Terms of Service

Article 1 Purpose

The purpose of these Terms of Service is to prescribe the procedures, conditions, rights, obligations, and other incidental matters between Newsbox (hereinafter referred to as the 'Company') and the members regarding the use of all services (hereinafter referred to as the 'Service') provided by the Company in accordance with the Telecommunications Business Act and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc.

Article 2 Definition of Terms

The definitions of terms used in these Terms are as follows:

(A) Member: A person who agrees to the Company's Terms, applies for registration, is approved by the Company, and is granted a user ID and password to use the Services provided by the Company.

(B) Registration: The act of an individual who wishes to become a member agreeing to these Terms, filling in required information in the Company's service use application form to offer a service use contract, and the Company approving it.

(C) ID: A unique name consisting of a combination of letters or numbers determined by a member for identity verification by the Company when the member wishes to use the Services provided by the Company after registering.

(D) Password: Information consisting of a combination of letters or numbers determined by a member and shared with the Company for identity verification when applying for service use using an ID.

(E) Operator: A person selected by the Company for the overall management and smooth operation of the Service.

(F) Withdrawal: The act of a member terminating the service use contract due to various reasons.

Article 3 Specifications and Amendment of Terms

1. These Terms shall be posted on the Company's website or connected screen so that users can become aware of them.

2. The Company may amend these Terms without prior notice when necessary reasons arise. The amended Terms shall be announced by posting them on the Company's website for 15 days from the effective date, and shall take effect from the effective date prescribed in the addenda.

3. Members may refuse the application of the amended Terms, and in this case, they may discontinue using the Service through member withdrawal.

4. If a member continues to use the Services provided by the Company even after the amended Terms take effect, the member shall be deemed to have agreed to the amended Terms.

Article 4 Rules Other than the Terms

1. Matters not specified in these Terms shall be governed by the provisions of the Framework Act on Telecommunications, the Telecommunications Business Act, and other relevant laws and regulations.

2. The Company may determine detailed matters for individual services in addition to these Terms, and the contents thereof shall be announced through the user guide of the relevant service and a separate use consent procedure.

Article 5 Establishment of Service Use Contract

The service use contract is established when a member enters member information according to the registration form prescribed by the Company, applies for service use by clicking the "Agree" button to the question "Do you agree to the Terms?", and the Company approves it.

Article 6 Application for Service Use

1. To use this Service, a member must record the user's personal information in a designated application form prescribed by the Company.

2. All information recorded in the application form must be identical to the user's actual information. Users who do not enter actual information or enter information different from the facts cannot receive legal protection.

3. Overseas Koreans or foreign residents in Korea who do not have registration authentication information must send an identity document for verification to the Company via file attachment, fax, or email. The Company approves the service use application after verifying the identity document. However, the document must be sent within one month after applying for membership registration to be recognized.

4. The Company may approve the registration of group members rather than individuals only when deemed necessary. A group wishing to register as a group member must explain the public interest purpose of registration and undergo the Company's subsequent approval process.

5. The information entered by members is as follows:

(A) General Member: ID, password, name, registration authentication information, email address, postal code, address, phone number, mobile phone number, occupation.

(B) Member under the age of 14: ID, password, name, registration authentication information, email address, postal code, address, phone number, mobile phone number, academic status, legal guardian's (parental authority holder) name, legal guardian's registration authentication information, legal guardian's contact information.

(C) Overseas Korean/Foreign Resident Member: ID, password, name, gender, registration authentication information or foreign registration number, email address, postal code, address, country of residence, phone number, mobile phone number, occupation, copy of identity document (photo attached).

(D) Group Member: Group name, group abbreviation, user ID, password, email address, office phone number, address, field of activity, group introduction, name of the person in charge, contact information and position, manuscript fee receipt confirmation.

Article 7 Approval of Service Use Application

1. The Company approves the service use application when a member accurately records all information and applies. However, approval may be refused or canceled in the following cases:

(A) When it is not under one's real name

(B) When using another person's information

(D) When committing an act prohibited by the Framework Act on Telecommunications, the Telecommunications Business Act, the Information and Communications Code of Ethics, the deliberation regulations of the Information and Communications Ethics Committee, the Program Protection Act, and other relevant laws and Terms

(E) When subjected to criminal punishment due to reasons corresponding to item (D)

(F) When having a history of being refused service use by another service provider due to reasons corresponding to item (D)

(G) When a child under the age of 14 does not obtain the consent of a legal guardian such as a parent

(H) In other cases where the application requirements set by the Company are not met

2. The Company may withhold approval of the use application due to technical reasons or policies.

Article 8 Provision of Service

1. In principle, the Service shall be provided 24 hours a day, year-round, unless there is a business or technical obstacle of the Company or other special reasons.

