Matthew Weigand

Asia-Pacific Business and Technology Report was able to sit down with Cho Byung-cheol, CEO of Taejin Infotech Co., and discuss his company’s latest developments in high-speed data storage systems. For the past 14 years, Taejin Infotech has been developing new solutions in the area of semiconduc- tor memory systems and business solutions. Now, they have something that might significantly change most computing environments – Ed.

Google stands today outside the wall, the Great Firewall of China. It is no longer a privileged citizen of the Empire, but now just another barbarian at the gates. Its business relationships are altered, its search results are blocked and its reputation has irrevocably changed. Whether that reputation has changed for the better or worse is the question now. But Google didn’t really have a choice to make.

South Korea is one of the most Internet-wired countries, and also bases much of its economy on the latest technologies. However, approximately 99 percent of the country is completely reliant on a decade-old bit of software that is beginning to seriously hold the country’s Internet culture back. Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6), released in 2001, is a requirement for doing anything with a Korean bank, online shopping mall or social networking site. However, the ancient technology is also a rusty sieve, and an Internet hacker’s dream of un-patched security vulnerabilities. It must die.

On Jan. 12, 2010, David Drummond of Google Inc. posted an entry on Google’s official blog titled “A new approach to China.” In it, the senior vice president of Corporate Development and the chief legal officer outlined the broad details of a cyber attack against Google’s corporate infrastructure originating from China. He said the attack was launched in the middle of December, and that Google had been investigating the attack since that time.

On Jan. 18, 2010, at the Millennium Seoul Hilton, approximately 100 people met at an event called “New Opportunities in Science and Technology Collaboration Between India and Republic of Korea.” The event was sponsored by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Daedeok Innopolis, the Embassy of India and the Indo-Korean Business and Policy Forum. Many distinguished guests were invited to attend and to participate. There were opening remarks by a number of dignitaries and six different presentations from experts in the field of India- Korea relations.

When one writes about Korea, India or both, there is really only one topic to speak about right now, and that is the ratification of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). There has been quite a lot of ink spilled and pixels tickled about the partnership between the two countries. After all, it is indeed hard to ignore the elephant in the room. This writer can only see half of the room from this perspective, sitting in the capital of South Korea and having never been to India.

Korea is primed for startling growth in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. Korean SMEs account for 99.9 percent of all enterprises, 87.5 percent of all employees and 49.4 percent of production, according to numbers from the Korean Small and Medium Business Administration. However, right now, SMEs are not generally growing at a rate that can positively impact the economy. They are missing a few essential ingredients.

South Korea launched its first space launch vehicle, the KSLV-I, or Naro rocket, from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, near the end of last month. While the launch was unsuccessful, the move still marks a significant step forward for the country, with encouraging consequences for the future of Korean space flight.