Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea Ref. No: 652.0

August 2019

Page 1 of 24

EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND

Contents

Swiss-Korean Joint Research Projects

Developed Self-controlling 'Smart' Fuel Cell Electrode Material

KAIST Develops Core Technology for Ultra-small 3D Image Sensor

Peering into the Nanoworld with Matter-Wave Diffraction

Samsung to unveil new wearable devices with S10

SK Telecom creates 5G-based smart office

LG Innotek eyes expansion in 3D sensing biz

Samsung unveils first foldable gadget

Samsung develops next-generation 5G RF chipsets

LG Electronics unveils 5G smartphone at MWC

Korea is home to 6 unicorn startups

Young researchers’ exchange program

Innovation partnership grants

ARC-HEST: “Architecture for human environment with smart technologies” summer school

EPFL Students` Study Trip: MX on Tour

Swiss-Korean Life Science Initiative: Korean delegation visits Switzerland

New Study Reveals A Novel Way to Promote Axon Regeneration

Manipulating Brain Cells by Smartphone

Enhanced Natural Gas Storage to Help Reduce Global Warming

DGIST Succeeded in Materials Synthesis for High Efficiency in Biological Reaction

LG CNS to introduce AI-based X ray analysis system for public health center

Can LG smart fridge actually tweet?

LGU+ applies IoT to Hyundai Motor's e-bike sharing service

Naver’s Papago enhances image translation

SKT offers AI-powered braille education for blind

[Bio Startup] Bridge Biotherapeutics readies third IPO try after clinching mega deal

Contact Science & Technology Office Embassy of Switzerland in the Republic of Korea Tel: +82 2 3704-4712 Email: seo.science@eda.admin.ch Website: www.stofficeseoul.ch

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NEWS

REPUBLIC OF KOREA, August 2019

B. Korea – Switzerland News 2

C. Science News 7

A. Open Calls 2

D. Innovation News 15

E. Start-Up News 24

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 2 of 24

A. Open Calls*aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

1. Young Researchers’ Exchange Programme with South Korea

The Leading House Asia and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of the Republic of Korea jointly fund the exchange of young scientists between South Korea and Switzerland.

The instrument funds 3 to 6 months research stays in the partner country. Swiss researchers can apply to ETH Zurich for a stay in South Korea and Korean researchers to NRF for a stay in Switzerland.

Eligibility: PhD Students, young postdocs and in exceptional cases also Master students from Swiss universities, Universities of Applied Sciences and research institutes are invited to apply. The call is open to all scientific disciplines including social sciences and humanities.

Funding: Grants will cover travel costs and a monthly living allowance for a research stay at a Ko-rean university or research laboratory.

Deadline: 29 November 2019.

Details and application form: on ETH Global Website - Mobility

2. Innovation Partnership Grants with China, Japan, South Korea, and the ASEAN Region Innovation partnership grants support the establishment of cooperation between Swiss researchers from universities, universities of applied sciences or public research institutes with non-academic innovation agents in China (incl. Hong Kong and Taiwan), Japan, South Korea and member states of the ASEAN. These agents can be corporates, SMEs or start-ups, innovation parks or similar entities with a focus on applied sciences or technical development.

Eligibility: All senior scientists of Swiss federal and cantonal universities, universities of applied sciences and universities of teachers’ education, as well as public research institutions, are eligi-ble. The Swiss scientist is the main applicant. Innovation agent partners must be senior staff affili-ated with a company, start-up, innovation park or similar agency in one of the partner countries. Universities from the partner country can participate as third parties. The call is open to all scien-tific disciplines including social sciences and humanities.

Funding: max. 20k CHF

Deadline: 15 November 2019.

Details and application form: on ETH Global Website - Innovation

B. Korea – Switzerland News aaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ARC-HEST: “Architecture for human environment with smart technologies” summer school On Monday, August 19th, the open talk and reception “Technology meets Architecture – Towards Collective Cities: Swiss-Korean contribution for sustainable co-working spaces” took place at the Embassy of Switzer-land in Seoul. The event was hosted by the Science and Technology office to an audience of about 84, among professors, students, architects, companies and researchers. The event celebrated the beginning of the Seoul Biennale in Architecture and Urbanism (SBAU) and the exchange program ARC-HEST – “Architecture for human environment with smart technologies” initiated by the Science and Technology Office and fruit of one year of constant work of professors from Swiss and Korean universities.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 3 of 24

30 selected talents form EPFL, University of Fribourg, HEIA Fribourg, EWHA University, Hanyang University and SKKU will work on the concept of comfort in the working space in Seoul. The same students will also attend the second part of the program, a winter school in Fribourg, Switzerland next February. After a welcoming message by Daniel Derzic, the Chargé d’Affaires a.i, Embassy of Switzerland, and a short introduction of the ARC-HEST program and STO activities by Laura Acosta, Project Manager at Sci-ence and Technology Office, the open talk started. Prof. Rafael Luna from Hanyang University and Seoul Biennale curator shared an interesting glimpse into the topic of cities of the SBAU. The heart of the open talk was an overview of the collective contribution from all 10 professors involved in the program, a perfect showcase of the diversity of backgrounds such as architecture, computer science, civil/environmental engineering and business and their harmonious integration.

