Journalist

Na Seon-hye
  • KAIST-Linked Deep Tech Startup Point2 Closes $76M Series B Round
    KAIST-Linked Deep Tech Startup Point2 Closes $76M Series B Round The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said on the 23rd that Point2 Technology, a deep-tech startup co-founded by KAIST professor Bae Hyun-min and alumni, has secured an expanded Series B investment. The company closed the Series B round at about 100 billion won ($76 million). KAIST said it is the first Korea-based startup and the first among South Korean semiconductor companies to receive a strategic investment from Nvidia. KAIST cited Point2 Technology’s “e-Tube” technology as a key driver of the deal. AI data centers must connect thousands of semiconductors, but copper wiring has limits on transmission distance, while fiber optics have been criticized for higher costs and power use. The company’s approach uses radio-frequency signals and plastic waveguides to transmit data, aiming to address both constraints. KAIST said it extends transmission distance about 10 times compared with copper wiring, while cutting power consumption and cost to about one-third of optical cables. It also reduces data-transfer latency, which KAIST said positions it as a core technology for next-generation AI infrastructure. “This is a representative case in which core technology developed at KAIST led to investment from global big tech,” Bae said. He added that KAIST will strengthen support so startups with strong technology can enter global markets more quickly. 2026-04-23 11:15:27
  • LG Uplus Tops 1 Million USIM Updates and Free Replacements; Replacement Rate at 5.9%
    LG Uplus Tops 1 Million USIM Updates and Free Replacements; Replacement Rate at 5.9% LG Uplus said April 23 that the number of USIM updates and replacements provided to all customers has surpassed 1 million. The company has been rolling out USIM updates and free replacements in phases since April 13. From April 13 to 22, it recorded 427,385 USIM updates and 581,094 USIM replacements, for a total of 1,008,479 cases. The cumulative replacement rate stood at 5.9%. LG Uplus said it has combined online guidance through text messages and its U+one app, a reservation-based system and on-site support to reduce customer inconvenience. It is also expanding a “visiting service” for customers who have difficulty going to stores. On-site support is being provided at senior welfare centers in urban areas including Seoul’s Jung and Dobong districts, Busan and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province. The company said it visited the Boeun County Senior and Disabled Welfare Center in North Chungcheong Province on April 21 and the Nowon Center for the Blind in Seoul on April 22 to help with USIM replacements. LG Uplus said customers eligible for a USIM update can complete the process online, while those who need a replacement can receive service at stores after making a reservation. “We will continue to provide responsible support through online guidance, stores and visiting services so customers can take the necessary steps without inconvenience,” said Lee Jae-won, vice president and head of LG Uplus’ consumer division.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 09:06:37
  • Korea’s Homegrown AI Model Developers Deepen Ties With Nvidia
    Korea’s Homegrown AI Model Developers Deepen Ties With Nvidia Companies selected for the Science and ICT Ministry’s push to build an independent AI foundation model are expanding cooperation with Nvidia, accelerating efforts to broaden South Korea’s AI ecosystem. The partnerships aim to combine data, infrastructure and models to strengthen industry-specific AI competitiveness. LG AI Research said that on the 21st, co-head Lim Woo-hyung and EXAONE Lab head Lee Jin-sik met with Nvidia Vice President of Applied Research Brian Catanzaro and Nvidia Korea CEO Jung So-young at LG’s Magok office in Seoul to discuss next-generation AI model development and joint ecosystem-building strategies. The two sides agreed to widen cooperation by linking LG’s EXAONE with Nvidia’s Nemotron open ecosystem to jointly develop specialized models for professional fields. Building on collaboration from EXAONE 3.0 through the recently released multimodal model 4.5, they plan to increase integration across data, infrastructure and software. LG AI Research said it has improved training quality using Nemotron datasets, while Nvidia has supported training optimization and inference efficiency through its latest graphics processing units and tools such as the NeMo framework. LG AI Research said the results are reflected in Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence “AI Index Report.” It said South Korea ranked third among countries with notable AI models, and that four of the five models cited were from the EXAONE series. Telecom companies are also expanding cooperation. SK Telecom