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Hackers steal personal data from 997 North Korean defectors
Hackers just caused grief for North Korean defectors. South Korea's Unification Ministry has revealed that attackers stole the personal data of 997 defectors, including their names and addresses. The breach came after a staff member at the Hana Foundation, which helps settle northerners, unwittingly opened email with malware. The defectors' data is normally supposed to be isolated from the internet and encrypted, but the unnamed staffer didn't follow those rules, officials said.
Nine people charged with selling Samsung's curved display tech
Prosecutors in South Korea have indicted nine people and two companies for allegedly selling Samsung's curved-edge OLED display tech (which it uses in its flagship Galaxy phones) to a company in China. The CEO of Samsung supplier Toptec Co Ltd was among three people arrested over the scheme. Prosecutors say he and eight employees received about $13.8 million for the intellectual property.
Samsung chairman indicted for allegedly suppressing labor unions
Today, the board chairman of Samsung, Lee Sang-hoon, was indicted by South Korean prosecutors for illegally sabotaging a labor union. This comes after years of whispers about Samsung's intolerance of labor unions, according to Bloomberg. Twenty-seven other people from Samsung and its partner companies have also been indicted.
South Korea wants to tax global companies like Apple and Google
It's getting harder for global companies like Amazon, Apple and Google to avoid paying tax around the world as more countries move to change their permissive corporate tax laws. Now, according to a report in the Korea Times, the South Korean government is looking at ways to collect taxes from foreign companies in the wake of domestic complaints about the practice. The Ministry of Economy and Finance created a taskforce with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to start talking about newer tax policies that focus on global tech firms.
iPhone 3GS comes back from the dead in South Korea
Have you ever wished you could relive the experience of owning a classic smartphone? You can, if you live in South Korea. SK Telink is putting the iPhone 3GS back on sale at the end of June after finding a slew of unsold units in a warehouse. Yes, you too can revisit the heady days of 2009, when the Black Eyed Peas dominated the music charts and LTE was still a pipe dream. It won't cost a lot to walk down memory lane when the phone costs 44,000 won (about $40), and don't stress too much over the nine-year-old battery -- SK Telink is inspecting each unit to be sure it's working.
Samsung's newest phone can't connect to the internet
If you're worried about racking up a big mobile data bill, or want a phone for your kids or elderly relatives, the options aren't great. Mostly because the default is to just opt for whatever low-end Nokia candybar is available for $30 on the aisle end at the mall. Samsung is hoping to capture some of this market with its new smartphone, the Galaxy J2 Pro, which is shipping without the ability to access data over 3G, LTE and WiFi.
South Korea fines game studios over deceptive loot box odds
The uproar over in-game loot boxes is leading to some real financial penalties -- in South Korea. The country's Fair Trade Commission has fined Nexon, Netmarble and NextFloor a total of 1 billion won (about $945,200) for allegedly deceptive loot box promotions. The regulator asserted that each of the studios either hid poor odds for obtaining in-game items with the purchases, or else advertised odds that were out of step with reality. Nexon didn't reveal that the chances of obtaining some in-game items in Sudden Attack (a popular first-person shooter) was just 0.5 percent, for example, while Netmarble's Monster Taming pitched odds of 1 percent for a key creature when the actual chance of winning was as low as 0.0005 percent.
Seoul will turn off workers' PCs to curb excessive overtime
South Korea has a serious problem with overtime. A typical government worker puts in 1,000 more hours per year than their equivalents in other countries, which could easily affect their long-term health. Seoul's Metropolitan Government may have a simple technology-based solution, however: force workers' computers to shut down. It's launching an initiative that turns off all PCs by a set hour, giving staff little choice but to head outside.
Facebook hit with fine in South Korea for limiting user access
South Korea's telecommunications regulator is fining Facebook 396 million won (approximately $396,706) for slowing users' connections in 2016 and 2017. ABC News reports that the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) began investigating Facebook's actions last May and determined that the company had violated a law prohibiting the unnecessary limitation of user access. The problem arose when the social media giant began rerouting some South Korean users' Facebook access to networks in Hong Kong and the US. In some cases that caused connections to slow by as much as 450 percent.
