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Jhoo Dong-chan

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.

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Companies

SKT, NTT, Chunghwa Telecom to jointly launch $500 mil. AI fund

SK Telecom said Wednesday it will establish a $500 million artificial intelligence (AI) investment fund with Japan's NTT and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, marking a cross-border push by three of East Asia's largest telecommunications companies to jointly develop the global AI ecosystem. The three companies announced the plan at a joint press conference at NTT's headquarters in the Otemachi business district of Tokyo. The fund, called the IOWN AI Fund — named after NTT's Innovative Optical and Wireless Network initiative — will be managed through a newly incorporated fund management company called Catalight Capital, jointly established by the three telecom companies and based across Silicon Valley and East Asia. The fund is expected to reach $500 million in total commitments and will target startups and technology companies in North America, Asia and Europe across five areas: AI data center infrastructure, such as power efficiency optimization and liquid cooling; AI semiconductors, including accelerators, graphics processing units and neural processing units; AI service applications in

Jun 10, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
SKT, NTT, Chunghwa Telecom to jointly launch $500 mil. AI fund
People & Events

Riverside fan zone to bring World Cup spirit to Seoul

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will launch a World Cup-themed fan zone at Ttukseom Hangang Park on Friday, providing a dedicated space for residents to rally behind the Korean national football team. Running through June 28, the event coincides with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, held across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Dubbed the "Hangang Play Place World Cup Pop-up," the fan zone will take over the park’s multipurpose indoor cultural venue. The facility is one of several riverside spaces along the capital's central waterway managed by the city’s Future Hangang Headquarters. Programming will anchor on Korea’s three group stage matches. Fans can view live broadcasts on a large indoor LED screen during the scheduled games: Friday’s opener against the Czech Republic at 11 a.m., a June 19 matchup with Mexico at 10 a.m. and a June 25 clash against South Africa at 10 a.m. While attendance is open to the general public, reserved seating for up to 100 people per match is available via advance registration. Those who secure a spot via the event poster's QR code will receive campi

Jun 10, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Riverside fan zone to bring World Cup spirit to Seoul
Companies

Naver introduces passport verification for foreign travelers to improve access to reservations, payments

Internet platform operator Naver has launched a passport-based identity verification service for foreign visitors, allowing travelers without a Korean mobile phone number to access reservations, orders and payments through the company’s digital services. The company said Tuesday that the new verification system, introduced Thursday, enables foreign users holding passports issued outside Korea to verify their identity directly through their smartphones. Once authenticated, users can access travel-related services on Naver, including restaurant reservations, bookings and payments through its map platform. The move is aimed at addressing a long-standing inconvenience faced by short-term foreign visitors, many of whom have been unable to use certain online services that traditionally required verification through a Korean mobile phone number. Under the new system, travelers can complete identity verification without obtaining a local phone number or contacting customer support. Naver said the process incorporates multiple verification steps designed to improve reliability and security. The c

Jun 9, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Naver introduces passport verification for foreign travelers to improve access to reservations, payments
Companies

LG CNS expands AI transformation biz through adoption of Anthropic’s Claude

Technology services provider LG CNS said Tuesday it has signed an agreement with U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic to deploy the company’s enterprise AI platform, Claude Enterprise, as part of a broader push to accelerate AI transformation across businesses. The agreement is structured as a group-wide contract that can be applied across affiliates of Korea’s LG Group, one of the country’s largest conglomerates. LG CNS said the partnership is intended to support AI-driven productivity improvements and expand the use of generative AI in corporate operations. Claude, Anthropic’s flagship AI model, is designed for enterprise use and is known for its reasoning capabilities, security features and ability to process long documents. The platform is increasingly being adopted by businesses for AI agents, software development, knowledge management and workplace collaboration. LG CNS said it will initially make Claude available to employees throughout the company to support software development and other business functions. The company plans to later expand support servic

Jun 9, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
LG CNS expands AI transformation biz through adoption of Anthropic’s Claude
Law & Crime

Gov't holds joint content copyright enforcement meeting in Seoul

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and Korea Copyright Protection Agency (KCOPA) convened an international meeting in Seoul on Tuesday to coordinate enforcement operations against overseas copyright infringement of Korean content. The 2026 Copyright Protection Enforcement Meeting, held at Lotte Hotel Seoul, brought together law enforcement agencies from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and the Netherlands, along with Interpol, the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Korea office and domestic agencies including the Ministry of Justice, Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office and the National Police Agency. Private sector participants included Naver Webtoon, Kakao Entertainment and the Motion Picture Association. Participants reviewed enforcement cases, shared intelligence on illegal distribution networks targeting Korean content overseas and discussed joint operations to apprehend copyright offenders. The afternoon session focused on K-webtoon infringement and reviewed ongoing cases under Interpol's Stop Online Piracy program, a joint anti-piracy initiative bet

Jun 9, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Gov't holds joint content copyright enforcement meeting in Seoul
Environment & Animals