disclosed results of its AI model development work with Nvidia at “Nvidia Nemotron Developer Days Seoul 2026.” SK Telecom said it plans to use Nvidia solutions in developing “A.X K2,” a follow-up to “A.X K1,” which it introduced under the independent foundation model project. The company previously applied Nemotron datasets and related frameworks during training of A.X K1, a model with 519 billion parameters, to secure stability for large-scale distributed training. The two companies are holding technical consultations every two weeks to discuss infrastructure stability, performance improvements and optimization measures. In a panel discussion co-hosted by the ministry and Nvidia on the 21st, participating companies outlined shared priorities. Elice Group emphasized the need for “vertical AI” optimized for specific industries such as manufacturing and finance. Upstage said a key task is narrowing the gap between benchmark performance and real-world enterprise deployment. SK Telecom said it is focusing beyond early “performance verification” on commercialization suitable for real services and on improving inference efficiency. Motif Technologies said it is developing a 300B Mixture-of-Experts model and aims to narrow the gap with global big tech through efficiency-focused design rather than a race for scale alone. Still, concerns were raised about overreliance on an Nvidia-centered ecosystem. Motif CEO Lim Jeong-hwan said that when freedom to experiment with model architectures is critical, heavier dependence on Nvidia software could constrain independent innovation.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 00:03:22
  • Panel urges overhaul of Korea broadcasting development fund to include platforms
    Panel urges overhaul of Korea broadcasting development fund to include platforms Calls are growing to overhaul South Korea’s Broadcasting and Communications Development Fund beyond temporary fee reductions, as media consumption shifts toward platform-based services. Speakers said the current system, built largely around traditional broadcasters, needs a redesign to remain sustainable. Lee Sang-geun, a non-standing member of the Broadcast Media and Communications Commission, said at an April 22 seminar at the National Assembly that “the fund can be addressed in the short term through reductions, but it is difficult for that to be a fundamental solution.” He added that a broader reset is needed, “including revisions to the Broadcasting Act.” The fund supports the development of the broadcasting and telecommunications industry and efforts to strengthen public interest programming. Under the Framework Act on the Development of Broadcasting and Communications, it is collected from terrestrial broadcasters, general programming channels and mobile carriers, among others, and is currently structured around legacy broadcasting operators such as cable TV system operators. Lee said the approach of placing the burden mainly on existing operators has clear limits as the overall market shrinks. He said platform operators that do not pay into the fund are expanding their influence, deepening imbalances across the system. That has fueled arguments for expanding the fund’s scope to include new media operators such as over-the-top streaming services. Lee said, however, that the current legal framework makes that difficult and that legal groundwork, including changes to the Broadcasting Act, would need to come first. The commission also signaled support for structural changes. Seong Jae-sik, the planning and coordination officer and head of the finance team in the innovation planning office, said collection rates have been adjusted by sector to reflect crises, but “the overall market has now reached a critical point,” making it time to reexamine the system broadly. As a key task, Seong pointed to integrating currently separate fund notices and unifying the collection framework. “Applying different standards even among similar operators raises fairness issues,” he said, adding that consolidation is needed to set consistent criteria. Still, changes to collection rates are unlikely to move quickly. Seong said that even if reforms are pursued within the year, time is tight. He said the commission plans first to commission research covering the overall collection system, including pay TV and terrestrial broadcasters and general programming program providers. Seong said a central issue is how to fill any funding gap if burdens are reduced. He said imposing the fund on platform operators such as OTT services and portals should be reviewed over the long term. He also said spending may need adjustment, but noted that fund projects are decided through consultations with fiscal authorities, making unilateral changes by the commission difficult. Any spending restructuring, he said, would need to be pursued step by step through interagency talks. Because interests are deeply intertwined, Seong said, reforms require sufficient deliberation. He said the commission will push mid- to long-term changes based on research and discussion. 2026-04-22 17:09:21
