Olympus camera

Models show brand-new PEN E-PL1 and other various kinds of accessories in a launch of the super-small hybrid Olympus camera at The Westin Chosun in downtown Seoul Wednesday.

Can Samsung manage software leap alone?

Shin Jong-kyun Head of Samsung’s handset unit

Handset giant may rely more on outsourcing



Debate is heating up on whether Samsung Electronics will be able to better utilize its hardware-driven strategy for mobile phones amid its rivals' focus on software due to the continued frenzy in smartphones.

Samsung only trails Finland-based handset giant Nokia in the global mobile phone industry. However, its relatively lackluster lineup of smartphones is blamed for cutting the company’s overall performances.

Analysts and experts say Samsung could make "big differences" in its smartphones in terms of advanced specifications if the technology giant increases its outsourcing in manufacturing.

Taekwondo robots to duke it out

Taekwondo robots have a duel exhibition match. / Korea Times

Later this year, robots programmed to make taekwondo moves will have a series of sparring matches with one another while exhibiting the various techniques of Korea's traditional martial art. 

Expanding Wi-Fi networks breathe life into wireless party

SK Telecom’ss Wi-Fi hotspots at the Lotteria fast food restaurants will allow diners to mix free wireless Internet with their burgers and fries. / Courtesy of SK Telecom

The stiff competition in the cutthroat smartphone market appears to be resulting in a significant wireless boost for Korean cities.

In past years the country's mobile-phone carriers have been investing massively in futuristic communications technologies, such as WiBro (wireless broadband), but for now, the old and reliable Wi-Fi seems to be their meal ticket. 

With Wi-Fi connectivity becoming conventional in the mobile phones of today, due to the popularity of feature-packed smartphones such as Apple's iPhone, wireless carriers are competing to expand their public Wi-Fi hotspots where users find free wireless Internet access, which is becoming an essential part of mobile competition. 

LG Display sets up joint venture in China

Yeo Sang-duk, right, president of LG Display’s mobile-OLED business unit, shakes hands with iriver CEO Lee Jae-woo after the companies agreed to set up a joint venture to produce e-books in China, Monday. / Courtesy of LG Display

LG Display, the world's No. 2 manufacturer of LCD panels, is setting up a joint venture in China at a time when LG and Samsung are vying to establish a big display factory there. 

The joint venture between the firm and iriver is also part of LG Display's chief executive Kwon Young-soo's efforts to pay more attention to finished products. 

Analysts and LG Display officials say this was aimed at diversifying the company's cash sources.

EU offers insight for SMEs

Philippe Li, president of French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry

With the European Union (EU)-Korea free trade agreement (FTA) expected to be implemented next year, Korean businesses should prepare for the opportunities and challenges it will bring.

Korean managers can gain comprehensive knowledge about European business, history, politics and culture, through two executive training seminars at the Seoul National University EU Center, the first on June 25 and the second on July 2. 

Organized by the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), the program hopes to help Korean managers interact and negotiate more effectively with European partners. 

Whose head(s) will roll over Naro fiasco?

It would be extremely unfair to call the Korea Space Launch Vehicle I (KSLV-I) a $400 million firecracker. Rockets are in a rare business where success rates in the middling double digits are acceptable, and the majority of previous launch failures involved the rocket blowing up some way or another. 

So while the KSLV-I explosion last week, which represented the country’s second major space setback in less than a year, was certainly a letdown, it shouldn’t be thought of as more than a speed-bump in the national efforts to carve a niche in the aerospace industry. 

Is US willing to go along with S. Korea on Cheonan?

Patrick Cronin

BEIJING ― South Korea is doing the right thing by bringing the Cheonan incident to the U.N. Security Council, but it should be realistic about how much it can expect from the world body to assign any punitive measures against Pyongyang, said a noted U.S. security expert on East Asia.

"We don't control the U.N. We don't control the resolution. And the only resolution (if any) we could get through is going to be fairly lukewarm," said Patrick Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific security program at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank.

Lee to chart new policy roadmap

President Lee Myung-bak makes a speech at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday, vowing to reshuffle the Cabinet and the presidential secretariat to chart a new policy roadmap. / Korea Times

‘I will humbly accept election results’



President Lee Myung-bak vowed Monday to reshuffle the Cabinet and the presidential secretariat to chart a new policy roadmap for the remainder of his tenure, and readjust policy priorities based on closer communication with the public and the younger generation.

In an address to the nation, Lee also urged political parties to vote quickly on the controversial state project to transform Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province into a business complex, saying he doesn't want it to be the seed of conflict any more.