In the second part, Ms. Ko from FastFive presented the now and future of co-environments, addressing the preference of millennials shifting towards shared co-working spaces. The open talk closed with a contribution from Martin Gonzenbach, director of Smart Living Lab and EPFL Fribourg, about collective design in education, research and practice. The networking moment at the end of the open talk facilitated the interaction between the speakers and the audience and the establishments of new contacts for future fruitful cooperation in the beautiful evening lighted courtyard. After two weeks of an intense program including lectures, site visits, a weekend getaway and many hours of group work, the six groups of ARC-HEST students shared their final presentation based on their archi-tectural research and analysis on Korean co-working spaces and juries including the professors of the pro-gram evaluated and provided feedbacks for each team. The closing ceremony for the ARC-HEST program and EPFL Material Sciences students’ MX on Tour took place together on Friday, August 30 at the Embassy of Switzerland. The participants of both programs also shared their own experiences over the past weeks in Korea and closed with a great networking exchange.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 4 of 24

EPFL Students` Study Trip: MX on Tour 15 Bachelor students of Materials Science and Engineering of EPFL and professor visited Korea for MX on Tour program. After a weekend of Seoul tour, on Aug. 26 they had a meeting at Seoul National University (SNU) Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Department with the Head of the department, Prof. Chan Park. The students had a change to visit SNU Research Institute of Advanced Materials as well as MSE laboratories. They also made a visit to LG Science Park in Magok, Seoul, in the afternoon of the day. They toured around the Integrated Support Center of the Science Park and also attended a seminar held by Dr. Yoonghoon Yoon, an EPFL Alumnus. On Tuesday Aug. 27, Mix on Tour participants visited Samsung Innovation Museum in Suwon and they especially took a close look on innovative approaches that Korean Electronic Industries have made so far in Korea, focusing on Samsung’s contribution to them. In the afternoon, the students went to Daejeon for a visit to KAIST, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. The students could visit Academic Cultural Complex, KAIST Analysis Center for Research Advancement in addition to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

On August 28, EPFL MX on Tour students spent a day in Gyeongju, Korean city referred to as “Museum without walls” due to a great number of major historical sites in the city. They had a cultural tour visiting Korean traditional Buddist Temples, ancient palace and tomb, observatory, museum and many more. The day after, August 29, started off with a meeting at POSTECH in Pohang with Prof. Frédéric Barlat. The meeting took place in Graduate Institute for Ferrous Technologies, GIFT, and also went on in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. In the afternoon, the students visited POSCO Pohang. They were able to take a look around steel making plant and learn about steel industry in Korea as well as the overall process POSCO goes through in producing customized steel which meets each buyer’s demand.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 5 of 24

The closing ceremony and reception for EPFL MX on Tour program took place together with ARC-HEST Summer School on Friday, August 30 at the Embassy of Switzerland. The participants of both programs also shared their own experiences over the past weeks in Korea and he closing ceremony then ended with a great networking. Swiss-Korean Life Science Initiative: Korean delegation visits Switzerland The 6th edition of the Swiss-Korean Life Science Symposium Series took place in Basel on the 28th of August on the Novartis Campus. The Symposium aimed to bring together Switzerland and Korea’s most innova-tive minds from public research, leading hospitals, industry and startups leaders in healthcare, and digital tech-nologies. Basel hosted the Symposium for the second time after already welcoming guests from Korea in 2017 and a delegation of 46 people including scientists and startups traveled from Korea to Switzerland.

Martin Missbach, the site head of global discovery in chemistry from NIBR opened the symposium together with two government representatives from Switzerland and Korea. Nicolas Kelley, Data Science and AI advisor from Novartis Chief Digital Office presented regarding A.I. for Life. A total of 260 people had registered including 70 people from Novartis. During the symposium, two challenges for the present and future of digital healthcare were discussed: - What are the skills needed “tomorrow” in the digital health? - Looking at “digital health & precision medicine”, what is “not there yet”? Here the program: www.skls.or.kr

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 6 of 24

The Entrepreneurs Club was organized by the University of Basel on August 29 at the Novartis Campus bringing together entrepreneurs from the Basel region & beyond. Main goal was to spotlight startups and match them with supporters from the community and beyond. Welcomed by Conradin Cramer, Head of the Department of Education, Canton of Basel-Stadt, 35 pitches were presented from startups of Switzerland and Korea in healthcare as well as the mentors and VCs. 209 people registered and active networking had continued during the evening aperitif.