2. The Company strives to provide stable services as prescribed by the Terms, and if the Service is interrupted due to unavoidable reasons, it shall be repaired and restored without delay. However, the Service may be temporarily suspended in the event of system inspection, natural disasters, emergencies, or other unavoidable circumstances.

3. The Services provided by the Company to members are as follows:

(A) Reading posts within the Newsbox site (excluding services related to citizen journalists)

(B) Profile/Message Box/Subscription/Wishlist services within the Newsbox site

(D) Registration, modification, deletion, and recommendation of posts such as articles, Umji News, blogs, videos, photos, etc.

(E) Reading and applying for manuscript fees

(F) Participation in events and activities hosted by Newsbox

(G) Newsbox mailing service

(H) Any other services to be provided to members through self-development or cooperation contracts with other companies

Article 9 Use of Service

1. Members can use the Services listed in Article 8, Paragraph 3 immediately upon registration.

2. Members can raise issues with the Company at any time regarding inconveniences when using the Service. The Company makes efforts to resolve the issues if it recognizes that the member's issue raising is justifiable.

3. All management responsibilities for the member's ID and password lie with the member, and members cannot transfer or donate their ID to others. Any responsibility for damage or loss incurred by the member, the Company, or a third party caused by using the ID and password registered by the member lies with the respective member.

Article 10 Definition of Member's Posts

Posts refer to the following items:

(A) Various files and links such as opinions, questions, answers, images, videos, etc., posted by a member on various bulletin boards of the Company

(B) Various files and links such as registered reader opinions, comments, images, videos, etc., posted by a member on Newsbox articles

(D) Any other posts uploaded by a member in their capacity as a member in the online space provided by the Company

Article 11 Copyright of Posts, etc.

1. The copyright of the posts registered by a member belongs to the respective author.

2. The Company may comprehensively utilize a member's posts within the Company's service for reproduction, exhibition, transmission, distribution, etc., and may edit or modify the posts within the minimum scope if necessary. Members consent to such comprehensive right of use, editing, and modification by the Company.

Article 12 Scope of Responsibility and Management of Posts

1. Any loss, damage, or other problems arising from a member's posts and information are the responsibility of the individual member, and the Company is not held responsible for them. However, this does not apply if it is caused by the intentional acts or gross negligence of the Company.

2. Regarding various claims, lawsuits, and any other disputes raised by a third party against the Company due to a member's posts, the member must bear all expenses incurred in resolving them and handle the dispute for the Company. If the Company must compensate or indemnify damages or losses to a third party, or if other damages or losses occur to the Company, the member must compensate or indemnify them to the Company.

3. If a member's post falls under any item of Article 17 below, the Company may delete the respective post.

4. When deleting a member's post, the Company may take actions against the member individually or simultaneously in accordance with Article 17 below.

5. The Company has no obligation to store posts deleted for reasons under Paragraph 3.

6. The Company has no obligation to inspect or censor all posts.

7. The Company has no obligation to delete or store posts of members who have withdrawn or been expelled.

Article 13 Privacy Policy

1. The Company protects members' personal information, and the Company announces its contents under the name of 'Privacy Policy' on the main screen and personal information management page of each service of the Company.

2. The main details mentioned in the 'Privacy Policy' are as follows:

(A) Name / Department / Position / Phone Number / Email Address of the Personal Information Manager

(B) Purpose of collection and purpose of use of personal information

(D) Personal information items that the service provider intends to collect

(E) Retention period, use period, and reasons for retention of collected personal information

(F) Other processing or management methods for personal information

(G) Matters regarding the operation of cookies

(H) Matters regarding complaint handling related to personal information

(I) Matters regarding the processing purpose/processing method of personal information, and use/management of processed personal information

(J) Other matters necessary for the protection of personal information

3. If the contents of the 'Privacy Policy' are modified or changed, the Company shall announce the changes prior to the amendment through postings on the internet website or other reasonable methods.

