Business - The Korea Times

Naver to supercharge e-commerce with AI after record growth

Naver is doubling down on its fast-growing e-commerce business this year by rolling out artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping tools, after the segment emerged as one of the top contributors to the company’s record-breaking earnings. The company posted its biggest annual earnings last year, with revenue climbing 12.1 percent year-on-year to about 12.04 trillion won ($8.42 billion) and operating profit rising 11.6 percent to 2.21 trillion won. The e-commerce division was a standout, accounting for more than 30 percent of total sales for the first time. Sales in the segment jumped 26.2 percent year-on-year to 3.69 trillion won, fueled by a combination of advanced recommendation technology on the Naver Plus Store platform and users switching from rival Coupang following a massive data breach. Positioning the business as a core growth engine and strategic test bed for AI-driven services, Naver is preparing to infuse generative AI into its e-commerce stack this year — from smarter search and recommendation engines to automated ad-targeting and seller support tools — as it seeks

Feb 9, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee

Naver to supercharge e-commerce with AI after record growth

PHOTO KAIST-NYU summit on AI governance

Participants pose following an open discussion session at an artificial intelligence and digital governance summit co-hosted by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and New York University, held at NYU, Saturday (local time). KAIST said the two-day summit shared insights from over 60 experts on the balance between technological innovation and moral responsibility, with more than 450 people attending the session. Courtesy of KAIST

Feb 9, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo

[PHOTO] KAIST-NYU summit on AI governance

Top tech firms ban OpenClaw over security breach fears

Major Korean tech companies, including Kakao, Naver and Karrot Market, are moving to restrict the use of the popular artificial intelligence (AI) agent OpenClaw within corporate networks due to the rising concerns about security and data privacy. The move reflects mounting global caution around the autonomous agent that is capable of performing human-like tasks without direct supervision. OpenClaw is a self-hosted, open-source AI agent designed to act as the “hands” of a large language model. While large language models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini serve as the brain that understands and reasons, OpenClaw carries out real-world actions, such as browsing the web, editing files, running system commands and interacting with online services through modular add-ons. It rose to prominence after it was first introduced last November as an early-stage AI agent. However, concerns have grown that it can access sensitive corporate data or personal information, and that such access can create the potential for data leaks, system manipulation and cyberattacks. Kakao, Naver and Karr

Feb 8, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee

Top tech firms ban OpenClaw over security breach fears

Samsung Electronics to ship HBM4 chips to Nvidia in 3rd week of February

Samsung Electronics is set to begin customer delivery of its high-bandwidth memory 4 (HBM4) chips to Nvidia in the third week of this month, which will mark the world’s first shipment of a mass-produced version to a customer. According to industry officials, Sunday, Samsung Electronics has decided to begin Nvidia-bound HBM4 shipments after the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, or Seollal, which falls on Feb. 17 this year. Samsung Electronics has completed Nvidia’s qualification process for HBM4 and finalized the delivery schedule in line with the launch plans for Nvidia’s new artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators, including the Vera Rubin platform, industry officials said. Nvidia is expected to demonstrate its Vera Rubin platform at the upcoming GTC 2026, scheduled for March 16 to 19. CEO Jensen Huang said during CES 2026 last month that Vera Rubin chips are in full production, raising expectations that the platform will be available in the second half of 2026. Samsung Electronics declined to comment on customer-related matters, but its HBM4 chips have been selected for Nvidia

Feb 8, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo

Samsung Electronics to ship HBM4 chips to Nvidia in 3rd week of February

Boston Dynamics acknowledges safety risks in humanoid robots

A senior engineer at Boston Dynamics admitted Friday that humanoid robots carry inherent risks and uncertainty, saying that limiting unpredictability is the most effective way to ensure safe interaction between humans and machines. Speaking in Seoul, Federico Vincentini, head of product safety at the U.S. robotics firm owned by Hyundai Motor Group, said humanoid robots are “intrinsically unpredictable,” making “zero uncertainty” impossible even with advanced technology. "It's never completely clear or understood where a humanoid robot will walk next," Vincentini said during the first Humanoid TechCon in Seoul. "Asking a robot that is intrinsically uncertain to be certain is a paradox." His remarks came amid Hyundai Motor's conflict with its union over the automaker's planned deployment of Boston Dynamics-developed Atlas humanoid robots at factories in Korea and abroad. Fearing job losses, unionized workers have urged management to discuss the deployments in advance. Vincentini's speech on building trustworthy humanoid robots for real-world operations, however, made clear that Hyund

