Samsung launches sale of Galaxy S25 Edge in South Korea SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics on Friday launched sale of the Galaxy S25 Edge, the latest addition to its flagship smartphone line and the slimmest Galaxy S series device to date. Measuring just 5.8 millimeters thick and weighing 163 grams, the new model is the culmination of Samsung’s effort to marry minimalist design with robust engineering. It features a high-strength titanium frame and an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. The launch rounds out the Galaxy S25 lineup and follows a weeklong pre-order period from May 14 to 20 that, according to Samsung, drew strong interest from consumers in their teens and 30s. Buyers in those age groups accounted for more than half of pre-orders placed through the company’s official website. Available in Titanium Silver, Jet Black, and Ice Blue, the Galaxy S25 Edge is priced at 1.5 million won (approximately $1,100) for the 256GB model and 1.639 million won for the 512GB version. Titanium Silver proved to be the most popular choice among early adopters. Under the hood, the device is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset — shared across the S25 series — and features an upgraded vapor chamber cooling system for improved thermal performance over its predecessor, the Galaxy S24. The S25 Edge also boasts a 200-megapixel wide-angle main camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with macro functionality and auto-focus. For the first time in the series, the front-facing camera supports log video recording, a feature aimed at content creators. Samsung’s new ProVisual Engine, designed to enhance image clarity and render skin tones more naturally, is built into the device. A suite of AI-powered editing tools — including AI Eraser, Audio Eraser, Generative Edit, and Sketch to Image — comes standard, alongside live AI features such as Now Brief for personalized updates and Now Bar, a real-time activity display on the lock screen. Both are compatible with third-party applications. “The Galaxy S25 Edge is the result of condensing our most advanced technologies into a streamlined form without compromising performance or design,” said Roh Tae-moon, acting head of Samsung’s Device eXperience division. To sweeten the launch, Samsung is offering a series of promotional perks, including six months of Google One AI Premium, three months of Willa audiobook access, and digital magazine subscriptions. 2025-05-23 15:01:54

Naver chairman meets Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang for AI partnership talks SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) - Lee Hae-jin, the founder and chairman of Naver, visited Taiwan to meet with Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang, marking Lee’s first public trip abroad since he returned to management in March. Lee was joined by Naver Chief Executive Choi Soo-yeon and other top executives during their visit to Computex 2025, Asia’s largest information technology exhibition. The meeting took place on the sidelines of Nvidia’s cloud partner gathering, the NPC Summit, where the two companies discussed expanding their collaboration on artificial intelligence. The discussions centered on sovereign AI — nationalized, self-reliant artificial intelligence systems — with an emphasis on developing foundational technologies and scaling them across global markets. Kim Yu-won, chief executive of Naver Cloud, also participated in the talks. This meeting builds on a similar dialogue held last June, when Lee, then serving as Naver’s Global Investment Officer, visited Nvidia’s Silicon Valley headquarters with the same executive cohort. Nvidia, the world’s leading producer of AI semiconductors, brings cutting-edge hardware and computing power to the table, while Naver contributes its capabilities in AI model architecture and development. The companies are expected to jointly explore projects across Southeast Asia and the Middle East — regions where governments are increasingly seeking to build independent AI infrastructure. While in Taiwan, the Naver delegation also plans to meet with a range of local companies, including Foxconn, the electronics manufacturer best known for assembling Apple’s iPhone, and e-commerce platform Momo. The talks aim to identify potential AI partnerships and reinforce Naver’s ambitions to expand its footprint beyond South Korea and Japan into emerging Asian markets. Looking ahead, Lee is scheduled to travel to Silicon Valley next month, where he will meet with engineers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. His itinerary includes discussions on the formation of “Naver Ventures,” a proposed investment arm that would back AI startups globally. The initiative is seen as part of Naver’s broader strategy to sharpen its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI industry. 2025-05-23 11:23:04

