South Korean tech news in the second quarter of 2023 captured technology developments in, and affecting, the country including Seoul’s bid to build the world’s largest ‘startup campus’, LG’s patent for trading NFTs via your TV set, Dutch semiconductor giant ASM’s new investment in South Korea, and many more.
The monthly links listed – April, May & June 2023 – will take you to the Korean tech news round-up for that month, with each headline then linked to the Korean technology article behind it.
in June 2023 | in May 2023 | in April 2023
• Plus: Asia’s tech news today / weekly newsletters >
Korea Blockchain Week 2023: September 4-10
Korean Tech News
quarterly – June 2023
- South Korea’s LG Electronics partners Canada’s Tenstorrent for ‘chiplets’, semiconductor modules in this case optimized to run AI models
- South Korea’s WEMIX inks MOU with Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 to develop growth opportunities for respective portfolio companies and Web3 startups
“On one hand, chipmakers Samsung…and SK Hynix…depend on US technology and equipment. At the same time, about 40% of South Korea’s chip exports go to China…”
- Inaugural South Korea-Pacific Islands Summit sees growth in defence cooperation with Korea to join Indo-Pacific Endeavour drills, and underwater mines detect-and-disarm program
- Major South Korean trading firm, SK Networks, to invest $2M in Series A funding for the Netherlands’ SourceAg, focusing on AI-driven greenhouse automation solutions
South Korea: ComeUp Startup Festival 2023 – November 17-19
- South Korea: Former Samsung exec arrested over theft of factory and clean-room blueprints used in unsuccessful bid to replicate facilities in China
- South Korea and Saudi Arabia announce creation of joint $160M fund to invest in South Korean and Saudi startups
“A total of 30 startups have been spun off from Hyundai so far, generating a total of 280 billion won in sales and creating more than 800 new jobs.”
“Hyundai invested a total of 1.3 trillion won ($1 billion) in fostering more than 200 startups since 2017, including those started by our own employees,” said Hwang Yun-seong, head of the Open Innovation Investment team at Hyundai Motor Group, during the event on Thursday.
“The investments in these startups, both local and overseas, were made via Hyundai Cradle, the company’s unit focused on identifying and investing in innovative start-ups, whose Korean base is called ZER01NE.”
- South Korea: Wrtn generative AI startup gains near $12M with local-language text creation
- South Korea: Seoul to build ‘Seoul Unicorn Startup Hub’ by 2030, set to be world-largest startup campus, with $1.3M assigned under Seoul Startup Policy 2030 for construction and investments
KPMG Venture Pulse Q2 2023 Report – Asia findings
- South Korea: 7-Eleven to offer deliveries via Neubility self-driving robots, trialing in select areas in southern Seoul in October
- South Korea’s KakaoBank inks MOU with Thailand’s SCBX on acquiring a license for internet-only bank services in Thailand
- South Korea: An intro to inDJ, AI algorithm-backed music recommendations drawing on data from users’ devices like smartwatches and smartphones to suggest music, channels and broadcasts
- South Korea: Ministry of SMEs & Startups launched Regional Angel Investment Fund to boost initial investments in non-metro areas of the country
North Korea’s hacking “…still heavily focused on information collection, or cyber-espionage, and they conduct more of those operations than they do financially motivated or financial theft operations.”
Taiwan and South Korea ties grow: “..still compete as fellow exporters of tech hardware, but now they are keen on working together to weather world geopolitical shifts…”
CSIS: Mapping semiconductor supply chains – Critical role of Indo-Pacific
Korean Tech News
quarterly – May 2023
- South Korea: Gov’t recently passed K-Chips Act, a package of tax breaks and subsidies aimed at boosting the country’s tech and semiconductor manufacturing sectors
- South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group to launch $36.5M fund to invest in tech startups from Japan and Korea
- South Korea: SK Hynix chip maker rolls back plans to upgrade memory chip-making tech at China facility in Jiangsu province over sanctions concerns
- South Korea: LG Electronics files patent application for TV technology stack allowing users to trade non-fungible tokens on their television, expanding on LG Art Lab
- Tesla CEO Musk and Samsung executives recently met at Samsung Semiconductor’s US R&D Labs to discuss future cooperation in autonomous driving and semicon production
CSET: Mapping emerging technologies and their supply chains
- South Korea: Dutch chipmaker ASM to invest $100M in expanding innovation and manufacturing facility in Hwaseong, focusing on semiconductors and R&D
- South Korea: Taiwan’s Gogoro e-bikes firm expands in partnership with Korea’s Bikebank, launching the Dotstation brand
- South Korea: Samsung Electronics and Bank of Korea to run joint research to develop central bank digital currency ecosystem
“The two sides will continue to work on enabling users to access transactions and payments through Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and Galaxy Watch even in disaster situations when online network cannot be accessed.”
- South Korea: Taiwan’s Taishin Bank launches TaishinPay QR payment service for Taiwanese tourists, via Hana Bank subsidiary, GLN International
- ICYMI: Sanctions imposed on 4 large-scale entities believed to employ thousands of North Korean IT workers involved in generating illicit revenues underpinning unlawful WMD and missile programs
- China’s CellX and South Korea’s The PlantEat among 6 finalists for XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, a competition focused on alternative proteins
World Economic Forum: Shared Intelligence for Resilient Supply Systems
Korean Tech news
quarterly – April 2023
- South Korea is forecast to increase spending on advanced chipmaking equipment by 41.5% to $21 billion in 2024
- South Korea: CellQua gains seed funding with seafood-focused cell-cultured meats, currently producing 6 types including eel, squid and loach
- South Korea: K-Startup Grand Challenge 2023 edition applications are now open for program to attract, incorporate, and expand foreign startups to Korea
CheckPoint Live Cyber Threat Map
- South Korea: Mediwhale retina scanning startup raises $9M with AI-powered diagnosis of broad health risks including cardiac and kidney disorders
- North Korea may be set to launch its first dedicated spy satellite by month-end, with Kim Jong-Un talking of plans for multiple units
- South Korea’s NextRise 2023 startup conference is set for June in Seoul, providing exposure to major Korean firms and more than 150 multinationals and VCs
- South Korea: Treasurer investment platform gains Series A, specializing in expensive collectibles such as luxury watches and rare whiskey, using its own ‘Security Token’ technology
What is secure? An analysis of popular messaging apps
- South Korea: An intro to idciti and its uGPS system, allowing GPS to work underground as an aid for autonomous vehicles, and with Seoul metro trials commencing soon
- South Korea and the US to establish ‘Strategic Cybersecurity Cooperation Framework’ over concerns about North Korea funding weapons programs with cybercrime proceeds
- South Korea: A brief look at Hanvixolar’s modular solar panels, focused on recharging smartphones and small consumer goods with expandable, interlocking panel units
- North Korea believed to be behind 3CX ‘software supply chain’ hack, first sighting of a cascading hack with one compromizing a legitimate update to enable the next to be delivered to customers
CSET: Mapping emerging technologies and their supply chains
ASIA’S TECH NEWS: DAILY & e-newsletters
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