Feb 6, 2026By Park Jae-hyuk

Boston Dynamics acknowledges safety risks in humanoid robots

AI-only social media in Korea draws curiosity, concern

Several online forums exclusively for artificial intelligence (AI) agents are going viral in Korea, echoing the global hype surrounding Moltbook, one of the world’s most popular communities dedicated to AI agents. The forums are drawing attention for offering a rare glimpse into how AI agents independently generate posts, communicate with one another, form relationships and even engage in philosophical debates. Industry officials caution, however, that the phenomenon should not be interpreted as evidence of AI selfhood. Instead, they say it reflects interactions among AI agents customized to individual user preferences. Experts also warn that such platforms could pose security risks if users grant agents excessive system access. Several Korean-language AI-only communities are currently operating, including Botmadang, Mersoom.com, Ingan-outside and PolyReply. Botmadang was launched by Kim Sung-hoon, CEO of AI startup Upstage, while Mersoom.com was developed by an anonymous user who claimed to have built the site in just three hours using Google Antigravity. These platforms allow users t

Feb 5, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo

AI-only social media in Korea draws curiosity, concern

Hannover Messe to help position Korean firms as industrial AI leaders

The organizer of Hannover Messe, one of the world’s largest trade fairs, said on Thursday in Seoul that this year’s event will focus on exhibitions featuring artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and defense technologies. With HD Hyundai Electric returning for the first time in seven years, the German exhibition’s organizer also emphasized that around 70 Korean institutions and companies, including small innovative machinery and robotics firms, will join the event to explore ways to navigate rapid changes in the industrial landscape. “Korea is a country that perfectly fits into Hannover Messe,” said Hubertus von Monschaw, global director of Deutsche Messe, during a press conference. “The strong attendance and the knowledge that comes from your country are highly appreciated.” This year’s exhibition will take place from April 20 to 24 in the German city of Hanover, under the theme “Think Tech Forward.” For the first time since the annual fair began in 1947, there will be a display dedicated to manufacturing technologies for the defense sector. “Why we are looking at

Feb 5, 2026By Park Jae-hyuk

Hannover Messe to help position Korean firms as industrial AI leaders

SK Telecom earnings reel from data breach as LG Uplus posts solid performance

SK Telecom took a huge hit in its 2025 earnings as it continued to recover from the fallout of a major cybersecurity incident last April, while LG Uplus ended on a high note, logging solid growth across its mobile and infrastructure businesses. SK Telecom reported a sharp drop, despite its growing momentum in artificial intelligence (AI). It announced Thursday that its net income for 2025 tumbled 73 percent to 375.1 billion won ($256.29 million), down from about 1.39 trillion won a year earlier. Operating profit slid 41.1 percent year-on-year to 1.07 trillion won, while revenue fell 4.7 percent to 17.1 trillion won. The steep earnings drop underscores the damage from last year’s data breach and subsequent efforts to recover customer trust. The company explained that subscribers for its 5G mobile plan reached 17.49 million as of the end of last year, up about 230,000 from the third quarter. "In 2025, our mobile network operator business focused on addressing changes to the business environment caused by the cybersecurity incident,” the company’s Chief Financial Officer Park Jong-se

Feb 5, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee

SK Telecom earnings reel from data breach as LG Uplus posts solid performance

Samsung Biologics, CEPI seal $20 mil. vaccine manufacturing partnership

Samsung Biologics is joining hands with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to strengthen vaccine manufacturing for future epidemic and pandemic threats. The company said Wednesday it signed a partnership agreement with CEPI a day earlier to join the organization’s Vaccine Manufacturing Facilities Network, supported by up to $20 million in initial funding. The collaboration will support the development of scalable, rapid manufacturing processes for recombinant protein vaccines, aiming to pre-position a ready-to-activate process that can be deployed quickly when a new viral threat emerges. Samsung Biologics will work with CEPI to help ensure swift global vaccine supply in a future pandemic, with doses produced by the company to be supplied to Korea on a priority basis at CEPI’s request. CEPI is an innovative partnership spanning public, private, philanthropic and civil organizations, formed to support vaccine development and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats. "This agreement reflects our commitment to supporting a reliable and a

Feb 4, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee

Samsung Biologics, CEPI seal $20 mil. vaccine manufacturing partnership

Samsung Biologics signs vaccine partnership with CEPI

Samsung Biologics, the biotech arm of Korea's Samsung Group, said Wednesday it will collaborate with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to jointly respond to future pandemic outbreaks. The company said it has signed a Vaccine Manufacturing Facility Network (VMFN) partnership with CEPI to ensure the rapid supply of vaccines in the event of a global pandemic. By joining CEPI's global VMFN, Samsung Biologics will provide CEPI with guaranteed access to up to 50 million vaccine doses, along with an additional one billion doses of drug substance ready for conversion into finished vaccine products, the company said in a press release. "By working with CEPI to advance vaccine development and ensure capacity for timely production when demand rises, we aim to broaden access to high-quality vaccines for patients around the world. We will continue to apply our technical and manufacturing expertise to strengthen global preparedness," said John Rim, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Samsung Biologics. CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett said partnering with one of the world'

Feb 4, 2026By Yonhap

Tech & Science