Tech news from South Korea in April of 2024 captured headlines in areas including, for instance: Busan’s digital assets plan’s problems; Hyundai’s major electric vehicles investments; satellite navigation system collaboration between South Korea and Japan; concerns over artificial intelligence video-fakes affecting South Korea’s elections; the balancing act Korea manages between China and the US in tech restrictions; and more.
Our other editions span daily updates, weekly newsletters, monthly round-ups, and quarterly collections.
K-Startup Grand Challenge 2024 – start-up in South Korea
- European Union and Republic of Korea to collaborate on research and innovation in semiconductors, with projects set for selection in June for commencement by year-end / read it here
- South Korea’s DCamp startup ecosystem builder and Uzbekistan’s IT Park discuss collaboration, investment opportunities and more / read it here
- South Korea: Hyundai Motor Group to invest $51BN in EVs to year-end 2026, hiring 80K employees and boosting R&D on software-defined vehicles and battery technologies / read it here
- South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries inks MOU with Fortinet cybersecurity firm for wide-ranging collaboration on maritime industry cybersecurity / read it here
- South Korea and Japan to collaborate on development and operation of satellite navigation systems in East Asia, looking to better enable the two systems to coexist and interoperate / read it here
SWITCH: 2024 Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology
- South Korea, AI & elections: “To counter misinformation and uphold democratic fairness, the National Assembly has prohibited AI-generated deepfake content in political campaigning within 90 days of an election…” / read it here
- South Korea faces challenge in balancing US and China relations in supply of semiconductor-related technologies and equipment / read it here
- North Korea: Ministry of Information Industry mobile carrier, Kangsong, rolls out 4G service, reportedly built using second-hand equipment from China’s Huawei / read it here
SXSW Sydney 2024 / October in Australia
- South Korea’s Quantum Intelligence Corp partners Classiq quantum computing software firm to speed drug development using quantum computing in pharmacology / read it here
- KoreaTechDesk launches Demo Day, a monthly pitch event aiming to connect Korean startups with the global startup ecosystem – applications are open now for Korean firms / read it here
- South Korea’s Rebellions AI semiconductors firm partners Arteris on system-on-chip integration to boost chip energy and efficiency and performance / read it here
- South Korea to chair UN Security Council meeting focusing on cybersecurity, looking at issues including North Korea’s cyberspace activities / read it here
- ‘South Korea has successfully launched its second military reconnaissance satellite, days after North Korea reiterated its intention to launch multiple spy satellites this year.’ / read it here
USIP: Transnational Crime In Southeast Asia – A Growing Threat
- South Korea to invest near $7BN in AI by 2027 in bid to retain global position in global semiconductor industry / read it here
- A brief overview of the emerging competition in the wearable ‘smart rings’ market, with offerings from South Korea, China and India / read it here
- South Korea: Korea AeroSpace Administration, the country’s NASA equivalent, preps for formal May launch with recruiting drive to secure the strongest talent pool / read it here
- Samsung Texas arm to gain $6.4Bn Chips Act funding to create full ecosystem for development and production of US-based chips / read it here
- South Korea: Central bank to speed up CBDC project, aiming to pilot the ‘digital won’ with a group of 100,000 citizens later in 2024 / read it here
The Chainalysis 2024 Crypto Crime Report
- South Korea: Busan city’s digital assets exchange plans delayed as consortium establishment payment is missed, preventing platform build, and staff hiring and training / read it here
- South Korea: Ju Jae-Young AI Co unveils magnet-based wall-climbing robot for metal structure inspections, integrating AI-driven image processing / read it here
- South Korea: SEMIFIVE and MetisX partner for 4nm-process memory accelerator chips, seeing opportunities in data center operations / read it here
- A brief overview of trends in North Korea’s illegal cyber activities, drawn from the Chainalysis Crypto Crime Report 2024 / read it here
- A misconfigured North Korean Internet cloud server provides a glimpse of animation outsourcing work, and of how foreign companies may unknowingly hire North Korean firms on IT projects / read it here
Recorded Future: North Korea’s Targeting of Cryptocurrency
- South Korea’s GLN expands QR payments to the Philippines in partnership with Asia United Bank, enabling the QRPh cross-border payment service for visitors to the Philippines / read it here
- Vietnam: South Korea’s smart farm firm, Avalve, inks MOUs to bring AI-optimized agriculture to Vietnam / read it here
- ICYMI: Bank for International Settlements and 7 central banks, including Japan and Korea, partner for Project Agorá, exploring tokenization of bank deposits via ‘unified ledger’ / read it here
- Thailand’s National Innovation Agency inks MOU with Korea Tourism Organisation around travel-tech, aiming to boost startups in sector and shared ecosystems / read it here
- South Korea, New Zealand and Canada now also considered for possible participation in advanced capability projects of AUKUS security partnership, building on consideration of Japan for inclusion / read it here
- A little more on the recent collaboration MOU between the Korean Positioning System and Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite system, aiming for autonomous positioning services / read it here
- China-South Korea researchers publish on potential semiconductor breakthrough, with tellurium-based approach to materials / read it here
- Vietnam: South Korea’s Woori Financial Group opens DINNOlab – Digital Innovation Lab – Vietnam Center in Hanoi, part of Woori startup discovery and development program / read it here
Asia’s tech, quarterly – Q1 2024 / 15 jurisdictions, 3 months’ news
Tech news: Asia & Indo-Pacific
- Daily: On Twitter/X / On Facebook / On LinkedIn
- Weekly: Asia’s Tech News, Weekly – Linkedin & Substack
- Monthly: Asia & IndoPac monthly tech summaries
- Quarterly: Asian tech quarterly, every 3 months