The delegation expanded their network beyond Basel by visiting Innovation Park Biel/Bienne, Swiss no-profit organization that platforms and supports industry-focused applied research and development. As part of the national and international network of Switzerland Innovation, it promotes Swiss innovation & startups and imple-ments research results quickly into marketable products. Raniero Pittini, Head of Medtech division, introduced the Innovation Park services and two Swiss startups to the delegation. Thanks to the presence of additional two Swiss mentors, Korean startups had the opportunity to continue their discussions. The delegation was also welcomed by Matthias Essenpreis, Chief Technology Officer of Roche Diagnostics at Roche HQ together with experts from Roche Pharma, Roche Partnering and Roche Diagnostics. By dividing the three groups of the startups according to sectors (Biotech, Digital Health, Medteh) they had an in-depth discussion, and received the feedbacks from the global company on their technology introduction. A masterclass for Korean venture capitalists was offered about investing in healthcare in Basel/Switzerland by Trudi Hämmerli, Go Beyond Angels and Roger Meier, Investor. The discussion was focused on: o What are possible models to collaborate? o What are challenges in supporting healthcare startups “go global”? o Why Switzerland and Korea? 1:1 Korean VCs speed datings with Swiss startups were also arranged.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 7 of 24

A workshop for Korean Startups was organized to better understand and explore the Swiss business & innovation ecosystem by Day.one. Main topics were: o IP & Protection Strategy o Investor Perspective & doing business in Switzerland o How to build collaboration between KR & CH 1:1 individual meetings for Korean startups were also supported.

C. Science News aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa New Study Reveals A Novel Way to Promote Axon Regeneration

August 2 – UNIST Their findings have been published in PNAS on July 23, 2019.

<From left are Professor Kyung-Tai Min and Soyeon Lee in the School of Life Sciences at UNIST.>

A nerve cell that rarely heals once it is injured by a traffic accident or disease. The protein that revived these cells was discovered. It is expected to present a new direction in the development of therapeutic agents for re-generating damaged brain or spinal cord nerves.

A research team, led by Professor Kyung-Tai Min in the School of Life Sciences at UNIST has identified the principle that the protein ‘Grp75 (Glucose regulated protein 75)’, a protein linking organelles in cells, regener-ates damaged nerves. In addition, Grp75 protein was injected into the nerve-impaired mice to confirm that ex-ercise capacity and sensory capacity were restored.

Neurons connect the human brain with the body, accept the senses, and regulate the movement. These cells have axons that are long and extended in the shape of a twig. In particular, serious injury to the brain or spinal cord, which is the central nervous system, leads to severe disabilities such as sagging or paraplegia.

However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neuronal regeneration have not been well understood. In addition, research on this process to restore the ability to regenerate neurons was also less than a study sug-gesting. In this work, Professor Min and his research team looked at the regeneration process after neuronal damage and found a key protein.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 8 of 24

<Figure 1. Overexpression of Grp75 Promotes Axon Regeneration.>

When neurons are damaged, several cellular responses to regeneration appear. First, the endoplasmic reticu-lum and mitochondria move to the end of the axon. The endoplasmic reticulum is responsible for repairing the torn membranes, and the mitochondria responsible for providing the energy needed for the cell reaction. How-ever, at this time, the supply of energy is not sufficient than the demand for energy, and the regeneration of the nerve cells is not performed smoothly.

The team focused on Grp75, a protein that links the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. The increase in this protein predicts that the interaction between the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria increases and helps with cell regeneration. In fact, the researchers have proved this through experimental mice. The nerve cells that pass through the thighs, the ‘sciatic nerve’, induce the overexpression of the Grp75 protein in dam-aged mice, confirming nerve cell regeneration.

<Figure 2. Grp75 overexpression restores sciatic nerve injury in mice by facilitating axon regeneration.>

“Overexpression of Grp75 increases ER–mitochondria contacts,” says Soyeon Lee in the Combined M.S/Ph.D. of Life Sciences at UNIST, the first author of the study. “This has provided the energy need to regrow injured axons.”

“Through this study, we have found that an increased level of Grp75 in DRG neurons promotes axon regenera-tion and functional recovery of animals with nerve injury,” says Professor Min. “Our results raise the exciting

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 9 of 24

possibility that overexpression of cytoplasmic Grp75 may be a therapeutic strategy to treat and enhance axonal regeneration, following nerve injury.”

This study has been supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) and funded by Samsung Research Funding & Incubation Center for Future Technology. Their results have been published in the inter-nationally-renowned scientific journal, PNAS on July 23, 2019.

Journal Reference Soyeon Lee, et al., “Increased ER–mitochondria tethering promotes axon regeneration,” PNAS, (2019).

Manipulating Brain Cells by Smartphone

August 7 - KAIST Researchers have developed a soft neural implant that can be wirelessly controlled using a smartphone. It is the first wireless neural device capable of indefinitely delivering multiple drugs and multiple colour lights, which neuroscientists believe can speed up efforts to uncover brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ad-diction, depression, and pain.

