South Korea fines Google $177 million for blocking Android customization

SEOUL - South Korea's antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet Inc's Google 207 billion won ($176.64 million) for blocking customized versions of its Android operating system (OS), in the US technology giant's second setback in less than a month.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) on Tuesday said terms with device makers amounted to abuse of Google's dominant market position that restricted competition in the mobile OS market.

Google in a statement said it intends to appeal. It said the ruling ignores benefits offered by Android's compatibility with other programs and undermines advantages enjoyed by consumers.

The fine comes on the day an amendment to South Korea's Telecommunications Business Act - popularly dubbed the "anti-Google law" - came into effect.

The law now bans app store operators such as Google from requiring software developers use their payment systems - a requirement which effectively stopped developers from charging commission on in-app purchases.

KFTC said Google hampered competition by making device producers abide by an "anti-fragmentation agreement (AFA)" when signing key contracts with it regarding app store licenses.

Under the AFA, manufacturers could not equip their handsets with modified versions of Android, known as "Android forks". That has helped Google cement its market dominance in the mobile OS market, the KFTC said.

The regulator said the fine could be the ninth-biggest it has ever imposed.

In 2013, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd launched a smartwatch with a customized OS, but switched to a different OS after Google regarded the move as an AFA violation, KFTC said.

Samsung Electronics declined to comment.

-reuters

North Korea's Kim reappears after weeks of speculation

North Korea's Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance in nearly three weeks, state media reported Saturday, following intense speculation that the leader of the nuclear-armed nation was seriously ill or possibly dead.

State television showed Kim walking, smiling broadly and smoking a cigarette at what the North said was the opening of a fertiliser factory on Friday in Sunchon, north of Pyongyang.

Rumours about Kim's health have been swirling since his conspicuous no-show at April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather, the North's founder -- the most important day in the country's political calendar.

His absence triggered a series of fevered rumours and unconfirmed reports over his condition, while the United States and South Korea insisted they had no information to believe any of the conjecture was true.


Seoul's unification ministry reacted to Saturday's report by saying "groundless" speculation about Kim had caused "unnecessary confusion", calling for more careful consideration in future.

Kim's sudden death would have left Pyongyang facing an unplanned succession for the first time in its history and raised unanswered questions over who would succeed him and take over the North's nuclear arsenal.

China, the North's key diplomatic ally and main provider of trade and aid, is keen to maintain stability in its neighbour and avoid the possibility of an influx of refugees.

North Korea is "at the epicentre of an extremely tense security crisis", involving "a nuclear standoff where tens of millions of lives are at stake," Henri Feron, Senior Fellow at the US Center for International Policy, told AFP.

"This raises legitimate concerns about the domestic and international instability that his death could cause."

Footage showed Kim in his trademark black suit, waving to hundreds of workers who cheered his appearance and released balloons.

He was flanked by senior officials -- including his sister and close adviser Kim Yo Jong -- and showed no outward signs of ill health.

At one point Kim sat in front of a sign that described the event as a factory opening ceremony for May 1, 2020, but his appearance could not be independently verified.

As with previous public appearances during the global coronavirus pandemic, Kim and his entourage were not wearing masks, unlike the crowd of workers at the ceremony.

Analysts said Kim could not appear in public wearing a mask as it would make him appear vulnerable to the North Korean people.

The North has insisted that it has not seen a single case of coronavirus, although experts say that is unlikely.

Kim's repeated appearances without a mask had led some to speculate that he may have caught the virus.

Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on matters relating to its highly secretive leadership.

- Rumours of ill health -

The North Korean leader had not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers' Party politburo meeting on April 11, and the following day state media reported that he had inspected fighter jets.

Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, had reported that Kim was undergoing treatment after a cardiovascular procedure last month.

Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim -- who is in his mid-30s -- had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.

CNN then reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery, quoting an anonymous US official.

Officials in Seoul had consistently downplayed the reports and a presidential security advisor said that Kim was "alive and well" and staying in the eastern resort town of Wonsan.

US President Donald Trump suggested earlier this week that Washington believed Kim to be alive and declined to immediately comment on Kim's apparent re-emergence.

Trump and Kim have met three times, although talks on the North's nuclear capabilities have long been stalled with no sign of them resuming.

