South Korean tech news from January 2024 covered items in areas including: the announcement of record-breaking startups-focused funding; $471 billion in private-sector investment in semicon chips manufacturing and R&D; South Korean kitchen robotics; partnership between the US, Japan and South Korea on quantum tech research; and more.
SNA’s other editions: Asia’s tech news, daily (via LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter/X); and our Indo-Pacific technology newsletters, weekly.
Also available:
Critical technologies, quarterly across Q4 2023
Infosys: Generative Artificial Intelligence Radar Asia-Pacific
- South Korea: Orbit Chain platform suffers cyber-attack, losing $81M in cryptocurrency, with Police Agency and Korea Internet & Security Agency investigating
- South Korea: Ministry of SMEs & Startups unveils $2.8BN budget for ‘2024 Central and Local Government Entrepreneurship Support Project’, backing 397 startup support projects from 99 organizations
“The support projects cover eight categories, with loans and guarantees commanding the highest share at 55.3% (KRW 2.0546 trillion/USD 1.57 billion).”
“Commercialization follows closely with KRW 793.1 billion (USD 606 million) (21.4%) and technology development at KRW 544.2 billion (USD 416 million) (14.7%).”
- South Korea: WeMade gaming giant hit with $41M tax bill over crypto-related activities following National Tax Service investigation
- South Korea: SparkLabs early-stage startup accelerator selects 4 firms for 22nd edition, working on AI-boosted manufacturing, carbon emissions, financial analysis and project management
- South Korea: An overview of the more-than-550 tech firms and startups exhibiting at the CES 2024 event in Las Vegas, working in fields including batteries, semiconductors, AR and more
Coinbase Institutional: 2024 Crypto Market Outlook
- South Korea’s Coupang revives LG Rocket Delivery distribution partnership, with shared concerns over growing impacts of China’s direct-purchase services seen as underpinnings
- South Korea: Daejeon City administrator accounts hacked, with systems then infected with cryptocurrency mining software
- South Korea: Gov’t unveils $471BN private sector investment blueprint for 13 new chip plants and 3 R&D facilities, adding to 21 existing facilities, targeting 7.7M wafers monthly by 2030
“The government on Monday outlined a blueprint involving investment of 622 trillion won ($471 billion) from the private sector in the years leading up to 2047. They will spend the money to build 13 new chip plants and three research facilities, on top of an existing 21 fabs. Spanning Pyeongtaek to Yongin, the area is expected to be the largest in the world, capable of producing 7.7 million wafers monthly by 2030.”
“As part of the two-decade plan, Samsung and Hynix are set to build their most sophisticated chip plants at home. Samsung’s betting big on foundry — or making chips for other firms — as part of a 500 trillion won investment by 2047. Smaller rival Hynix aims to invest 122 trillion won in memory in Yongin over the same period.”
- More on South Korea’s proposed semiconductor mega-cluster development, set to cover 21M square meters whilst creating 3.46 million jobs
- South Korean food giant Namyang Dairy Products partners US firm, Pureture, to create products based on Pureture’s GMO-free, yeast-based casein, in advance of $12M seed funding round
- South Korea: Aniai raises $12M pre-A with kitchen robotics, with product set led by domestic and US adoption of Alpha Grill hamburger cooking robot
Semiconductors in European and Indo-Pacific Economies: Geopolitical Risk in the Supply Chains into 2030 and Beyond
- South Korea: Elice gains $15M backing with AI-driven education platform focusing on institutional clients and technical knowledge
- South Korea: Customs busts 3-year chip smuggling operation focused on China market, impounding 53,000 dual-use chips worth $11.6M
“The smuggling operation is by far the largest ever busted in respect to value, and probably also in respect to quantity. The previous record holder was an attempt to smuggle $4 million worth of CPUs, SSDs, and other electronics from Hong Kong to China. The would-be smuggler similarly incorrectly declared his goods to customs officials, who weren’t fooled and subsequently busted the plot.”
- North Korean hackers found using new Apple macOS backdoor, SpectralBlur, which interacts with other DPRK hacker malware packages
- North Korean hacker group, ScarCruft, found testing new methods including technical threat research report decoys featuring malware, aimed at cybersecurity info consumers and professionals
- Samsung debuts Galaxy S24 series in China, ditching Google AI features in favor of ‘exclusive cooperation’ with Baidu to use Ernie artificial intelligence chatbot
PwC: 2024 Artificial Intelligence Business Predictions
- South Korea’s Pocket PangPang enters Thailand with single-price mobile shopping platform, matching customers with one product for a flat fee
- Vietnam’s VinCSS partnered South Korea’s Autocrypt auto cybersecurity firm at CES 2024, looking to better protect smart vehicles from cyber threats
- University of Tokyo, Seoul Nat’l University and University of Chicago have entered into a trilateral technology partnership to train a quantum-focused workforce and strengthen collective competitiveness
- A brief overview of Indo-Pacific space-technology developments, and rising concerns, from Nikkei Asia
KPMG / GSA: 2024 Global Semiconductor Industry Outlook
Indo-Pacific Tech news: Daily
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Fortinet: 2023 Global Ransomware Report
Weekly Asia Tech newsletters
In the January 23rd newsletter:
South Korea’s semicon mega-development,
India-Argentina lithium mining,
Singtel adds Starlink for maritime use,
India’s quantum technology moves,
Huawei adds Changan and JD for OS growth,
Google backs Pacific Connect undersea cable…
● January 23rd newsletter on LinkedIn
● January 23rd newsletter on Substack
