South Korea

Bae, Kim & Lee LLC | English | AcademicThink | Dec. 12, 2025 | Regulation

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has amended its Consumer Protection Guidelines in Electronic Commerce Transactions, effective October 24, 2025. The amendments establish detailed standards and recommendations concerning regulations on six types of online dark patterns under the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce. These include hidden renewal, drip pricing, pre-selected options, false hierarchy structures, obstructing cancellation or withdrawal, and nagging.

The amended Guidelines clarify that businesses must obtain explicit consumer consent at least 30 days prior to increasing recurring payments or converting free trials to paid services. They define the initial price display page and the total mandatory price, which must include all compulsory fees but exclude optional or circumstance-specific costs. The Guidelines provide concrete examples of prohibited practices relating to pre-selected options, false hierarchy, obstructing cancellation, and nagging to enhance clarity and market predictability.

Recommendations within the Guidelines advise businesses to clearly disclose pricing conditions, notify consumers of possible additional charges from optional selections, ensure consumers can decline these options, and prominently display cancellation or withdrawal buttons. These changes signal the KFTC's intent to strengthen enforcement against dark patterns, urging businesses to review and comply with the updated regulations to avoid violations.

금융보안원 "연이은 해킹, 디지털 혁신만큼 AI·제로트러스트 중요"

Digital Daily | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Cyber Attacks and Data Loss

Park Sang-won, president of the Financial Security Institute, emphasized the critical need to strengthen AI technology frameworks and implement zero-trust security strategies to prevent large-scale security incidents in the financial sector. Speaking at the "Financial IT Innovation" event in Seoul on December 11, 2025, he asserted that the importance of security has grown to equal that of digital innovation, urging financial companies to continuously develop new security systems.

Financial authorities are shifting from rule-based regulations to principle-centered security frameworks, encouraging firms to build autonomous security environments. Park highlighted that with the government's move to relax network separation regulations, financial companies should focus on constructing updated security frameworks beyond traditional network separation.

AI is highlighted as a vital strategy to address evolving security challenges. The Financial Security Institute is supporting financial companies by providing AI security assessments and performance verification metrics. Park also noted ongoing preparations of unique AI guidelines for the financial sector in collaboration with financial authorities, driven by the AI Innovation Act.

Zero trust, which assumes threats arise both externally and internally, was underscored as essential following recent hacking incidents. The Institute is working with financial companies through consultative bodies to implement zero trust and is exploring models for export and overseas trends.

Park forecasted that as AI integration advances in financial services, leading to complex interconnections and innovation, security will become increasingly crucial. He described this shift as moving beyond digitalization toward AI-based reconfiguration, necessitating stronger security measures.

[소부장 테크페어] 유미코아 “HLM 양극재 준비 완료…차세대 소재도 개발”

ET News | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | UndeterminedTech Development/Adoption

At the 2025 Global Materials, Parts and Equipment Tech Fair held on December 10th in Seoul, Umicore outlined its strategy to diversify its cathode material portfolio. The company is set to complete development and establish mass production of high-lithium manganese (HLM) cathode materials by next year, aiming to improve price competitiveness through the use of manganese, a lower-cost element. HLM materials offer higher energy density compared to lithium iron phosphate (LFP), but Umicore plans to avoid competing in the LFP sector, choosing instead to focus on HLM to differentiate itself from Chinese market leaders.

Umicore, a Belgium-based global chemical materials company with a 200-year history, currently operates a cathode material plant in Cheonan, South Korea, and supplies to major domestic battery manufacturers LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On. Traditionally focused on high-nickel, cobalt, manganese (NCM) cathodes, Umicore will expand next year into HLM materials. The company aims to address the current electric vehicle market slowdown by leveraging HLM's cost advantages and intends to boost the energy capacity of mid-nickel cathodes by increasing maximum voltage from about 4.2 V to 4.4 V.

In addition to HLM, Umicore is developing cathode materials targeted at next-generation solid-state batteries, which provide higher energy density and improved safety by using solid electrolytes. The company is working on new cathode coating technologies to enhance compatibility and electron transport with solid electrolytes, collaborating with research institutes and partners in these efforts.

Umicore is also researching disordered rock salt (DRX) cathode materials for the post-2035 period. These next-generation materials incorporate elements such as lithium, manganese, titanium, zirconium, and molybdenum and are aimed at delivering cost advantages. The company is in the early stages of this R&D but plans to build a comprehensive cathode material portfolio to serve a range of electric vehicle segments from low- to premium-priced models.