  • Experts urge platform accountability as youth social media time limits fall short
    Experts urge platform accountability as youth social media time limits fall short Calls are growing for national-level rules and technical safeguards to regulate teenagers’ use of social media, with experts warning that simple screen-time limits cannot solve overdependence. At a National Assembly seminar on April 22 titled “Seeking responses to trends in regulating children and adolescents’ social media,” participants debated both the direction and limits of youth-protection policies. Yoon Hye-kyung, a researcher at Korea University’s law school, said childhood and adolescence require a “function of forgetting” that allows young people to learn from mistakes and recover emotionally, but the digital environment can block those opportunities. She said regulation should be phased to match developmental stages rather than imposed as a blanket ban. Yoon cited overseas cases to highlight limits of current approaches. In Australia, she said, measures introduced in the name of protecting youth have drawn criticism for potentially restricting freedom of expression and opportunities for creative activity. She also pointed to risks of personal data leaks during age verification and said tech-savvy teens can often bypass controls, undermining effectiveness. She said legislation in some U.S. states has also faced setbacks. In Ohio, which enacted a parental-consent law for social media controls, the requirement was viewed as an excessive restriction because it could block access to beneficial information as well, violating the principle against overbroad limits. California, which introduced an “age-appropriate design code” requiring child protections at the platform-design stage, also received a ruling finding it unconstitutional, she said. Issues included insufficient proof that protections would work and concerns that age checks could drive the collection of even more personal data. Yoon listed key tasks as introducing tailored, age-based phased regulation; making digital safety education a legal requirement; and building a cooperative governance framework between platforms and the government. “Rather than simply blocking teens from using social media, we need detailed regulatory design, education and a social consultative body,” she said. In a subsequent discussion, speakers also urged stronger platform responsibility. Jin Min-jung, a researcher at the Korea Press Foundation, said smartphones are “teenagers’ life itself,” where friendships, information searches and leisure all take place. “Kids are already skilled at finding ways around restrictions, so simple time limits have clear limits,” she said. Jin said the approach should focus on changing structures that encourage addiction, emphasizing improvements in platform design, including technical measures that limit functions based on age and developmental stage. The Korea Communications Commission’s Broadcasting Media and Communications Committee also voiced agreement with that view. Choi Seon-kyung, director of the committee’s User Policy Division, said the root cause of social media overdependence is “intentional design” by platform operators seeking to increase time spent for profit. She said the committee is closely watching court precedents in California and New Mexico. Choi added that the committee will actively support seven bills currently pending in the National Assembly. 2026-04-22 17:01:02
  • LG AI Research, Nvidia deepen alliance to expand EXAONE ecosystem
    LG AI Research, Nvidia deepen alliance to expand EXAONE ecosystem LG AI Research and Nvidia are strengthening a technology alliance to expand the “K-EXAONE” ecosystem. LG AI Research said executives including Woo-hyung Lim, co-head of LG AI Research, and Jin-sik Lee, head of the EXAONE Lab, met Monday afternoon at the institute’s headquarters in Seoul’s Magok district with Bryan Catanzaro, Nvidia vice president of applied deep learning research, and So-young Jung, head of Nvidia Korea, to discuss cooperation on developing next-generation AI models. The two companies said they will broaden collaboration by combining LG’s AI model, EXAONE, with Nvidia’s Nemotron open ecosystem to jointly develop specialized models for professional fields. LG AI Research said it used Nemotron open datasets during EXAONE’s development to help ensure training data quality. Nvidia supported optimization of model training and improvements in inference performance and efficiency by providing its latest Blackwell graphics processing units, the NeMo Framework AI development platform and TensorRT-LLM software designed to boost inference performance. “As a key partner of LG AI Research, Nvidia has worked together to make EXAONE Korea’s top AI model,” Catanzaro said. “By combining LG’s EXAONE and Nvidia’s Nemotron, we will lead sovereign AI and contribute to expanding the ecosystem,” he said. Lim said Nvidia has been a core technology partner in developing EXAONE. “We will take LG and Nvidia’s cooperation a step further by expanding the research-and-development ecosystem and deliver sovereign AI results that can be felt in industrial settings,” he said. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-22 10:05:17
