S. Korea drops antitrust investigation against Google

South Korea has dropped a two-year anti-competition probe into Google's Android smartphone operations in that country, sources close to Google confirmed Thursday.

The investigation, which was based on claims that Google had pressured Android phone manufacturers to block search engines or other applications that rivaled its own, has ended with no finding of a violation of law, sources said.

Two Korean search engine operators, Daum and NHN, filed the claims with South Korea's Fair Trade Commission in 2011. Among other charges, Daum said Google had influenced Android-based phone manufacturers to block certain other software services from being placed before Google's search tools.
However, it has since been established that Google's Android business practices did not break any laws, the sources said. Google declined to comment on the case. Neither Daum nor NHN could be immediately reached for comment.

Google's position on Android is that it is an open platform and that other carrier and OEM partners are free to decide which applications and services to include on their Android-based phones.

Google still faces an ongoing antitrust investigation in Europe. The European Commission has been investigating Google since 2010 after rivals accused the company of gaming search algorithms to direct users to its own services and reducing the visibility of competitors.

Europe's competition chief confirmed on Wednesday that he had written to Google Chairman Eric Schmidt asking for better assurances related to those claims. Google declined to comment on that investigation.

Use of Android, the mobile operating system Google launched in 2008, is growing. The platform has roughly 900 million users, Google executives reported in May during the company's Google I/O conference for developers.

Japan, South Korea continue to lead in fiber Internet

The number of fiber Internet subscriptions rose 12.7 percent in the countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Paris-based group said Thursday.

Just under 49 million fiber Internet connections existed across the 34 countries, according to the data. That represented about 15 percent of all fixed Internet lines, but in several nations the percentage of fiber connections is much higher.

Japan and South Korea lead the pack with fiber penetration of over 60 percent. Sweden, Estonia and Slovakia rounded out the top five with penetration in the 30 percent range. The other nations with above average fiber penetration were Norway, Iceland, Slovenia, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Portugal. Hungary was ranked just slightly below the average.

Penetration rates in the remaining countries, which included the U.S., U.K., France and Germany, were all under 10 percent.

While fiber continued to gain on rival technologies, it remained half as popular as cable Internet, which accounted for 31 percent of all fixed Internet connections. Both technologies continued to trail DSL, which accounted for just over half of all fixed Internet lines.

The OECD said there were 327 million fixed Internet connections in its member states at the end of 2012.
On the wireless Internet front, broadband connections rose 14 percent in 2012 and conventional mobile phone connections dominated. They accounted for 662 million lines, or 85 percent of the estimated 781 million broadband Internet connections in OECD countries at the end of 2012. Almost all of the rest were dedicated mobile terminals, such as 3G modems. Satellite and terrestrial wireless systems accounted for less than 1 percent.

Four countries—Finland, Sweden, Australia and South Korea—had mobile broadband penetration rates above one subscription per person.


The OECD includes most major European nations, the U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Chile. 

New disk wiper malware linked to attacks in South Korea

A new piece of malware designed to delete files from hard disk drives and render computers unable to boot targets South Korean users, according to researchers from security firm Symantec.

 

The malware is similar to the Jokra Trojan program that was used in March to wipe the hard drives of computers belonging to several banks and TV broadcasters in South Korea, leading to significant disruptions of their operations.

 

The attack in March was attributed by security experts to a hacker gang called "DarkSeoul" that's also believed to be responsible for the distributed denial-of-service attacks from Tuesday against South Korean websites, including that of South Korean President Park Guen-hye.

 

The new hard-drive wiper malware is called Trojan.Korhigh and was found by Symantec researchers during their investigations into cyberattacks in South Korea. "Trojan.Korhigh has the functionality to systematically delete files and overwrite the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the compromised computer, rendering it unusable," the Symantec researchers said Thursday in a blog post.

 

The Master Boot Record (MBR) resides at the beginning of a storage drive and contains information about how that drive is partitioned. It also includes boot code that runs before the operating system starts. If the MBR is missing, a computer will no longer be able to load the operating system.

 

In addition to overwriting the MBR on compromised computers, the Korhigh Trojan program can also wipe files with specific extensions, including executable files, libraries, Web pages, videos and images.

 

The malware can also be instructed to change the user passwords on the infected computers to highanon2013 and to replace the desktop wallpaper with an image that mentions a group called High Anonymous.

 

Korhigh gathers information such as the operating system version, the computer's name and the current date from infected computers and uploads the data to remote servers, the Symantec researchers said.

 

South Korean officials frequently blame North Korean hackers for cyberattacks against local organizations and websites. However, there is also technical evidence linking some computer attacks in South Korea to Chinese-speaking hacker groups.

 

Earlier this week, researchers from Israeli security firm Seculert reported that a piece of malware called PinkStats has been used by Chinese hackers to compromise over 1,000 computers belonging to dozens of organizations in South Korea, including many educational institutions.

 

The identities of the attackers behind the Korhigh Trojan program cannot be confirmed, the Symantec researchers said, noting that their investigation of the threat continues.

 

 

China, South Korea push for North Korea talks

BEIJING - China's president welcomed his South Korean counterpart on Thursday as an "old friend of China" and agreed to make a push for new talks with North Korea on Thursday as two of Asia's newest leaders met for the first time.

Park Geun-hye, one of Asia's few women leaders, took office in Seoul in February amid war threats by North Korea, while China's Xi Jinping was appointed in November and has sought to rein in the North's nuclear weapons program, backing tougher economic sanctions against Beijing's traditional ally.

