the company offers a one-month free trial and three days of ded