  • SK Telecom to Revamp Job Grades, Create CEO-Led B2B Task Force Under CEO Jeong Jae-heon
    SK Telecom to Revamp Job Grades, Create CEO-Led B2B Task Force Under CEO Jeong Jae-heon SK Telecom said April 21 that it will overhaul its job-grade system and set up a CEO-led task force to strengthen its business-to-business competitiveness, announcing the plans through its newsroom as CEO Jeong Jae-heon marked six months in the role.  Jeong, speaking at a town hall meeting at the company’s headquarters in Seoul’s Euljiro area, stressed the need for customer-centered change. “In a sense of crisis that the company could collapse, the core is ultimately the ‘customer,’” he said, adding, “Getting back to customers, each drop of sweat is creating change.” Jeong also said the company’s future growth engines run through AI. SK Telecom plans to build planning and development capabilities for mid- to long-term projects in its telecom business, including an AI-optimized integrated computing system, while strengthening its current digital competitiveness.  The company said it will step up its push into the B2B market as what it described as the country’s only “full-stack” provider spanning AI infrastructure, models and services. To consolidate B2B capabilities, it will create an enterprise task force reporting directly to the CEO. The task force will be led concurrently by Han Myung-jin, head of the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) CIC.  SK Telecom also said it will accelerate its AI data center business. Within its AI CIC, it will establish dedicated units by area, including an AI DC Business Division (to be led concurrently by AI CIC head Jeong Seok-geun) and an AI DC Development Division headed by Ha Min-yong.  The company will also change its job-grade structure to three levels from the current two-stage system. The current A and B bands will be reorganized into Growth Level 1 for developing practitioners, Growth Level 2 for key contributors, and Growth Level 3 for leaders and leadership candidates.  “For plans spanning 10 years and 20 years, we selected growth businesses and moved to 추진 organizational pivoting and changes to HR systems,” Jeong said. “In the near term, tangible results may come slowly, and the AX transition may take more time, but let’s execute boldly for the future that will come when we overcome this.”  2026-04-21 16:31:38
  • Startup Upstage becomes South Koreas first AI unicorn after raising more funds
    Startup Upstage becomes South Korea's first AI unicorn after raising more funds SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Upstage has raised about 180 billion Korean won (about US$120 million) in its latest funding round, the company said on Wednesday. With the funding, Upstage, now valued at more than 1 trillion won, became South Korea's first unicorn among generative AI companies. According to Upstage, the fresh fund was raised in a round led by Sage Partners, a Silicon Valley-based global venture capital and early investor that has continued to back the company through previous rounds, reaffirming its confidence in Upstage's technology and future growth. New investors include KB Securities, InterVest, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Premier Partners, Shinhan Venture Investment as well as global equity investment firm Axiom Asia. Upstage, which provides industry-focused AI solutions built on its in-house large language model Solar and its document-processing AI Document Parse, said its revenue has grown by more than 130 percent annually since its founding in 2020. Last year, it was selected as the lead company for a government-led initiative to develop sovereign AI technology, further strengthening its position as one of the most promising AI developers in South Korea. Upstage's cumulative funding has reached about 400 billion won including 31.6 billion won in 2021, 100 billion won in 2024, and 62 billion won last year. It will use the funds to expand its graphics processing unit (GPU) infrastructure to advance AI models, while recruiting top talent both at home and overseas to expand into overseas markets. "The latest funding goes beyond simple fundraising and shows the market's confidence in Upstage's journey and achievements as an AI developer," said CEO Kim Seong-hun, adding, "We will advance our proprietary AI models to compete not only in Korea but also globally, and become a company that proves itself through revenue, not just valuation." 2026-04-15 10:21:52