Korean Air, Asiana join hands for forestation project in Mongolia SEOUL, May 22 (AJP) - Korean Air said Thursday it has launched its annual reforestation project in Mongolia, joined for the first time by employees from Asiana Airlines. Roughly 260 new and supervisory employees from both airlines traveled to the “Korean Air Forest” in Baganuur District, on the outskirts of the city to participate in two weeks of tree-planting and forest maintenance. In a show of partnership, Korean Air employees flew on Asiana-operated flights and vice versa. The joint initiative began with the ceremonial planting of two pine trees to signify the growth and unity of the merging companies. Participants then engaged in planting and upkeep activities, including pruning to promote healthy tree development. Korean Air has maintained the Baganuur site since 2004 as part of a broader corporate social responsibility program aimed at combating desertification in Mongolia — a country heavily impacted by climate change and land degradation. Over the past 21 years, the Korean Air Forest has expanded to 44 hectares, roughly twice the size of Seoul’s Yeouido Park, and now includes more than 125,000 trees across 12 species, including poplars and sea buckthorns — species resilient to Mongolia’s arid climate. This year’s efforts extended beyond ecological restoration. In honor of Mongolia’s upcoming Children’s Day on June 1, Korean Air installed a new playground in the forest. Employees also visited nearby schools to offer lessons in Korean and English, as well as basic aviation engineering. The forest not only contributes to regional reforestation efforts but also serves a practical purpose, acting as a windbreak that shields nearby communities from airborne dust and pollutants generated by nearby coal mining operations. 2025-05-22 16:17:52

LG Electronics solidifies lead in premium TV market in Europe SEOUL, May 22 (AJP) - LG Electronics has surpassed 10 million OLED television sales in Europe, a milestone that underscores the South Korean tech giant’s continued dominance in the region’s premium TV segment. The achievement, reached in April 2025, comes 12 years after LG first brought OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology to market in 2013. While it took eight years to reach the first 5 million units sold, the company doubled that number in just four years. According to data from the market research firm Omdia, LG shipped approximately 391,100 OLED TVs in Europe during the first quarter of 2025 alone, commanding a 56.4 percent share of the regional OLED market. Europe accounted for more than half of LG’s global OLED shipments for the quarter, with nearly one in two buyers on the continent choosing an LG-branded device. The company attributes its success to a mix of technological innovation and cultural alignment. OLED displays, known for their deep blacks, infinite contrast ratio and vibrant color reproduction, have found a receptive audience in Europe, where appreciation for high-quality content and refined interior design run deep, company officials said. “European consumers value picture quality and aesthetics in equal measure,” the company said in a statement. “Our OLED technology delivers both.” OLED's slim, backlight-free design has also proven popular in Europe’s living room-centric lifestyle, where televisions often serve as both entertainment centerpieces and design elements. LG’s smart TV platform, webOS, has played a key role in reinforcing the brand’s presence through its localized content offerings. The company’s FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) service, LG Channels, now offers more than 1,700 channels across 16 European countries. LG has also expanded its own programming, including the recently launched LG 1 channel, developed in partnership with major content providers such as NBC Universal, FilmRise, and Lionsgate. 2025-05-22 16:04:39

SK hynix develops new mobile storage solution aimed at powering on-device AI SEOUL, May 22 (AJP) - SK hynix has developed a new mobile storage solution based on its latest NAND flash technology, positioning the product as a key component for next-generation smartphones powered by artificial intelligence, the firm said Thursday. The company’s latest offering is a Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 4.1 solution built using its 321-layer 1-terabit Triple Level Cell (TLC) 4D NAND flash — the tallest NAND stack produced to date, according to SK hynix. The new chip, the company said, is designed to meet the growing demand for fast and energy-efficient storage solutions capable of supporting stable on-device AI applications. Compared with the previous generation built on 238-layer NAND, the new solution improves power efficiency by 7 percent and reduces thickness from 1 millimeter to 0.85 millimeters, enabling integration into increasingly thinner mobile devices. These enhancements are seen as crucial as manufacturers seek to balance the performance demands of AI workloads with battery life constraints in mobile form factors. The UFS 4.1 solution delivers sequential read speeds of up to 4,300 megabytes per second — the maximum supported under current UFS 4.1 specifications — and boasts improvements in random read and write speeds of 15 percent and 40 percent, respectively. SK hynix said this marks the highest performance among UFS 4.1 products currently available. The company plans to offer the new storage chip in 512-gigabyte and 1-terabyte capacities for customer validation later this year, with mass production slated to begin in the first quarter of 2026. The product is aimed at enhancing app responsiveness and reducing latency in data delivery — key requirements for AI-driven mobile user experiences. “Following this product launch, we plan to complete development of consumer and data center SSDs based on the same 321-layer 4D NAND technology within the year,” said Ahn Hyun, Chief Development Officer at SK hynix. “Through this, we will build a product portfolio that enhances our competitiveness in AI-enabled NAND solutions and establish ourselves as a full-stack AI memory provider.” 2025-05-22 14:06:17