A team under Professor Jae-Woong Jeong from the School of Electrical Engineering at KAIST and his collabo-rators have invented a device that can control neural circuits using a tiny brain implant controlled by a smartphone. The device, using Lego-like replaceable drug cartridges and powerful, low-energy Bluetooth, can target specific neurons of interest using drugs and light for prolonged periods. This study was published in Na-ture Biomedical Engineering.

“This novel device is the fruit of advanced electronics design and powerful micro and nanoscale engineering,” explained Professor Jeong. “We are interested in further developing this technology to make a brain implant for clinical applications.”

This technology significantly overshadows the conventional methods used by neuroscientists, which usually involve rigid metal tubes and optical fibers to deliver drugs and light. Apart from limiting the subject’s movement due to bulky equipment, their relatively rigid structure causes lesions in soft brain tissue over time, therefore making them not suitable for long-term implantation. Although some efforts have been made to partly mitigate adverse tissue response by incorporating soft probes and wireless platforms, the previous solutions were lim-ited by their inability to deliver drugs for long periods of time as well as their bulky and complex control setups.

To achieve chronic wireless drug delivery, scientists had to solve the critical challenge of the exhaustion and evaporation of drugs. To combat this, the researchers invented a neural device with a replaceable drug car-tridge, which could allow neuroscientists to study the same brain circuits for several months without worrying about running out of drugs.

These ‘plug-n-play’ drug cartridges were assembled into a brain implant for mice with a soft and ultrathin probe (with the thickness of a human hair), which consisted of microfluidic channels and tiny LEDs (smaller than a grain of salt), for unlimited drug doses and light delivery.

Controlled with an elegant and simple user interface on a smartphone, neuroscientists can easily trigger any specific combination or precise sequencing of light and drug delivery in any implanted target animal without the need to be physically inside the laboratory. Using these wireless neural devices, researchers can also easily setup fully automated animal studies where the behaviour of one animal could affect other animals by triggering light and/or drug delivery.

“The wireless neural device enables chronic chemical and optical neuromodulation that has never been achieved before,” said lead author Raza Qazi, a researcher with KAIST and the University of Colorado Boulder.

This work was supported by grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea, US National Institute of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Mallinckrodt Professorship.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 10 of 24

<A neural implant with replaceable drug cartridges and Bluetooth low-energy can target specific neurons>

<Micro LED controlling using smartphone application>

Enhanced Natural Gas Storage to Help Reduce Global Warming

August 9 – KAIST

<Professor Atilhan (left) and Professor Yavuz (right)>

Researchers have designed plastic-based materials that can store natural gas more effectively. These new ma-terials can not only make large-scale, cost-effective, and safe natural gas storage possible, but further hold a strong promise for combating global warming.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 11 of 24

Natural gas (predominantly methane) is a clean energy alternative. It is stored by compression, liquefaction, or adsorption. Among these, adsorbed natural gas (ANG) storage is a more efficient, cheaper, and safer alternative to conventional compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage approaches that have drawbacks such as low storage efficiency, high costs, and safety concerns. However, developing adsorptive materials that can more fully exploit the advantages of ANG storage has remained a challenging task. A KAIST research team led by Professor Cafer T. Yavuz from the Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), in collaboration with Professor Mert Atilhan’s group from Texas A&M Univer-sity, synthesized 29 unique porous polymeric structures with inherent flexibility, and tested their methane gas uptake capacity at high pressures. These porous polymers had varying synthetic complexities, porosities, and morphologies, and the researchers subjected each porous polymer to pure methane gas under various conditions to study the ANG performances.

Of these 29 distinct chemical structures, COP-150 was particularly noteworthy as it achieved a high deliverable gravimetric methane working capacity when cycled between 5 and 100 bar at 273 K, which is 98% of the total uptake capacity. This result surpassed the target set by the United States Department of Energy (US DOE).

COP-150 is the first ever structure to fulfil both the gravimetric and volumetric requirements of the US DOE for successful vehicular use, and the total cost to produce the COP-150 adsorbent was only 1 USD per kilogram.

COP-150 can be produced using freely available and easily accessible plastic materials, and moreover, its syn-thesis takes place at room temperature, open to the air, and no previous purification of the chemicals is required. The pressure-triggered flexible structure of COP-150 is also advantageous in terms of the total working capacity of deliverable methane for real applications.

The research team believed that the increased pressure flexes the network structure of COP-150 showing “swell-ing” behavior, and suggested that the flexibility provides rapid desorption and thermal management, while the hydrophobicity and the nature of the covalently bonded framework allow these promising materials to tolerate harsh conditions.

This swelling mechanism of expansion-contraction solves two other major issues, the team noted. Firstly, when using adsorbents based on such a mechanism, unsafe pressure spikes that may occur due to temperature swings can be eliminated. In addition, contamination can also be minimized, since the adsorbent remains contracted when no gas is stored.