South Korea won't ban cryptocurrency trading after all
South Korea has been flirting with banning cryptocurrency trading for some time now. However, now it appears the country is backtracking. Bloomberg reports that South Korea's regulators have indicated that they will continue to support "normal" trading of the cryptocurrency.
Olympics officials confirm cyberattack during opening ceremony
Officials saw suspicious activity on Olympics systems during the 2018 winter games' opening ceremony, and now it's confirmed: it was a cyberattack. PyeongChang organizers have revealed that someone compromised services (including internet and TV) while athletes were on parade. Everything had been "resolved and recovered" by the 9th, spokesman Sung Baik-you said. He added that they knew the cause of the attack, but were "not going to reveal the source" after talking to the International Olympics Committee.
How to watch the 2018 Winter Olympics
With the opening ceremonies completed and the torch lit, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea are officially underway and will run through February 25th. Viewers have plenty of options to stream events this time around -- and while you can watch almost everything on NBC with your cable subscription, there are several internet TV providers that include some or all of the network's coverage through their own service subscriptions.
DJI will create no-fly zones around Olympic venues in South Korea
Days ago, South Korean authorities announced that they'd capture any drone that got too close to Olympics event facilities. If you have a DJI-made craft, you won't even be able to get close. The UAV maker is releasing a software patch that creates a no-fly zone around Olympic areas.
Disgraced Samsung boss walks free from prison
The heir to South Korea's largest company has avoided a lengthy spell in prison after a court suspended his sentence. Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee was initially meant to spend five years behind bars after being found guilty of bribing public officials. Now, after spending close to a year in detention he has been released although he will spend the next four years on probation.
Drone catchers and face-detecting planes will guard the Olympics
South Korean authorities are adopting some pretty high-tech security measures for the upcoming Winter Olympics, including the deployment of drone-catching-drones and a tactical plane with facial recognition. The drones they're using to patrol the event won't chase away rogue drones that get too close to the venues: they'll cast nets to catch any UAV that shows up on the the security team's radar.
South Korea will regulate, not ban, cryptocurrency trading
South Korea has no plans to ban cryptocurrency trading, according to government authorities. The announcement follows reports earlier this month that the country was considering shutting down trading because of tax evasion, which led to massive disruption on trading platforms around the world. However, the government does plan to tighten regulation and crack down on illegal practices within the area.
Bitcoin tumbles below $10,000, half of its peak value
Bitcoin has crashed to as low as $9,500, falling below $10,000 for the first time since November and neatly halving its December 19th peak of $19,000, according to Coinbase. It has declined steadily since CES 2018 started, thanks to reports that South Korea planned to clamp down on the cryptocurrency. If you hedged your bets with Ethereum, Ripple or Dogecoin, then that didn't help either, as most virtual currencies have fallen precipitously since yesterday.
South Korea may ban cryptocurrency trading amid fears of tax evasion
In a move that's sent bitcoin spiralling, officials in South Korea have announced plans to ban cryptocurrency trading in the country, though it would take time before such a ban in implemented. The plans come against a backdrop of concerns regarding tax evasion, as cryptocurrency trading in the country is highly speculative and similar to gambling. Many currencies, such as bitcoin and ether, are priced much higher in South Korea's exchanges than elsewhere in the world. Industry data provider CoinMarketCap has even begun excluding some South Korean exchanges in its calculations "due to extreme divergence in prices from the rest of the world".
South Korea enacts new cryptocurrency regulations
The South Korean government announced new cryptocurrency regulations today, which led to a 12 percent and eight percent drop in bitcoin and ethereum prices, respectively. After the US and Japan, South Korea is the world's third largest market for cryptocurrencies. Beginning next month, anonymous cryptocurrency accounts will no longer be allowed under the new legislation and regulators will continually monitor cryptocurrency exchanges going forward. In a statement, the government said, "Cryptocurrency speculation has been irrationally overheated in Korea. The government can't let this abnormal situation of speculation go on any longer."
A humanoid robot carried the Olympic torch in South Korea
One of the traditions of the Olympics is the torch relay, in which people carry the flame from Olympia, Greece to the location of the Games. In 2018, the Olympic Games will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the torch relay is currently underway. Earlier this week, the HUBO, the humanoid robot, carried the flame for part of its journey.