LG Electronics inks deal to supply commercial washing machines in US, Canada SEOUL, May 21 (AJP) - LG Electronics has signed a supply agreement with CSC ServiceWorks, North America’s largest provider of laundry solutions, marking a strategic move to expand its business-to-business home appliance operations in the region. The deal was formalized at a recent signing ceremony attended by Kim Sang-yong, executive vice president of LG Electronics USA’s Home & Life Solutions division, and Rodrigo Castellanos, chief executive of CSC ServiceWorks. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Headquartered in New York, CSC ServiceWorks operates an estimated 1.5 million commercial washers and dryers across the United States and Canada. The company provides laundry equipment sales and services to a wide range of large-scale residential facilities, including apartment complexes, college dormitories, hotels, and coin-operated laundromats. The agreement positions LG to supply commercial-grade washing machines to CSC’s extensive client network. “Partnering with CSC enables us to strengthen our presence in the commercial laundry sector with a trusted leader,” Kim said in a statement. LG’s commercial washers incorporate features such as vibration and drum rotation detection, which adjust settings for larger loads and reduce washing time. Other notable innovations include belt-free inverter motors and removable front cases that allow internal repairs without moving the units. The company’s proprietary app, Laundry Crew, also offers remote diagnostics, usage tracking, and error alerts for facility operators. 2025-05-21 17:12:51

K-beauty festival draws crowds to Seoul's Nodeul Island SEOUL, May 21 (AJP) - South Korea’s largest celebration of K-beauty opened Wednesday at Nodeul Island in Seoul, as CJ Olive Young launched its annual Olive Young Festa, showcasing 108 brands across 84 booths in a sprawling five-day outdoor festival. Now in its latest iteration, the 2025 Olive Young Festa represents a significant expansion of the event, which has traditionally been held indoors. "This is more than a beauty exhibition — it’s a space for connection and participation,” said Lee Sang-ju, Olive Young’s communications director, at Wednesday’s opening ceremony. “We wanted to move beyond passive product sampling to create an immersive, interactive environment.” The festival is divided into five thematic zones — skincare, makeup, personal care, healthy lifestyle, and a curated “luxury edit.” Organizers have given special attention to emerging indie brands, while still featuring long-established names recognized in the industry. During a media briefing, Lee Eun-jung, director of Olive Young’s Brand Creative Center, described the festival as a leap toward what the company calls “themed beauty-tainment.” “This is not just about viewing beauty — it’s about feeling, remembering, and evolving with it,” she said. A centerpiece of this year’s event is its “treasure island” concept, which positions Nodeul Island as a site of discovery for beauty and wellness innovation. In addition to product showcases, the festival offers curated trend exhibits, one-day classes, and outdoor busking performances by indie musicians, aiming to engage visitors’ senses on multiple levels. The festival also serves as an industry forum. Olive Young is hosting about 200 brand executives for its “Future Connect” program, focused on global market strategies and networking. Around 400 representatives from international distribution platforms — including those from the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia — were invited to explore Korean beauty’s export potential. Early bird tickets, released in April to Olive Young’s 16 million members, sold out immediately, a signal of robust consumer appetite for the company’s evolving blend of beauty and entertainment. 2025-05-21 15:33:03

