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Nam Hyun-woo

Korea Times Business Reporter

Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.

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Companies

G-Dragon to front McDonald's campaign across 13 Asian markets

G-Dragon will front McDonald’s sales campaign across 13 Asian markets, with limited-edition merchandise created in collaboration with the K-pop artist’s fashion brand PEACEMINUSONE also set to be released. McDonald’s Korea said Wednesday it will spearhead a large-scale marketing campaign featuring G-Dragon as the model beginning on Sept. 17 in Korea and expanding sequentially across the region. McDonald’s Korea said expectations are high for the synergy between G-Dragon, a global icon whose influence spans music, fashion, art and popular culture, and McDonald’s, which has a global fan base of its own. The campaign will feature special menu items highlighting gochujang, Korea’s fermented red pepper paste. All 13 markets will use a gochujang butter sauce developed by McDonald’s Korea as a key motif, while some will include the word gochujang directly on the menu. In Korea, McDonald’s will launch two new items on Sept. 17: the McCrispy Gochujang Butter and McSpicy Gochujang Butter. Each combines a different chicken patty with gochujang butter sauce, offering a balance of spi

Sep 9, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
G-Dragon to front McDonald's campaign across 13 Asian markets
Tech & Science

Kakao Mobility honing self-driving tech to bring robotaxi to everyday use

Kakao Mobility is honing its end-to-end (E2E) self-driving technology to bring self-driving taxis into everyday use in Korea, building on driving data accumulated over the past six months through an ongoing pilot program in Seoul’s bustling Gangnam area. The ride-hailing platform held a press briefing on Wednesday, showcasing its latest progress in self-driving services and outlining its autonomous driving technology and integrated platform strategy. Kakao Mobility formed its autonomous driving team in 2018 and began testing the technology in 2020. In March this year, it launched an autonomous passenger transport service in Seoul’s Gangnam area, operating from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The service started with two vehicles and expanded to six in August. Kakao Mobility said the fleet has logged more than 13,000 kilometers so far, completed about 2,000 rides and received an average customer rating of 4.97 out of 5. Kakao Mobility’s pilot program seeks to operate a mixture of E2E technology and a rule-based model. A rule-based model divides autonomous driving into separate modules for sensing,

Sep 9, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Kakao Mobility honing self-driving tech to bring robotaxi to everyday use
Companies

Samsung, ASML expand partnership to introduce next-gen lithography by 2028

Samsung Electronics and semiconductor equipment giant ASML announced Tuesday that they will expand their strategic partnership on High NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, with Samsung planning to introduce the technology into DRAM mass production by 2028 for the first time in the industry. The two companies said they will work together to accelerate the development and deployment of technologies that support the increasing performance and efficiency requirements of advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Under their new agreement, Samsung said it plans to introduce ASML’s High NA EUV lithography into future DRAM by 2028. Semiconductors are made by projecting geometric circuit patterns onto a silicon wafer using light, in this case EUV. In EUV lithography, the circuit pattern is formed on a photomask, EUV light reflects off the mask and an optical system reduces the image and projects it onto the wafer. As semiconductor technology advances, circuit patterns need to become increasingly fine. One way to achieve this is by increasing the numerical aperture (NA) of the optical system, a

Sep 8, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung, ASML expand partnership to introduce next-gen lithography by 2028
Companies

Samsung SDS outlines AI transformation biz strategy at REAL Summit

Samsung SDS outlined its strategy for artificial intelligence (AI) transformation during its conference for enterprise customers and industry experts, Tuesday, announcing new partnerships with leading AI firms including OpenAI, Anthropic and Walden Robotics. The IT solution company held REAL Summit 2026 at the Coex convention center in southern Seoul, drawing more than 15,000 on-site and online participants. During his keynote speech, Samsung SDS CEO Lee June-hee stressed that AI transformation is “a much more fundamental change than simply adopting AI to save time and costs.” “AI transformation means completely redesigning the way we work from scratch, rather than improving some aspects of existing work processes with AI. It means companies that used to wait for customer requests can act before customers even ask … AI changes how work is done, but AI transformation changes the business itself.” Lee cited a McKinsey & Company survey showing that 88 percent of global businesses have introduced at least one AI system into their work processes, but only 6 percent said AI is making

Sep 8, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung SDS outlines AI transformation biz strategy at REAL Summit
Tech & Science

'AI sapiens era is inevitable, and education will determine its future'

Choi Jae-boong, professor of mechanical engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, says humans are evolving into “AI sapiens,” a new type of being that uses artificial intelligence (AI) as a natural extension of the mind, and education will determine how bright a future humanity can build in this new era. Choi wrote the 2019 book “Phono Sapiens,” which popularized in Korea the idea that smartphones had become indispensable to modern life. He expanded the concept to AI in his 2024 book “AI Sapiens,” which explores how humans using AI could reshape industrial structures and usher in a new civilization. Choi will deliver a keynote speech at the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference, scheduled for Sept. 15 at the Grand Hall of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. His speech will focus on the concept of “AI Sapiens” and what kind of leadership will be needed in the AI era. Widely regarded as an expert in applied AI science and a tech futurist who studies how emerging technologies will reshape our society, Choi told The Korea Times that humanity has always chosen tools that i

