Try the Daily Briefing
Try the Daily Briefing for your country of choice for two weeks--free of charge and with no obligation.
Have a service or subscription question? We'd be happy to hear from you.
South Korea
Intelligence for Better Decision Making
Government's confusion and reactions regarding overseas direct purchase policy
May 21, 2024 | Government Actions- The government initially proposed banning overseas direct purchases of products without a national certification mark (KC), but withdrew this plan after backlash and confusion from the public.
- The government's measures met with criticism for infringing consumer choice and causing confusion.
- Instead of implementing a blanket ban, the government decided to focus on products that have been confirmed to be hazardous.
- The government revised its stance on tightening regulations on overseas direct purchases, instead intending to prohibit hazardous items after safety assessments.
- The government clarified that only products confirmed to have risks would be blocked, highlighting the importance of protecting consumers from potentially harmful products.
- The government officials apologized for the confusion caused by the initial announcement and stated they would review the need for KC certification in the future.
- There was a significant public outcry, with consumers voicing concerns about the ban affecting various products and causing increased prices of domestically purchased items.
- The government's initial efforts were aimed at responding to safety concerns regarding ultra-low-priced Chinese products, but the abrupt change in policy raised questions about its effectiveness.
- Industry experts suggest focusing on strengthening domestic competitiveness rather than introducing ineffective regulations, such as the overseas purchase ban.
- Han Dong-hoon, former chairman of the People Power Party Emergency Response Committee, criticized the government's attempts to restrict direct purchases without KC certification.
- Han has been expressing his views on various issues on social media, leading to speculation about his potential return to politics.
- Criticism against the KC certification policy came from both opposition and ruling party members.
Concerns over Japanese control over Line and Naver
May 16, 2024 | Indirect Indicator- Naver, a Korean tech company, is under pressure from the Japanese government to sell its shares in Line Yahoo.
- Administrative action by the Japanese government could compel Naver to sell its stake in Line Yahoo, even against its will.
- The tensions with the Japanese government are related to a data breach at Naver that resulted in the leakage of user information.
- The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is calling for improved cybersecurity measures and a review of the capital relationship between Naver and Line Yahoo.
- SoftBank and Naver are currently in discussions about phasing out relations with Naver developers and subcontractors to give Line technical autonomy.
- Discussions and potential shifts in control of Line highlight the complex issues of data security, national security, and corporate governance. - The President's Office is supporting Naver's decision and is offering technical and administrative advice from related Korean organizations.
- The South Korean government emphasized Naver won't be selling its stakes to SoftBank and urged the Japanese government not to penalize Naver for this decision.
- In a first, the Presidential Office directly addressed the potential non-sale of Naver's stakes to SoftBank.
- The South Korean government affirmed its commitment to support Korean companies facing discriminatory practices overseas and promised swift responses to unfair treatment of the country's firms.
- There are concerns over job security and potential technological losses should Naver scale-down its partnership with SoftBank.
- Naver will not sell its shares in LY Corp., the operator of the Line messaging app, until at least July.
- Naver's stance on selling its shares is viewed as a business matter between Naver and SoftBank, but it has ignited political tensions between Korea and Japan.
- The Yoon administration is caught between improving relations with Tokyo and responding to public sentiment in Korea.
- Criticisms from liberal opposition politicians accuse President Yoon of a weak response to Japan's pressure on Naver.
- The dispute offers a glimpse into the complexities of economic and political relations between Japan and South Korea, and the challenges in reconciliation efforts.
- The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is directing LY Corp., which operates Line, to review security governance post the breach.
Monitored Intelligence for South Korea - Jan. 29, 2024
News
Media
280
Government
Releases
7
City/State
Releases
0
Embassy
Releases
1
Foreign
Service
Advisories
0
Service
Advisories
0
Academic/
Think
Tank
0
Think
Tank
0
Podcasts
0
Videos
0
Social
Media
0
Business
Releases
0
Erudite Risk takes an all risks approach to intelligence reporting. We categorize key intelligence into one of 40 different risk intelligence categories.
The goal is to provide intelligence that allows decision makers to avoid being blindsided by what they may have missed, while informing them to make better decisions as well.
Risk Categories Reported on Today
Risk Category
Items Reported On
Crime
4
Accidents
3
Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes
12
North Korea
8
Terrorism
1
Political Scandal or Corruption
2
Cyber Attacks and Data Loss
2
Erudite Risk also includes operations categories so you can monitor the environment for better decision making. Everything is tied together--what happens in risk affects operations and what happens in the market impacts risk profiles.
