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.

"한일 정상회담, 日나라 고찰서 개최 조율…아베 피격 장소 헌화도 검토"

Hankyung | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes

President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi are coordinating a summit to be held in Nara City, Japan, around January 13–14, 2026. The leaders plan to hold talks and a dinner in Nara, which is Takaichi’s birthplace and electoral district, and a former ancient capital of Japan.

The historic temple Tōdai-ji, known for its Great Buddha statue and cultural ties to the Korean kingdom of Baekje, is being considered as the venue for the summit. There is also a proposed visit to the site near Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City, where former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in 2022, to lay flowers. Takaichi, a hardline conservative, is known to pursue Abe’s political line.

Following their first meeting at the October 30 APEC summit in Gyeongju, President Lee expressed interest in visiting Nara Prefecture, which Takaichi supported. This will be Lee’s first visit to Japan since Takaichi took office.

The summit's location in a regional area like Nara is expected to create a more intimate atmosphere by omitting formal ceremonies. Japan aims to reaffirm cooperation with South Korea amid deteriorating relations with China and continue improving bilateral ties.

휴네시온, 공급망 보안 통합 위험관리 체계 구축

ZD Net Korea | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Supply Chain Issues

Hunesion, led by CEO Jung Dong-seop, has established an integrated risk management system focused on supply chain security and conducted company-wide SBOM-based supply chain security policy and operations training. This initiative addresses growing concerns about software supply chain attacks amid accelerated digital transformation. The training aims to set security policies, operational guidelines, and strengthen response capabilities to protect company and customer assets.

Globally, including in the United States and Europe, policies mandating SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) submission are being implemented, with the U.S. requiring it for software and medical devices supplied to the federal government. South Korea plans to institutionalize SBOM submission for public sector IT systems and products by 2027 as part of its comprehensive information protection plan announced in October.

SBOM, which applies the manufacturing Bill of Materials concept to software, is central to supply chain security by enabling identification and management of software components. In June 2025, Hunesion was selected for KISA’s “Supply Chain Security Model Construction Support Project,” under which it built an SBOM-based integrated risk management system. This system is incorporated into Hunesion’s network interconnection solution, i-oneNet, allowing prevention of threats across software development, manufacturing, distribution, and deployment phases, as well as enabling rapid incident response.

Hunesion recently inspected the 'React' server component vulnerability, confirming no impact on its systems. The company held SBOM-based security policy training for employees on December 8 and presented SBOM sharing strategies for supply chain threat response at the Peace & Park Convention on December 5.

Hunesion leads a consortium of five firms, each bringing specialized capabilities: SecureSystems provides AI-driven real-time threat monitoring, O2ones supports SBOM internalization, Cryptolab offers homomorphic encryption for SBOM distribution modeling, and EconetSystem handles SBOM provision systems and operational support. Together, they demonstrate comprehensive strategies covering the software supply chain lifecycle.

The i-oneNet solution, known for protecting networks from external and internal cyber threats, has led the domestic network interconnection public procurement market since 2015. It incorporates advanced features such as N2SF, quantum-resistant cryptography, cloud compatibility, and AI support. Product lines like i-oneNet DD and i-oneNet DX are tailored for operational technology (OT) security environments in critical infrastructure, supporting the digital transformation of industrial control systems.

Given the critical importance of supply chain security in national infrastructure sectors—such as power, gas, water, transportation, and communications—Hunesion is also involved in an international R&D project to develop an S/HBOM-based integrated security management platform for industrial control system supply chains, aimed at enhancing global competitiveness.

CEO Jung Dong-seop emphasized Hunesion’s decade-long leadership in network interconnection and the company’s successful internalization of a supply chain security management system to comply with strengthened government standards under the national information protection plan.