Professor Yavuz said, “We envision a whole host of new designs and mechanisms to be developed based on our concept. Since natural gas is a much cleaner fuel than coal and petroleum, new developments in this realm will help switching to the use of less polluting fuels.”

Professor Atilhan agreed the most important impact of their research is on the environment. “Using natural gas more than coal and petroleum will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We believe, one day, we might see vehicles equipped with our materials that are run by a cleaner natural gas fuel,” he added.

This study, reported in Nature Energy on July 8, was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants ( NRF-2016R1A2B4011027, NRF-2017M3A7B4042140, and NRF-2017M3A7B4042235).

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 12 of 24

<Suggested chemical structure of COP-150>

<Initial ingredients (left) and final product (right) of COP-150 synthesis>

<Comparison of highest reported volumetric working capacities>

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 13 of 24

<Prof.Yuk and his two PhD candidates Parks>

Researchers presented a new strategy for extending sodium ion batteries’ cyclability using copper sulfide as the electrode material. This strategy has led to high-performance conversion reactions and is expected to advance the commercialization of sodium ion batteries as they emerge as an alternative to lithium ion batteries.

Professor Jong Min Yuk’s team confirmed the stable sodium storage mechanism using copper sulfide, a superior electrode material that is pulverization-tolerant and induces capacity recovery. Their findings suggest that when employing copper sulfide, sodium ion batteries will have a lifetime of more than five years with one charge per a day. Even better, copper sulfide, composed of abundant natural materials such as copper and sulfur, has better cost competitiveness than lithium ion batteries, which use lithium and cobalt.

Intercalation-type materials such as graphite, which serve as commercialized anode materials in lithium ion bat-teries, have not been viable for high-capacity sodium storage due to their insufficient interlayer spacing. Thus, conversion and alloying reactions type materials have been explored to meet higher capacity in the anode part. However, those materials generally bring up large volume expansions and abrupt crystallographic changes, which lead to severe capacity degradation.

The team confirmed that semi-coherent phase interfaces and grain boundaries in conversion reactions played key roles in enabling pulverization-tolerant conversion reactions and capacity recovery, respectively.

Most of conversion and alloying reactions type battery materials usually experience severe capacity degradations due to having completely different crystal structures and large volume expansion before and after the reactions. However, copper sulfides underwent a gradual crystallographic change to make the semi-coherent interfaces, which eventually prevented the pulverization of particles. Based on this unique mechanism, the team confirmed that copper sulfide exhibits a high capacity and high cycling stability regardless of its size and morphology.

Professor Yuk said, “Sodium ion batteries employing copper sulfide can advance sodium ion batteries, which could contribute to the development of low-cost energy storage systems and address the micro-dust issue”

This study was posted in Advanced Science on April 26 online and selected as the inside back cover for June issue.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 14 of 24

<Figure: Schematic model demonstrating grain boundaries and phase interfaces formations.>

DGIST Succeeded in Materials Synthesis for High Efficiency in Biological Reaction

August 19 – DGIST

- DGIST Professor Jaeheung Cho in the Department of Emerging Materials Science secured materials that lead aldehyde deformylation reaction - Confirmed the nucleophilic reactions by biomimetic materials… Expects to bring positive impacts on related research

<DGIST Professor Jaeheung Cho in the Department of Emerging Materials Science at DGIST (up), Bohee Kim,

a Combined M.S-Ph.D. Program Student in the Department of Emerging Materials Science (below left), and Donghyun Jeong, a Combined M.S-Ph.D. Program Student.>

DGIST research team succeeded in synthesizing new biomimetic materials that will increase the efficiency of chemical reaction related to body metabolism and discovered that synthesized materials cause the oxidation of aldehydes. The results are expected to bring positive impacts on catalyst development in the future.

DGIST announced that Professor Jaeheung Cho’s team in the Department of Emerging Material Science devel-oped ‘copper(II)-hydroperoxo1 complex,’ a biomimetic compound that conducts aldehyde deformylation. This complex is drawing attention in bioinorganic fields due to its higher efficiency than the existing complexes which cause deformylation reaction.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 15 of 24

‘Deformylation reaction’ is a type of oxidation2 reaction that deformylates double-bond structure of carbon and oxygen inside aldehyde or ketone3 compound in a different form. It especially adjusts important chemical reaction in various ways by controlling the conversion of steroid with sex hormone or by converting the fat aldehyde formed during fat reduction4. To synthesize biomimetic compounds, the research team added ‘hydroperoxo,’ a combination of electrons and proton with oxygen molecule, to a copper compound. The ‘copper(II)-hydroperoxo complex’ formed here boasts much higher efficiency in deformylation reaction than other existing materials.

It is especially the first time to confirm that copper(II)-hydroperoxo adduct is directly involved in deformylation reaction.

Professor Jaeheung Cho in the Department of Emerging Materials Science at DGIST said “We believe we’ve expanded the research scope of materials involved in deformylation reaction, which plays an important role in biological system. We will continue our research on materials or method that have higher efficiency and control-lability in deformylation reaction,” and explained his follow-up research plans.