Amorepacific's Hera expands custom makeup service as international demand soars SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - Hera, a contemporary beauty brand under South Korea’s Amorepacific, is expanding its personalized cosmetics offering as international demand for bespoke makeup continues to surge. The brand’s popular Custom Match program will now include its flagship Black Cushion foundation, offering hundreds of shade variations tailored to individual skin tones. Launched as a reservation-based service for custom lipsticks and foundation, Custom Match has seen an overwhelming response from international consumers. In 2025, foreign customers — primarily from Japan and the United States — have accounted for roughly 85 percent of bookings. The program’s popularity has been fueled in part by social media buzz and positive word-of-mouth, often resulting in fully booked appointments shortly after reservations open. The new Black Cushion Custom Match service introduces 130 shades of the brand’s Black Cushion foundation, a product known for its lightweight coverage and matte finish. Combined with the expanded Silky Stay foundation line, which now includes 205 color options — up from 125 — the total number of available customized shades across both product categories has reached 335. Professional makeup artists lead the Custom Match experience, using skin tone analysis technology developed in partnership with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). After a detailed consultation and skin assessment, specialists manufacture each product on-site with the help of precision robotic equipment. Additional makeup recommendations are offered based on the customer’s skin profile. The expanded service will be available beginning Tuesday at the Amore Seongsu flagship store in Seoul’s Seongsu-dong. Appointments can be booked online via the Amore Seongsu website. For walk-in customers, Hera is also offering a semi-custom alternative, allowing shoppers to match shades using in-store skin tone readers and color cards before purchasing. 2025-05-20 16:48:40

Musinsa sees sharp rise in foreign sales at stores after enhancing tourist services SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - Korean fashion brand Musinsa Standard reported a sharp rise in sales from foreign customers at its Seoul stores, following the rollout of services tailored to international tourists. According to the company, Tuesday, the Hannam branch saw foreign customer sales increase more than threefold in April compared to February, when the new services were introduced. Across five major locations — Gangnam, Myeongdong, Seongsu, Hannam, and Hongdae — sales to international customers jumped by more than 160 percent during the same period. The surge comes as Musinsa Standard ramps up efforts to accommodate growing numbers of foreign shoppers. The company has implemented multilingual announcements, foreign language brochures, luggage storage, and on-site tax refund services. Several stores also feature unmanned currency exchange machines. Foreign customers now account for roughly half of all sales at the five flagship stores, with the Myeongdong location reporting nearly 60 percent of sales attributed to international visitors. In late March, the Hannam branch introduced dedicated luggage storage and installed a self-service currency exchange kiosk, additions the company credits for the location’s significant growth in foreign sales. A Musinsa Standard spokesperson noted that the immediate tax refund service — allowing shoppers to receive refunds at the point of purchase rather than at the airport — has drawn the most positive feedback. “The immediate refund service that allows customers to receive tax refunds directly at the store where they shop, without having to go through separate procedures at airports, has the best response,” the official said. 2025-05-20 16:02:47

LG Electronics targets emerging markets in global HVAC push SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - LG Electronics is intensifying its push into emerging markets, aiming to capture a growing share of the global heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) market. This week, the technology company hosted its “LG HVAC Leaders’ Summit 2025,” a four-day gathering of industry consultants from across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The summit, held in South Korea, brought together specialists from countries including India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia — all considered key to LG’s expansion strategy in what it refers to as the Global South. The company also welcomed new participants from Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, regions where demand for industrial and commercial cooling systems is rising rapidly amid economic growth and urbanization. Through a series of seminars and site visits, LG showcased its latest air conditioning technologies, including its commercial system air conditioners, chillers, and thermal management solutions for data centers. The company positioned the summit as an opportunity to deepen ties with key customers — HVAC consultants who play an influential role in designing building systems and selecting suppliers. “Our goal is to create business opportunities through differentiated technology and strong execution,” said Lee Jae-sung, vice president and head of LG’s Energy Solutions Business Division. “By communicating closely with HVAC consultants in major markets, we aim to solidify our leadership in the global B2B air conditioning sector.” LG highlighted recent projects as evidence of its capabilities. Among them was a major installation at a logistics facility in Singapore’s Tuas region, where the company’s high-efficiency “Multi V i” system earned the highest certification rating under Singapore’s Green Mark program. LG noted it was the only supplier to meet the client’s stringent performance requirements. 2025-05-20 14:03:11