Organized by TechinAsia.com, Startup Asia is a 2-day conference organized for entrepreneurs, investors, media, and people across the Asian tech community.

Earlier this year we reported that smartphone penetration had reached 60%, and the new figure (only 2 months later) shows that a massive 67% of South Korean mobile subscribers use smartphones.

Galaxy S4 will be launched and have its first public appearance in New York City on March 14. What are some of its specs and what would it mean for fans of Samsung?

프로그래머들을 위한 속담입니다. 공감되시는지요?

The Chinese government will strengthen its position in international trade and domestic performance by nurturing major electronics firms (and it this may threaten South Korean electronics companies). The Chinese government will support major electronics firms such as Huawei, Lenovo, Haier and ZTE until 2015. These companies are also leading the reconstructing and are expanding quickly in terms of both company size and net worth.

We are excited to announce the launch of beLAUNCH India edition in the run up to beLAUNCH 2013 in Seoul.

Pison Contents, a domestic Korean music distributor has finally forged a deal with Spotify to provide K-pop music. Its subsidiary Music Spray will start global distribution of K-pop through Spotify from April 2013next month.

SparkLabs, a startup accelerator in Korea, hosted its first Demo Day today in Seoul, Korea. SparkLabs also announced its expansion into healthcare for its upcoming second class. Sparklabs is founded by Bernard Moon, Hanjoo Lee and Jimmy Kim.

beLAUNCH and GMIC have formed a strategic alliance to leverage the most from our flagship Asian startup events. beSUCCESS and The GWC will also be engaged in a long term alliance, bringing two of Asia’s heavyweight startup facilitators together, towards the achievement of our joint vision.

A decision has been made by a presidential committee to cancel regulatory measures on Web board games, citing a lack of legal grounding for the measures. Gaming shares have surged as a result.

Can DNA, that determines our genetic make-up really give a person natural, ‘inborn’ abilities? DO top earners or jackpot winners have special DNA programmed for success? If so, is there a way to determine if my DNA is ‘successful’?

The likes of KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus are the indicator of what was going to come from other operators of the world. Korean mobile operators have become the measurement for deciphering global trends. Needless to say, the profile of Korean carriers has increased significantly since 2011 when LTE networks were set up.

‘Inside the Founders’는 이 답을 제시하기 위해 기획됐다. 테크 분야별 대한민국 대표 창업자를 통해 나의 성공 DNA를 찾고 그를 성공의 실체로 발현하는 데에 그 목적이 있다. ‘Tech Trend 미리보기 – 바이오/헬스 산업의 미래’라는 주제로 유석환 회장과 함께할 첫 회는 2013년 업계 최고의 화두인 바이오산업과 헬스케어 분야에 대해 미래 트렌드를 제시하고 꾸준히 유망 받는 바이오 기술에 대한 심도 있는 이야기가 이어질 예정이다.

beSUCCESS along with our partners Tokyo-based Skyland Ventures and Seoul-based startup VCNC organized beLAUNCH Japan Satellite Event on February 27th, 2013 in Tokyo where six Japanese startups took part for an opportunity to pitch at the main event in Korea.

Movida CEO, Taizo Son, is dedicated to creating a North East Asian equivalent to Silicon Valley, by investing in up to 1,000 startups from the region.

The Optimus LTE III apparently differs from the Optimus LTE II as it made significant improvements from the battery of Optimus LTE II (2,150 mAh) to 2,420 mAh battery. As seen in the picture, it will have flip covers like Galaxy Note series. Also, not only you will be able to expect 4G speeds and it will also be an economically competitive option for people who need a 4G smartphone at inexpensive costs.

Adjapan and 8crops are subsidiaries of Fancommunications, one of the largest ASPs (affiliate service providers) in Japan. They offer a range of interesting marketing solutions for both PCs and smartphones. They are now actively expanding into new markets, having seen sustained domestic growth.

App marketing platform, AppDisco will be showcasing at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain from the 25th to 28th of February. AppDisco is the only Korean mobile advertising platform participating in MWC.

Markets, Commentators, Business Insiders and media have all predicted that 2013 will be the year of the smartphone. We took a look at Korea-centric news and developments in the space over the last few days, and have compiled a list of top smartphone news.

Korean banks, like the new government are appearing to support economic growth by releasing funds designed to harness the economic value in intellectual property created by innovation in Korea’s SME sector. Of course this is great news for startups.