Sep 7, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
'AI sapiens era is inevitable, and education will determine its future'
Companies

Samsung Group to begin 2nd-half 2026 open recruitment

Samsung Group will begin its open recruitment for the second half of 2026 on Tuesday, hiring new employees across 19 affiliates. According to the group, Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, Samsung Bioepis, Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDS and other affiliates in the finance, construction and service sectors will hire new recruits through the open recruitment process. Applicants can submit applications to the affiliates through Samsung Careers, the group’s recruitment website, from Tuesday to Sept. 15. They will go through application screening this month, the Global Samsung Aptitude Test (GSAT) in October, followed by an interview and a medical check-up in November. Applicants for software development positions will take a software competency test instead of the GSAT, while those applying for design positions will be evaluated through portfolio reviews. Samsung did not disclose how many people it plans to hire through the latest recruitment round. However, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong said last year that the group would

Sep 7, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung Group to begin 2nd-half 2026 open recruitment
Others

Korea's 1st US investment project stalled over unclear terms

Korea’s first project under its $350 billion investment commitment to the U.S. appears to be locked in a stalemate, as the two sides remain at odds over details of the terms, even after a gas-fired power plant in Texas has emerged as the likely first investment. During a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Thursday (local time), Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan told reporters that an official announcement is expected within this month regarding talks over the first investment project. He added, “There are no particularly major issues, but several domestic procedures need to be completed before the process can be finalized.” Kim made the visit two weeks after discussing the first investment project with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington. At that time, he said the talks had made “meaningful progress.” However, the government’s initial plan to announce the first project in late August or early September has been delayed. The first project is expected to be a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Encinal, Texas, supplying electricity to nearby data centers. The project

Sep 7, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Korea's 1st US investment project stalled over unclear terms
Companies

Krafton chairman meets Indian PM, pledges $250 mil. additional investment

Krafton Chairman Chang Byung-gyu met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday, reaffirming the Korean game developer’s long-term commitment to India and its growing gaming and technology industries. The meeting highlighted opportunities for India and Korea to deepen cooperation in gaming, innovation and emerging technologies, according to Krafton. Krafton has invested $250 million in India to date and plans to invest an additional $250 million over the next three to four years, bringing its total planned investment in the country to about $500 million. The company has also established a $670 million venture growth fund to support investments in India. Krafton said its investments will support the development of India’s gaming ecosystem, homegrown intellectual property and startups, while expanding into emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics and deep technology. “India is a market of immense opportunity, with exceptional talent across gaming, technology and innovation,” Chang said. “Our continued investments reflect our long-term confidenc

Sep 7, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Krafton chairman meets Indian PM, pledges $250 mil. additional investment
Tech & Science

Naver chairman meets Brookfield CEO, discusses AI data center business

Naver Board Chairman Lee Hae-jin and Brookfield Asset Management CEO Bruce Flatt discussed Brookfield’s investment commitment to a 1-gigawatt artificial intelligence (AI) data center project jointly pursued by Naver and Nvidia. Naver said Friday that Lee and Flatt met at Naver’s 1784 office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, a day earlier and held follow-up discussions on Naver’s AI Factory project. Brookfield is a leading global alternative asset manager with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. In July, the company committed up to $9 billion to the project’s first phase, accounting for 200 megawatts. During the meeting, Lee expressed gratitude to Brookfield for supporting Naver’s AI Factory vision through its investment decision. He said he hopes the two companies can lead the global AI infrastructure market by combining Brookfield’s accumulated expertise in infrastructure investment with Naver’s AI technologies. In the first phase, Naver will establish a wholly owned subsidiary to operate the AI Factory, while Brookfield will set up a special purpose vehicle (S

Sep 4, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Naver chairman meets Brookfield CEO, discusses AI data center business
Tech & Science

Korea to provide free AI agents for all citizens through messenger, texts

Korea will launch free agentic artificial intelligence (AI) services for all citizens by the end of the year, allowing users to have AI agents that carry out real-world tasks such as reservations and payments through mobile messengers, phone calls and text messages. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the operators of the “AI for All” project held a press briefing on Friday and outlined their service plans. The programs will enter beta testing next month before their official launch later this year. The three operators are consortiums each led by telecom operators SK Telecom and KT, along with mobile messenger firm Kakao. “Our ultimate goal is to have new homegrown AI services blend naturally into people’s daily lives,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon said. “What matters most is how easily people can access the services, how often they use the services and how much the services actually help in everyday life.” A consortium led by Kakao will team up with LG Group, using KakaoTalk messenger as the entry point for its AI service. Based on

Sep 4, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Korea to provide free AI agents for all citizens through messenger, texts
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