"The two leaders shared a common view on denuclearizing North Korea, maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and resolving issues through dialogue and negotiations," Park's office said in a statement after they met.

China backed North Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War with late leader Mao Zedong's eldest son dying in the conflict with the South. The 60th anniversary of the end of the war is July 27.

Beijing is the main economic and diplomatic lifeline for the impoverished and isolated state, whose three nuclear weapons tests since 2006 have threatened Asia's security.

China has boosted sanctions on its ally, which this year conducted a nuclear test in defiance of international criticism. It has also closed access for North Korean banks in China.

Xi was appointed Communist Party chairman, China's most powerful position, last November and named president in March.

In April, he told an international forum in southern China that no country "should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gain".

While Xi did not name North Korea, his comment came amid the highest tension on the peninsula in years, with daily threats from Pyongyang to attack South Korea and the United States.

Xinhua, China's state news agency, appeared to criticize Pyongyang ahead of the visit, saying that "hard-earned trust among concerned parties has been evaporating following unfortunate incidents one after another" since 2009.

In 2009, the North walked out of denuclearization talks brokered by China, carried out its second nuclear test and in 2010 was accused of sinking a South Korean naval vessel and shelling a South Korean island.

ASIAN ECONOMIC POWERHOUSES

China, Asia's largest economy, consumes 15 percent of South Korean exports in annual trade worth $215 billion. North Korea's puny economy trades just $6 billion with China.

Park, 61, was accompanied by a hefty economic delegation from South Korea's huge industrial conglomerates, including the world's largest electronics company, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, and Hyundai Motor Co. .

The two countries' central banks extended a currency swap for 64 trillion Korean won ($55.44 billion) or 360 billion yuan, as part of a defense against financial market instability.

Unlike a military delegation sent by North Korea last month that featured aged generals bedecked with medals, Park appeared to get an enthusiastic welcome from her hosts.

"Park Geun-hye visits China" was the most searched financial and economic topic on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

In response to an interview with Park by state broadcaster CCTV, one microblogger, Christumn, said: "I am already her fan".

By contrast, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is derided on some Chinese social media sites as "Fatty Kim".

Stylish and mild mannered, Park arrived with self-taught Mandarin skills, and received a warm welcome from state media for a trip she described as "a journey to deepen the mind and trust" between the two countries.

"The visit, which comes months after both countries saw leadership change, is expected to open a new chapter in bilateral relations," Xinhua said.

Park is to deliver an address at Tsinghua University, Xi's alma mater, on Saturday and visit the ancient capital of Xi'an, the site of major South Korean investment, including a $7 billion chip complex by Samsung Electronics.

Park, whose mother was killed by a North Korean-backed assassin, got a guarded welcome from ethnic Koreans in China.

"I feel thankful for South Korea. Its economy has grown to become one of Asia's four dragons and expanded in China... But on the other hand we want North Korea to live well," said Li Jung-ae, 49, who has a PhD in finance from Tsinghua University. ($ = 1154.5000 Korean won)

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Box Office Report: 'World War Z' Opens Strong in Australia, South Korea

Paramount's World War Z is scaring up strong business as it begins rolling out overseas, scoring stellar opening-day numbers in South Korea and Australia on Thursday.

The Brad Pitt zombie extravaganza took in $1.1 million in Australia, on par with Christopher Nolan's Inception, likewise an original tentpole. Inception posted a weekend opening gross of $6.7 million.

PHOTOS: 'World War Z' Premiere: The Zombie Apocalypse Starts in London

In South Korea, World War Z grossed $1.2 million, just ahead of the $1.1 million earned a week ago by Superman tentpole Man of Steel on its way to an $8.6 million weekend. Inception's opening-day gross in South Korea was $941,000.

"These markets look great," remarked one top Paramount executive.

World War Z, directed by Marc Forster, begins rolling out in North America at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Paramount is predicting a domestic opening in the $40 million to $45 million range for World War Z, which is rated PG-13. But more bullish box-office observers with access to tracking believe the movie -- produced by and starring Pitt -- could open in the $50 million range, while holdover Man of Steel could earn anywhere from $50 million to $60 million in its second outing.

Disney and Pixar's Monsters University is widely expected to win the weekend with a $70 million-plus debut.

FILM REVIEW: 'World War Z'

Versus a big opening, Paramount and co-financing partner Skydance Productions are banking on World War Z to have a better-than-usual multiple, similar to other original tentpoles. Avatar debuted to $77 million in December 2009 on its way to cuming $760.5 million domestically, or 10 times its opening number. And in summer 2010, Christopher Nolan's Inception grossed $292.6 million, nearly five times its $62 million debut.

Paramount insiders point out that very few original event pics open to $50 million or more. And while Pitt may be one of the world's most recognizable stars, his biggest opening was the $50.3 million earned by Mr. and Mrs. Smith in summer 2005.

World War Z, based on Max Brooks' 2006 novel of the same name, is a sizable gamble for the studio, costing $190 million to produce after tax incentives. The budget was originally $150 million, but extensive reshoots bumped up the number (it was initially slotted to open in December 2010).

The apocalyptic horror pic is a passion project for Pitt, who produced the movie via his Paramount-based production company Plan B. In the film, he plays a retired U.N. employee who must return to work and stop a worldwide pandemic that is turning humans into zombies. The Killing's Mireille Enos stars as his wife.

World War Z, which has received generally positive reviews, is opening in a total of 26 foreign markets this weekend.

Twitter: @sajilpl