This research was conducted with support by the Ministry of Science and ICT, National Research Foundation of Korea, the C1 Gas Refinery R&D Center, Basic Research Project (mid-level researchers), and the Magnetics Initiative Life Care Research Center. The result was published July 18 on Communications Chemistry, a sister journal of the world-class international journal Nature. 1Hydroperoxo: One photon is combined with a ‘peroxo’ which has two electrons added to an oxygen molecule 2Oxidation: Chemical combination with oxygen or hydrogen 3Ketone: Hydrocarbon derivatives connected with two carbonyl functional groups 4Reduction: Elimination of oxygen from an oxide For more information, contact: Jaeheung Cho, Associate Professor Department of Emerging Materials Science Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) E-mail: jaeheung@dgist.ac.kr

Associated Links Research Paper on Journal of Communications Chemistry https://www.nature.com/articles/s42004-019-0187-3

Journal Reference Bohee Kim, Donghyun Jeong, Takehiro Ohta and Jaeheung Cho, "Nucleophilic reactivity of a copper(II)-hydrop-eroxo complex", Communications Chemistry, Published on July 18th, 2019.

D. Innovation News aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

LG CNS to introduce AI-based X ray analysis system for public health center August 1 – Korea Herald

South Korean information technology firm LG CNS said Thursday it will install an artificial intelligence-based X-ray analysis system at a local public health center to offer patients speedier medical assessments.

Starting from late September, the AI-based X-ray assessment will be brought to a public medical facility in the Eunpyeong district of Seoul. The system is expected to help doctors and patients receive accurate X-ray im-ages within 20 seconds, LG CNS added.

According to the IT solutions unit of LG Group, the advanced image analysis system is to be combined with cloud-computing technology. Based on the Software as a Service platform, the service will be available at any public health center with X-ray equipment.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 16 of 24

“This project’s ultimate goal is to provide advanced public health care services at minimum cost,” said LG CNS Vice President Jeong Woon-yeol, who heads a public project division at LG CNS.

LG CNS said it has been working with local startup Lunit, which provides technologies for deep learning and medical analysis. The companies aim to introduce the AI-based image analysis technology to 254 public health centers nationwide. By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)

Can LG smart fridge actually tweet? August 18 – Korea Herald

A tweet by a teenager living in Kentucky, the US, made LG Electronics’ smart refrigerator go viral globally this week, raising the question of whether the fridge could be used to tweet. A fan of singer Ariana Grande, named Dorothy, tweeted Aug. 8 that she was posting via LG’s smart fridge as her mother had taken away her smartphone. “I do not know if this is going to tweet. I am talking to my fridge, What the (explicit) my mom confiscated all of my electronics again,” read the tweet, indicating its source device as the LG Smart Refrigerator.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 17 of 24

<LG Electronics homepage>

Dorothy’s followers showed support for her by retweeting with the hashtag #FreeDorothy, calling on her mother to return her electronic devices. This was even retweeted by LG Electronics on Tuesday. However, some media outlets specializing in IT questioned whether the source of tweets had been manipulated to indicate a particular device. They said the LG smart fridge does not have a function to tweet. An LG Electronics official refuted this claim, saying, “The latest smart fridge model has the web browsing function and it is considered possible to access Twitter.” LG’s smart fridge has been relatively lesser known than Samsung Electronics’ Family Hub. The latest smart fridge model by LG features a 29-inch transparent display that works as a touch screen, voice recognition platforms Google Assistant and Alexa, a wide angle camera and a Bluetooth speaker. It runs on Windows. By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 18 of 24

LGU+ applies IoT to Hyundai Motor's e-bike sharing service August 12 – Korea Times

<Models try out Hyundai Motor's e-bike and e-kickboard ride-sharing service mounted with LG Uplus' IoT tech-nology on Jeju Island in this photo provided by the telecom company, Monday. / Courtesy of LG Uplus>

LG Uplus has applied its internet of things (IoT) technology to Hyundai Motor's electric bicycle and kickboard ride-sharing service, dubbed ZET, in a bid to offer optimized interconnection through advanced communications technology, the mobile carrier said Monday. ZET is the last-mile mobility platform developed by Hyundai Motor to offer the personal mobility ride-sharing services in designated areas. The nation's largest automaker began to offer the service on Jeju Island on a trial basis, Monday, with 80 electric bicycles and 30 electric kickboards. LG Uplus said it applied its LTE-M1 IoT technology to ZET, noting that advanced communications technology is essential for the mobility ride-sharing service to process data without creating a stutter while vehicles are moving. The telecom company said interconnectivity optimized for the mobility service through its IoT technology will provide users with accurate location data and the current status of electric bicycles and electric kickboards they want to use. The firm noted the IoT technology also offers better power efficiency compared to existing LTE networks. This will resolve worries about batteries even when large amounts of data are transmitted. "We plan to offer the service at tourist attractions as well as in areas frequented by local residents," an LG Uplus official said. "We expect the service to introduce new mobility culture and offer a more varied travel experience to tourists. This will contribute to invigorating the tourism of the resort island." Those who want to use the service can simply download the ZET app from Google Play or Apple's App Store and check for electric bikes or kickboards located nearby. A series of processes related to the use of the mobility ride-sharing service such as reservations, returns and payment can be done through the app.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 19 of 24