Analysts say Kim is likely to make another public appearance in the coming days that will be reported by state media.

But Pyongyang "probably won't explain Kim's recent absence given the secrecy around the leader's health and schedule," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul.

Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have also prompted speculation about his health.

Kim's father and predecessor had been dead for two days before anyone outside the innermost circles of North Korean leadership was aware.

In 2014, Kim Jong Un dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.

Agence France-Presse

South Korea to send high-level officials to North for talks

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s president will send a delegation led by his national security director to North Korea this week for talks on how to ease nuclear tensions and help arrange the restart of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, officials said Sunday.

They will be the first known South Korean special envoys traveling to Pyongyang in about 10 years. Their trip comes amid a rare moment of good will between the rivals stemming from the recent Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

The 10-member delegation headed by national security director Chung Eui-yong is to fly to Pyongyang on Monday afternoon for a two-day visit that includes talks with unidentified senior North Korean officials. The discussions would deal with how to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, improve ties between the Koreas and foster an environment to realize the resumption of talks between Pyongyang and Washington, President Moon Jae-in’s office said.

After its Pyongyang trip, the South Korean delegation is to visit Washington to brief US officials about its talks with North Korean officials, senior presidential official Yoon Young-chan said at a televised news conference. He said the South Korean delegation includes National Intelligence Service director Suh Hoon and Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung.

US officials have said North Korea must take serious disarmament steps before talks can restart, and North Korea has insisted it won’t place its nuclear program on a negotiating table.

In the past, South Korea sent special envoys to Pyongyang to reach breakthrough deals aimed at reducing animosities and securing higher-level talks. The Koreas’ two past summit talks, one in 2000 and the other in 2007, were both held after ranking South Korean officials went to Pyongyang and worked out details of the summits in advance.

The last known South Korean special envoy to travel to Pyongyang was the country’s intelligence chief, who visited a few months before the 2007 summit.

During the Olympics, the Koreas fielded their first joint Olympic squad in women’s ice hockey and had their athletes parade together during the opening ceremony.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also sent senior officials including his influential younger sister to the start and close of the games, and they met Moon and conveyed Kim’s invitation to visit Pyongyang for what would be the third inter-Korean summit. Those North Korean officials also told Moon that they were willing to restart talks with the United States.

President Donald Trump responded by saying talks will happen only “under the right conditions.”

Moon has yet to accept Kim’s invitation to visit Pyongyang. During the Olympics, Moon only said that “let’s not get too far ahead” on a summit and that the Koreas should create an unspecified “environment” for the talks.

Some experts say the North’s outreach over the Olympics was an attempt to use improved ties with South Korea as a way to break out of diplomatic isolation and weaken US-led international sanctions and pressure on the country.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

3 dead after explosion at South Korean naval base

SEOUL, South Korea—An accidental explosion at a South Korean naval base on Tuesday left three soldiers dead and another injured, South Korea’s defense ministry said.

Military authorities are investigating the blast that occurred during repair work of a submarine at the base in the southeastern port town of Jinhae, but the possibility of an attack was considered very low.

The explosion occurred when the soldiers opened the hatch of the docked submarine and was strong enough to blow one of the dead soldiers into the sea, said a ministry official, who didn’t want to be named, citing official rules.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Psy wears fake breasts that breathe fire at concert

SEOUL – Korean rapper Psy raised eyebrows at a recent concert when he took to the stage wearing tight shorts and Madonna-esque conical breasts.

Known for his global hit Gangnam Style, the 37-year-old was performing a new song at his Dec 24 show at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul in the outlandish outfit, reported the Daily Mail.

The K-Pop star twerked on stage with dancers who appeared to be dressed as Korean military officers, and even released fireworks from a fake breast at one point.

“My eyes need holy water,” said YouTube user Lien Ly in a comment on a video of the performance, which was posted on Dec 24.But others spoke in support of his bold costume and gender-bending dance moves.

“It’s official – Psy is the Korean Miley Cyrus ,” added YouTube user Plank Plank.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Samsung eyes 10 million mark for Galaxy S3 by end of July

SEOUL – South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker, said Monday it expects to have sold 10 million of its newest Galaxy S3 model by the end of July, two months after its launch.