  • Many teenagers still addicted to smartphones despite overall decline
    Many teenagers still addicted to smartphones despite overall decline SEOUL, March 26 (AJP) - About a quarter of South Koreans were at risk of overdependence on smartphones last year, according to a survey released Thursday. The risk was similarly high among young children but decreased among adults and those in their 60s compared with the previous year. The Ministry of Science and ICT conducted one-on-one interviews with about 10,000 households nationwide to survey patterns of smartphone usage. Some 22.7 percent of smartphone users were classified as being at risk, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous year, seeing a continuous decline since 2021. By age, teenagers had the highest rate at 43 percent, followed by young children at 26 percent. Adults stood at 22.3 percent and those in their 60s at 11.5 percent, both down from a year earlier. But digital inclusion made steady progress overall. Digital literacy, accessibility, and usage improved among digitally vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities older adults, low-income individuals, and those working in agriculture and fisheries. In terms of overall usage of smart devices, these groups reached 77.9 percent of the general public's level, up 0.4 percentage point from the prior year, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth. The ministry said it will offer consultation services and other programs to help high-risk teenagers reduce their use of smart devices, in cooperation with other government agencies. 2026-03-26 14:59:54
  • Koreas veteran progressive figure Lee Hae-chan hospitalized in Vietnam after heart attack
    Korea's veteran progressive figure Lee Hae-chan hospitalized in Vietnam after heart attack SEOUL, January 24 (AJP) -Former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, a veteran progressive politician and one of the most influential figures in the country’s liberal camp, was rushed to a hospital in Vietnam on Friday after suffering a heart attack and remains in critical condition, officials said. Lee, 73, who currently serves as senior vice chairperson of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (PUAC), collapsed at around 1 p.m. local time shortly after arriving at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City while attempting to return to South Korea, according to PUAC officials. He had arrived in Vietnam a day earlier to attend a meeting of the council’s Vietnamese chapter but reportedly complained of flu-like symptoms before his departure from Seoul. As his condition worsened, Lee decided to cut short his trip and return home. During the airport incident, Lee experienced breathing difficulties and was transported by ambulance to a local hospital while receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Officials said he suffered cardiac arrest twice during transport and treatment. Doctors performed a stent insertion procedure, and Lee is currently breathing with the assistance of mechanical support. His condition remains critical, and he is expected to remain hospitalized until stabilized, officials said. President Lee Jae Myung was briefed on the situation and ordered the dispatch of his senior political secretary, Cho Jung-sik, to Vietnam to assist during Lee’s hospitalization. Cho was scheduled to depart early Saturday, according to the presidential office. Born in 1952, Lee Hae-chan is a seven-term lawmaker and a towering figure in South Korea’s progressive movement. He served as prime minister from 2004 to 2006 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration and previously held the post of education minister, where he spearheaded sweeping education and administrative reforms. Known as a hardline strategist and ideological anchor of the Democratic Party, Lee later served as a senior adviser to Lee Jae Myung’s presidential campaign in 2021 and as co-chair of the party’s election committee during last year’s general election. He currently holds the title of standing senior adviser to the Democratic Party. The PUAC is a constitutionally mandated presidential advisory body tasked with proposing unification policies, gathering domestic and international public opinion on inter-Korean relations, and building national consensus on unification. The president serves as its chair, while the senior vice chairperson serves a two-year term. The council comprises roughly 22,000 advisers at home and abroad, including regional, professional and overseas Korean representatives. Officials said they are closely monitoring Lee’s condition as arrangements are made for ongoing medical support in coordination with South Korean authorities. 2026-01-24 10:19:07