Google chairman says company just getting started in SKorea

SEOUL (AP) - Google Inc. Chairman Eric Schmidt said Wednesday his company is committed to expanding its presence in South Korea, a market that has proven a challenge for the world's No. 1 search engine.

"It's obvious to me that Korea is a great laboratory of the digital age," Schmidt said in a speech at the Seoul Digital Forum, a three-day gathering of technology and media figures.

Schmidt cited South Korea's high level of household access to broadband, or high-speed Internet connections, as one reason for the country's likely position as a technological leader in the years ahead.

Schmidt recounted Google's history in South Korea since 2004, highlighting its relationships with domestic companies as well as its decision last year to open a research center in the country.

"The point here is that Google is in Korea because Korea is important, and our commitment and the scale we're going to operate in is just beginning," he said.

Google has lagged behind local search engines such as NHN Corp.'s dominant Naver Web site.

Users in South Korea say the local sites are better adapted to factors specific to the market, with more visually complex sites and reliance on human interaction instead of software to get search results.

Schmidt also said that Google would be announcing a new interface for its site in South Korea.

On Tuesday, Schmidt met with Daum Communications Corp., South Korea's No. 2 Internet search engine, to discuss broadening their partnership, Daum said.

Schmidt and Daum CEO Seok Jong-hoon discussed cooperating in Internet search services and Daum's user-created video content service, said Lee Seung-jin, a Daum official. No official agreements were made, Lee said.

Daum late last year decided to end its advertising relationship with Yahoo Inc. in favor of using Google for paid search results.