Hyundai Motor said it will continue to cooperate with small- and medium-sized enterprises so the personal mo-bility ride-sharing business, which has already spread rapidly in the global market, can achieve high-speed growth in Korea. LG Uplus said its IoT technology will contribute to advancing Hyundai Motor's pilot project for mobility ride-sharing service. "Based on experiences that we have accumulated with Hyundai Motor, we will work to expand ZET service areas," said Cho Won-seok who heads the enterprise new business unit at LG Uplus. "We will also expand the application of technology to other devices such as black boxes for cars." The two companies are planning to expand the e-bike and e-kickboard ride-sharing service to Daejeon and other areas, the telecom company added. By Jun Ji-hye (jjh@ktimes.com)

Naver’s Papago enhances image translation

August 19 – Korea Herald

Papago’s image translation function will be updated to automatically detect text and improve accuracy for three languages. South Korean tech giant Naver said Monday its service Papago will upgrade its image translation for English, Chinese and Korean. The function translates text captured in images. The improved image translation uses deep learning technology to enhance text extraction and recognition from an image. With the “Translate all” feature, users will no longer need to manually highlight text that needs to be translated, as it will automatically detect and translate the text.

< Papago’s “Translate all” feature automatically detects and translates words in an image. (Papago) >

According to the company, the technology is currently used for Japanese image translations, and the use of image translation has tripled compared to the same period last year. It has also increased translation accuracy by 57 percent.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 20 of 24

Naver said it hopes to further strengthen Papago’s image translation technology, so that it can encompass handwriting in the future. By Cho Hyee-su (chohyeesu@heraldcorp.com)

SKT offers AI-powered braille education for blind

August 19 – Korea Times

< A blind person tries to learn braille with Taptilo, a braille educating device that uses SK Telecom's Nugu

voice-activated AI speaker. / Courtesy of SK Telecom > SK Telecom has completed the development of the smart braille educating system running on its Nugu voice-activated artificial intelligence (AI) speaker to help the visually impaired learn braille much more easily, the com-pany said Monday.

The nation's top mobile carrier has cooperated with Ohfa Tech, a developer of the braille teaching device, Taptilo.

The telecom company will offer 110 devices to schools for the blind and households within the month and verify the effectiveness of the system in cooperation with Kangnam University.

The number of people who are visually impaired is estimated at about 300,000 in Korea, and 95 percent of these people are not able to read braille due to the shortage of specialist teachers, according to SK Telecom.

The development of the braille educating system utilizing the AI speaker is expected to lower barriers to education for the visually impaired through innovative technology, it said.

In the past, a teacher had to offer one-on-one tutoring to a blind person, resorting to verbal explanation and sense of touch. Due to the characteristics of the class, teaching more than one person at a time has been almost impossible.

As the new system enables the visually impaired to learn braille through the voice commands, they will be able to learn braille without the help of specialist teachers.

Users can simply input braille using the braille blocks of Taptilo and check words through the AI speaker. The two-way communication between the learner and the AI speaker is also possible ― when they say a word they want to know, the AI speaker converts it into braille.

SK Telecom added the system is comprised of curriculums to help the visually impaired learn braille at various levels.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 21 of 24

"The development and supply of the smart braille educating system is a good model to improve access to infor-mation for a vulnerable social group and resolve social problems," said Yoo Woong-hwan who heads the SV Innovation Center of SK Telecom. "We will continue to cooperate with various interest groups to create social value."

The latest service is in line with SK Group's push to create more social value.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has stressed that enterprises will be able to achieve stable growth in the rapidly changing business environment when they create not only economic value for shareholders and custom-ers but also create social value for various interest groups. By Jun Ji-hye (jjh@ktimes.com)

E. Start-Up News aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa [Bio Startup] Bridge Biotherapeutics readies third IPO try after clinching mega deal

August 1 – Korea Herald ‘No research, development only’ company proves potential through W1.5tr license-out deal with Boehringer Ingel-heim Korean biotech startup Bridge Biotherapeutics, established in 2015, has tried to go public twice on secondary bourse Kosdaq, both times unsuccessfully. The 18-man company’s “no research, development only” business model, albeit more common overseas, did not appeal to Korean regulators reviewing the soundness of the company’s fiscal portfolio. The regulators’ reception is hoped to have warmed up, however, after Bridge Biotherapeutics bagged a record license-out deal worth 1.5 trillion won ($1.26 billion) with German biopharma firm Boehringer Ingelheim last month. Bridge Biotherapeutics licenses in novel drug candidates from research firms and takes them on from develop-ment, conducting clinical trials phase 1 and going only as far as phase 2a before licensing it out again to a bigger biopharma that would provide upfront payment and deliver royalties in the case of successful final product com-mercialization.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 22 of 24

