SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Google said Wednesday it offers around 12 trillion won (US$10.25 billion) in economic benefits for South Korean consumers annually through its services, highlighting its presence in the country amid growing scrutiny from local regulators and politicians over allegations of unfair business practices. During an online recorded event, the tech [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Apple Inc. said Wednesday it will launch its new smartphone, the iPhone 13, in South Korea next month as the U.S. tech giant aims to solidify its leadership in the premium segment. Apple on Tuesday (local time) unveiled four models of the iPhone 13 series — the 5.4-inch iPhone [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to fine global tech giant Google 207.4 billion won (US$176.8 million) for pressing smartphone makers into only using its Android mobile operating system. Since 2016, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has been looking into Google over allegations it obstructed [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean internet giant Kakao Corp. said Tuesday it has decided to form a 300 billion won (US$256.2 million) fund for small merchants and scrap some of its services that compete against them, in a move to appease growing scrutiny from regulators and politicians over its rapidly expanding online [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean telecom operators have so far installed less than 200 base stations that support millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G, data showed Friday, highlighting the lack of progress to commercialize the technology that unlocks the fastest speeds on the network. Major mobile carriers — SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — A U.S.-based group of companies is celebrating the passing of the revised bill of the Telecommunications Business Act in South Korea to curb the sway of Google and Apple when it comes to app store fees. One U.S. game developer welcomed the news, calling himself “a Korean.” “As President [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s 5G user base continued to expand in July to reach over 17 million users, data showed Wednesday, with the growth expected to pick up later this year on the back of launches of new devices. The total number of 5G subscriptions stood at 17.08 million in July, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s parliament passed a bill Tuesday that would rein in the dominance Google and Apple exert over payments on their app stores, becoming the first nation in the world to enact such a law. South Korean lawmakers voted to approve the amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act, which [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The speed and coverage of 5G networks in South Korea improved this year as the country races to lay out nationwide coverage of the latest generation networks by next year, the ICT ministry said Tuesday. Average download speeds using 5G networks from the country’s three major mobile carriers — [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it has launched new foldable smartphones globally as the South Korean tech giant hopes the latest Galaxy Z series can mainstream the foldable category and boost its handset sales. Sales of Samsung’s third-generation foldable devices — the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy Z [...]