J.K. Shin, head of the mobile communications division, said robust sales of the model would help Samsung’s mobile business post a second-quarter profit bigger than the three months.

“We’re getting more positive reviews for Galaxy S3 than the previous Galaxy S1 and S2 since the release in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia beginning May 29,” Shin said at an event to mark the phone’s domestic release on Monday.

He estimated that global sales of the new phone – currently available in 147 countries –would surpass 10 million next month, including about a million to be sold at home.

“We’re doing fairly well in emerging-economy markets… I think our second-quarter earnings will be better than the first quarter’s, despite the difficult economic situation in Europe,” Shin said.

The company, the world’s biggest technology firm by revenue, posted a record net profit for all its divisions of 5.05 trillion won ($4.44 billion) in the first quarter, thanks largely to strong smartphone sales.

The third version of the Galaxy S series offers face-recognition technology and improved voice-activated controls as well as a more powerful processor that lets users watch video and write emails simultaneously.

It also has a 4.8-inch (12.2-centimeter) screen that is 22 percent larger than the S2, while it can detect eye movements and override the automatic shutdown if the user is looking at the screen.

Samsung shipped 44.5 million smartphones in the first quarter, exceeding the 35.1 million of US arch-rival Apple, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics in April.

Samsung, embroiled in patent lawsuits in 10 nations with Apple, is pinning its hopes on the S3 to further erode its rivals’ market share before the expected new version of Apple’s iPhone 5 this year.

In a rare victory for the Korean firm, a Dutch court last week ruled in favour of Samsung and ordered the US giant to pay unspecified damages for patent infringement.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Year of the Dragon roars into Asia

BEIJING - Asia welcomed the Year of the Dragon on Monday with a cacophony of fireworks, hoping the mightiest sign in the Chinese zodiac will usher in the wealth and power it represents.

From Malaysia to South Korea, millions of people traveled huge distances to reunite with their families for Lunar New Year -- the most important holiday of the year for many in Asia -- indulging in feasts or watching dragon dances.

As the clock hit midnight, Beijing's skyline lit up with color as families across the Chinese capital set off boxes and boxes of fireworks to ward off evil spirits in the new year -- a scene repeated across the country.

Those living in the Philippines, meanwhile, were able to sleep in on Monday after the Lunar New Year became an official holiday for the first time, despite objections from some in the business community.

The dragon is the most favorable and revered sign in the 12-year Chinese zodiac -- a symbol of royalty, fortune and power that is also used in other cultures that see in the Lunar New Year, such as in Vietnam.

As such, hospitals across China and in Chinese communities are bracing for a baby boom as couples try to have a child this year.

Nannies in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin are charging more in 2012, and the beds in the capital's Maternity Hospital are all booked up until August, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong even took advantage of the Dragon to call on the country's residents to boost a stubbornly low birth rate, in an attempt to reduce the government's heavy reliance on foreign workers.

"I fervently hope that this year will be a big Dragon Year for babies... This is critical to preserve a Singapore core in our society," he said in his new year message.

But in Hong Kong, where tens of thousands of pregnant mainlanders come to give birth every year to gain residency rights for their babies, the Dragon may not prove such a boon as it could exacerbate problems such as limited beds and soaring delivery costs.

And according to some astrologers and geomancers, the Dragon may bring natural disasters and financial volatility to an already destabilized world.

Hong Kong feng shui master Anthony Cheng warned a "scandalous corruption case" would rock China in the second half of 2012, and also said high-ranking Chinese officials would be forced to step down, thrown behind bars or even die.

But people across Asia disregarded the doomsday predictions over the holiday, preferring to feast and celebrate with their families, and pray at temples or pagodas.

Highways in Malaysia, where 25 percent of the population is ethnic Chinese, were clogged at the weekend while the capital Kuala Lumpur became almost deserted as people traveled home.

In South Korea, which also celebrates the Lunar New Year, more than half of the entire population -- or some 31 million people -- took to roads, railways and planes for the holiday.

But stores in the capital Seoul -- normally quiet at this time of year -- bustled with activity as tens of thousands of tourists from China swamped major shopping areas to spend an expected 100 billion won ($88 million) in January.

"I feel like I'm walking on the street in China. There are so many of them," Park Eun-Yong, a South Korean college student, told AFP. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com