We categorize key intelligence into one of 30 different operations intelligence categories.
Different roles and functions within the organization can monitor different key issue areas. HR may monitor employment, wages, regulations, labor and management relations, etc., while P&L leaders may monitor overall developing trends.
Operations Categories Reported on Today
Operations Category
Items Reported On
Demographics
4
Tech Development/Adoption
6
Trade Issues and Numbers
3
Politics and Elections
3
Political Policy Resistance
1
Bizdev-Partnering
6
Real Estate
3
Top S. Korean, U.S., Japanese, Australian Army officials discuss deterrence against N.K. threats
Yonhap | English | News | May 21, 2024 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes
Top South Korean, U.S., Japanese, and Australian Army officials discussed ways to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats during a panel discussion at the Land Forces Pacific Symposium in Hawaii. They also discussed multilateral security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and agreed to expand exchanges and cooperation. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su also met with officials from the British and Malaysian armies to discuss strengthening exchanges and arms industry cooperation.
공정위, 납품업체에 판촉비 전가한 SSG닷컴·컬리 제재
Fair Trade Commission sanctions SSG.com and Curly for passing on promotional costs to suppliers
ZD Net Korea | Local Language | News | May 21, 2024 | Regulatory Enforcement Actions
Fair Trade Commission sanctions SSG.com and Curly for passing on promotional costs to suppliers. The Commission imposed correction orders and fines on SSG.com for making suppliers pay for promotional events without prior written agreement and collected maintenance fees unfairly. Curly was also sanctioned for imposing costs on suppliers for promotional events and entering into sales incentive agreements without consultation. The Commission emphasized the need for distributors to follow procedures set forth in the law to avoid disadvantages to suppliers when conducting promotional events.
‘여행적자’ 5년반새 최대…한국 온 외국인들보다 해외 간 한국인 더 썼다
'Travel deficit' highest in 5 and a half years... More Koreans who went abroad wrote it than foreigners who came to Korea.
Joongang Ilbo | Local Language | News | May 21, 2024 | Demographics
The travel balance in the first quarter of this year showed the largest quarterly deficit in five and a half years, with more Koreans going abroad and spending money compared to foreigners visiting Korea. The deficit in the service balance, including travel, offset a large part of the current account surplus in the goods balance through exports. The number of Koreans leaving the country increased quickly due to the pandemic, while the number of foreign tourists entering Korea decreased. Foreign tourists spent less in Korea compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. To improve the travel balance, policy directions are suggested to increase the number of foreign tourists and their length of stay, as well as to attract demand from Koreans who have gone abroad to domestic tourist destinations.
Contact us for a free trial of the Daily Briefing for your country of choice.
We currently cover:
South KoreaJapan
China
Taiwan
Vietnam
India
info@eruditerisk.com
The Daily Briefing is delivered Monday through Thursday via email.
Each day's reports include a combination of:
Takes
Takes are our deep dives into a topic of enduring interest or concern. Takes include copious references to all the media resources we gathered to build them.
Developments
Developments are key issues and incidents being heavily reported on in country. These are the centers of local thought gravity around which everything else revolves.
Risk Media
Summaries and analysis of the most important risk issues reported on in media, arranged by risk category. Learn about risk trends and issues while they are developing--before they blow up.
Ops Media
Summaries and analysis of the most important operational issues reported on in media, arranged by operations category. See what's changing in your market, and what's not.
Government Releases
Government press and data releases on key economic data, regulation, law, intiatives, incidents. Straight from the government's press to your eyes in less than a day.
Embassy and Business Association Releases
Statements and news releases from foreign embassies and business/industry associations, including chambers of commerce.
The Daily Briefing is comprehensive!
The Daily Briefing can run 50-100 pages each day!
Luckily, Erudite Risk tailors every report specifically to you.
Content Filtering
We try hard to ensure that every piece of information included in each day's reports will be of interest to our readers.
To fulfill our goal of comprehensively monitoring the intelligence landscape and also keeping reports readable, we build big reports--then deliver only the information that applies to you.
Each Daily Briefing is a bespoke report matched to your concerns. Tell us what you want in it, or we can match it to your professional needs. It's that easy.