Jongno District deploys eco-friendly traps to combat love bug surge

Jongno District is deploying eco-friendly insect traps and stepping up habitat management to address a surge in love bugs, a flying insect that has been appearing in large numbers across the greater Seoul area. Love bugs — the common name for Plecia nearctica-type flies in Korea — do not bite humans or transmit disease and are considered beneficial insects. However, mass outbreaks generate significant resident complaints. Jongno District received 718 love bug-related complaints over the past three years, with most occurring between mid-June and early July. Infestations previously centered on forested areas near Mount Bugak and Mount Inwang, but have recently spread into residential neighborhoods. Through late July, the district will install 150 sets of eco-friendly attractant traps in parks, green zones and walking trails. The traps use phenylacetaldehyde, a naturally derived chemical compound that lures and captures adult love bugs without the use of conventional pesticides. The district will also clear fallen leaves and condition soil in parks and green areas to reduce the breeding

Jun 9, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Jongno District deploys eco-friendly traps to combat love bug surge
People & Events

Gangnam District to host riverside picnic concert with car-free street festival

Gangnam District will host the "2026 Gangnam Picnic Concert x Garosu-gil Design Week" on Saturday, combining a free outdoor concert along the Han River with a daytime street festival on the district's iconic tree-lined boulevard. The concert will run from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the multipurpose sports field in Sinsa-Jamwon Hangang Park, a public riverside greenway along the south bank of the Han River. Seven acts are scheduled to perform, including rock band N.Flying, punk rock pioneers Crying Nut, K-pop vocal group SeeYa, singer-actress Bada, ballad singer Seo Young-eun, pop singer Kim Won-jun and trot singer Park Ji-hyeon. Trot is a Korean popular music genre with repetitive rhythms and emotional vocal delivery. The 6,400-capacity venue features a picnic zone where attendees may spread blankets while watching the show, which concludes with a fireworks display. Admission is free, with entry wristbands distributed from 11 a.m. at on-site booths. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., a 430-meter stretch of Garosu-gil — a boutique-lined avenue in Sinsa-dong — will be closed to traffic for the "2026

Jun 9, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Gangnam District to host riverside picnic concert with car-free street festival
Travel & Food

Busan reengineers its local economy for BTS windfall

Global cities hosting stadium-sized concerts face a familiar dilemma: Massive crowds arrive, spend money exclusively at the venue and depart, leaving nearby neighborhood merchants with little more than traffic congestion and litter. Ahead of the upcoming “BTS World Tour 'ARIRANG' in Busan,” municipal officials in the southeastern port city are deploying an aggressive, state-backed economic experiment designed to prevent tourist money from getting left at the concert gates. The Busan Metropolitan Government announced Monday the launch of “Busan Big Sale Week,” a coordinated economic campaign running from June 10 to 16. The initiative aims to leverage the global star power of the K-pop group to stimulate the city’s retail and hospitality sectors, directly channeling the purchasing power of international fans — collectively known as ARMY — into local small businesses, traditional markets and alleyway commercial districts. Under the plan, the city has coordinated discount agreements with more than 550 mom-and-pop shops and nine major department stores, including regional branc

Jun 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Busan reengineers its local economy for BTS windfall
Travel & Food

Busan turns wetlands into modernized night market for BTS fans

Pop concerts are notoriously insular events, swallowing tens of thousands of travelers into a closed loop of stadium turnstiles and generic hotel lobbies. To shatter that pattern, municipal authorities in the southeastern port city of Busan are staging an aggressive tactical intervention, turning a scenic riverside marsh into a high-tech, late-night testing ground designed to capture the attention — and wallets — of a global fan base. The Busan Metropolitan Government and Busan Tourism Organization announced Monday that they will launch the 2026 Starry Night Busan Night Market from June 10 to 14. The five-day open-air festival is timed to coincide with the "BTS World Tour 'ARIRANG' in Busan" concerts on June 12 and 13, leveraging the immense demographic momentum of the arriving crowds to anchor a permanent night economy strategy. Built in the sprawling lotus wetlands of Hwamyeong Eco-Park along the Nakdong River, the initiative moves away from standard festival merchandise, pivoting instead toward hyperlocalized food and beverage traditions. The centerpiece is "Spirit Busan," a ded

Jun 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Busan turns wetlands into modernized night market for BTS fans
People & Events

Philippines makes strategic bid for Korean food market

The Philippines has launched its first official country pavilion at Seoul Food 2026, anchoring a 24-company corporate delegation at one of Asia’s largest food and beverage trade fairs to exploit a newly enacted free trade agreement with Korea. The four-day exhibition, which opened Tuesday at the KINTEX convention center northwest of Seoul, marks Manila’s most aggressive institutional push into the Korean market since the Philippines-Korea Free Trade Agreement took effect in December 2024. The bilateral trade pact eliminates tariffs on 94.8 percent of Philippine exports to Korea, offering an immediate competitive advantage to Southeast Asian agricultural and food exporters looking to undercut regional rivals. Manila’s trade apparatus has structured the exhibition into two distinct commercial corridors under the "FOODPhilippines" banner. The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotion arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, is managing 16 companies focused on processed goods, including integrated food conglomerates like Oleo

Jun 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Philippines makes strategic bid for Korean food market
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