<Bridge Biotherapeutics CEO Lee Jung-kue (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald)>

As for BBT-877, the fibrosing interstitial lung disease treatment candidate that it licensed out to BI, Bridge Bio-therapeutics had acquired it from LegoChem Biosciences in 2017 for worldwide exclusive rights for further de-velopment. “If we had the means to carry on the development to the novel drug application stage, we would,” said Bridge Biotherapeutics CEO Lee Jung-kue, who also goes by James, in an interview with The Korea Herald. “Being realistic, it makes more sense to expedite the development by passing on the baton to a more financially capable biopharma that would fare better in the race against other competing developers,” said Lee. German biopharma Boehringer Ingelheim fit the picture perfectly, Lee said. BI is a recognized leader in the treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive and irreversible type of fibrosing interstitial lung disease with high unmet medical needs. IPF affects approximately 3 million people worldwide. There are only two treatments on the market -- BI’s Ofev and Genentech’s Esbriet. Neither provides a cure, only slowing progression of the disease. The Ofev patent expires in Europe in September 2024 and in the US in November 2026, by which time BBT-877, which entered the phase 1 clinical trial in the US in February, would be ready to help maintain BI’s dominance. BI payed an upfront and near term payment of 45 million euros ($49.7 million) to Bridge Biotherapeutics, with more than 1.1 billion euros promised in potential payments upon successful achievement of specified develop-ment, regulatory and commercial milestones. Lee said the deal with BI buys them time against rival Galapagos’ version of the novel drug for pulmonary fibrosis named GLPG 1690, which shot ahead in development by skipping phase 2b to enter phase 3. The license-out to BI set a new record as the biggest singular deal in the history of Korean biopharmaceuticals -- even bigger than the legendary Hanmi deals in 2015 that set the first examples of a Korean pharmaceuticals company’s successful global licensing. The precedent of Hanmi is something that cautions analysts to hold steady on Bridge Biotherapeutics, however, as some of the company’s glorious deals lost their luster after partners Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly and Janssen successively halted further clinical trials in 2016, 2018 and 2019, respectively. Hanmi still has a strong

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 23 of 24

portfolio with global big pharma firms, but its case proved that a license-out deal does not always lead to a golden ending. “We can’t say what happened to Hanmi won’t happen to us,” said Lee, “Successful novel drug development is a tough business. Only half of the drugs go on from phase 2 to phase 3 clinical trials.” In order to minimize impact from possible fallout, Bridge Biotherapeutics aims to apply for one investigational new drug approval each year on average. The company plans to make the IND application for its non-small cell lung cancer treatment candidate BBT-176 within 2019 simultaneously in the US and Korea. This application grants the company the permit to ship the biological material across countries and states for laboratory develop-ment. Bridge Biotherapeutics’ current portfolio sports: BBT-401, a Pellino-1 inhibitor for treatment of ulcerative colitis that is in phase 2 in the US; BBT-877, an autotaxin inhibitor for treatment of various fibrosing interstitial lung diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; and BBT-176, a potent targeted cancer therapy for non-small cell lung cancer.

<A researcher at Bridge Biotherapeutics works in a laboratory. (Bridge Biotherapeutics)>

BBT-401, licensed in from Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology and Sungkyunkwan University’s laboratory, is being co-developed with Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical, upon an agreement in December 2018 that allows up to $40 million for Bridge Biotherapeutics in upfront and milestone payments during develop-ment and commercialization. Aside from the deals with Daewoong and BI, in 2016 Bridge Biotherapeutics received series A funding worth 14.5 billion won, followed the next year by series B funding of 13.8 billion won. The biggest sum came in 2019, with 34 billion won for the series C investment. In total, Bridge Biotherapeutics, in the eyes of investors, had been worth 62.3 billion won in investments. Bridge Biotherapeutics currently has a small, tight team of 18 staff members. Of those, 15 work from the com-pany’s headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, while the remaining three are based in the US. “Our short-term human resources strategy will be to bolster our phase 2b and phase 3 manpower, with long-term goal of having the infra(structure) to complete a novel drug manufacturing and commercialization,” Lee said. Bridge Biotherapeutics will try again for an initial public offering, as a “special listing on promising business model,” projected for early next year. Lee was with LG Life Science’s novel drug research and development team from 1993 to 2000, during which time he was involved in the licensing out of Factive, Korea’s fifth home-developed novel drug. Lee is the co-founder of biotech firm CrystalGenomics, where he worked until 2007. In 2008 Lee founded another independent biotech firm called Rexbio, where he developed a pancreatic cancer treatment. Bridge Biotherapeutics is his third bio venture.

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea August 2019

Page 24 of 24

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)