Hyodol to showcase AI-powered companion robot at MWC in Barcelona

SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - South Korean robotics company Hyodol is showcasing its latest artificial intelligence-powered companion robot at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), which kicked off its four-day run in Barcelona, Spain earlier this week. Hyodol said Thursday that its latest innovation for the annual trade show is a feature called "Advanced Voice Mode," which allows for smoother, more natural conversations. According to Hyodol, the new feature enabl

February 26, 2025

Trump warns of tariffs over foreign regulations on U.S. tech firms

SEOUL, February 22 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he would take strong action, including tariffs, against foreign governments imposing unfair regulations on American tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Meta. “What they’re doing to us in other countries is terrible with digital,” Trump said on Friday, directing his administration to address what he described as unfair trade practices harming U.S. companies. He accused foreign governments o

February 22, 2025

Hanwha Robotics installs cooking robots at highway rest stop

SEOUL, February 16 (AJP) - Hanwha Robotics announced Sunday that it has installed five cooking robots at a highway rest stop in the southeastern city of Daegu. The robots, called "HCR-5A," are now operating at the Nongong Rest Area and can prepare more than five types of dishes, including pork cutlets, udon, and instant noodles, known as ramyeon. “With this deployment, customers at Nongong Rest Area will now have access to food court services 24 hours a day,&rdq

February 16, 2025

Trump's tariff plan for steel, aluminum imports rekindles trade tensions

SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports, a move that could disrupt trade relations with key allies, including South Korea. The decision builds upon tariffs first introduced during Trump’s initial term - 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum - which had previously allowed exemptions for select trading partners through duty-free quotas. South Korea, the fourth-largest suppl

February 10, 2025

Telecom companies making progress in quantum cybersecurity

SEOUL, February 07 (AJP) - South Korea’s three major telecommunications companies - SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus - are intensifying efforts to commercialize quantum encryption technology, positioning themselves as key players in the business-to-business security market. While each company has made notable progress in advancing and securing quantum encryption solutions, full monetization remains a long-term prospect. Quantum encryption is emerging as a critical defense aga

February 7, 2025

Samsung's tri-fold Galaxy G Fold will hit market this year

SEOUL, February 05 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is gearing up to introduce its latest innovation in the foldable smartphone market: the "Galaxy G Fold," a tri-fold device that could compete with Huawei's Mate XT. The Galaxy G Fold will feature a 9.96-inch display when fully unfolded, significantly larger than the 7.6-inch screen of the Galaxy Z Fold 6. When folded, the device will compact to a more pocket-friendly 6.54 inches, offering users a blend of portability and

February 6, 2025

South Korea restricts state bodies from using AI chatbots

SEOUL, February 5 (AJP) -- South Korea's intelligence and security agencies have ordered government departments and state-owned companies to refrain from using artificial intelligence chatbots, citing national security concerns over potential data leaks, officials said Wednesday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety issued security guidelines to all government ministries on Feb. 4, specifically warning against inputting confidential

February 5, 2025

DeepSeek stuns AI industry, escalating US-China tech rivalry

SEOUL, January 31 (AJP) - A little-known Chinese startup has sent shockwaves through the global artificial intelligence industry, unveiling a model that rivals OpenAI’s ChatGPT in both performance and cost efficiency. The breakthrough by DeepSeek, a firm with just 180 employees, has been likened to the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, a moment that reshaped the geopolitical landscape by signaling Moscow’s early lead in the space race. On Jan. 27, DeepSeek&rsq

January 31, 2025

Shockwaves from China's DeepSeek hit Korean chip stocks

SEOUL, January 31 (AJP) - Shares of South Korea’s leading chipmakers, SK hynix and Samsung Electronics, tumbled Friday as investors reacted to mounting uncertainty in the artificial intelligence sector following the shockwaves from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. SK hynix, a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for AI applications, plunged 9.86 percent to 199,200 won, while Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, declined 2.42 percent. Hanm

January 31, 2025

China's AI chatbot DeepSeek faces scrutiny over censorship allegations

SEOUL, January 29 (AJP) - DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot that has garnered global attention for its low-cost yet high-performance model, is facing mounting allegations of real-time censorship on politically sensitive topics related to China. Reports suggest that the chatbot initially generates responses containing information that the Chinese Communist Party might consider politically sensitive, only to swiftly erase and replace them with a sanitized version m

January 29, 2025