Article 14 Use of Personal Information

1. The Company may obtain the consent of members to send introduction and advertising emails of sites partnered with the Company to members.

2. The Company does not disclose or distribute members' personal identity information obtained through service provision to a third party without their consent. However, exceptions are made in the following cases:

(A) When there are special provisions in laws such as the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality, the Use and Protection of Credit Information Act, the Framework Act on Telecommunications, the Telecommunications Business Act, the Local Tax Act, the Consumer Protection Act, the Bank of Korea Act, and the Criminal Procedure Act

(B) When necessary for statistical compilation, academic research, or market research, provided in a form that cannot identify a specific individual

3. The Company may use all or part of the members' information as statistical data related to business operations.

4. The Company may promote its business contents to members through methods such as email, and recommend product purchases, subscriptions, and event participation.

5. Consent to the use of members' personal information in each of the above paragraphs shall be replaced by the member agreeing to these Terms (including consent prescribed in Article 3, Paragraph 4).

Article 15 Information Modification

1. If the member information entered at the time of registration changes, the member must immediately modify the member information.

2. All responsibilities arising from failure to update member information lie with the member.

Article 16 Termination of Contract

1. When a member wishes to terminate the service use contract, the withdrawal process will be completed immediately upon applying for "Member Withdrawal" in the member information modification section. Re-registration is not allowed for 3 months after withdrawal, and the ID previously used cannot be used upon re-registration.

2. The Company may retain the information of withdrawn members for up to 6 months from the time of withdrawal.

3. The information of withdrawn members stored by the Company can only be utilized for personal information protection purposes.

Article 17 Service Use Restriction

If a member commits any of the following acts, the Company may terminate the use contract or restrict service use without prior notice:

(A) When omitting or falsely recording member information under Chapter 2, Article 6, Paragraph 5 at the time of registration or information change

(B) When collecting, storing, or stealing member information such as another person's ID, password, or registration authentication information

(C) When infringing upon the intellectual property rights or other rights of the Company, other members, or a third party

(D) When disrupting the Company's business or hindering others' use of the Company's service by causing harm to the services provided by the Company

(E) When committing an act that violates bad post regulations

(F) In other cases where there is a substantial reason to judge that it is difficult for the Company to provide services any longer

※ View Bad Post Regulations

Article 18 Service Use Restriction Procedure

1. The member service use restriction procedure consists of a total of 3 stages:

1st Warning: Oral or written warning

2nd Warning: Suspension of writing all posts in the relevant area for 1 month

3rd Warning: Deprivation of member status

2. The Company holds a disciplinary committee when depriving member status (3rd warning) during the member's service use restriction process. The composition and processing procedures of the disciplinary committee are as follows:

(A) Composition of Disciplinary Committee: Composed of 3 heads of related departments

(B) Processing Procedure: Verification of basic facts referred to discipline, delivery of disciplinary referral notice, explanation by the disciplined member (within 7 days from the date of receiving the notice), confirmation of discipline by unanimous consent, notification

Article 19 Indemnification

The Company shall not be held liable for any damages incurred by members in connection with the use of free services unless caused by the intentional acts or gross negligence of the Company. In the case of paid services, separate provisions shall apply.

Article 20 Exemption

1. If the Company suspends the Service due to natural disasters, emergencies, or equivalent unavoidable circumstances, the Company shall not bear responsibility for problems arising to members due to the service suspension.

2. The Company shall not bear responsibility for service use obstacles arising due to reasons attributable to the member.

3. The Company does not bear warranty or security responsibilities regarding the suitability, accuracy, timeliness, or reliability of information, products, services, software, graphics, audio, and video provided through the Service.

4. The Company does not bear warranty or security responsibilities regarding the suitability, accuracy, timeliness, or reliability of posts uploaded by members.

5. When a member wishes to make necessary decisions regarding legal, medical, or other financial matters through information obtained through the Service provided by the Company or posts of other members uploaded on the Service, the member is advised to consult with an expert in advance.

Article 21 Grievance Handling

The Company collects members' opinions and receives and handles complaints related to personal information through telephone, writing, email, or internet websites.

Article 22 Dispute Resolution and Jurisdiction Court

1. The Company and members may apply for dispute mediation to the Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee for prompt and effective dispute resolution if there is a dispute regarding personal information.

2. Lawsuits regarding disputes arising from service use shall be brought to the court having jurisdiction over the location of the Company's headquarters as the competent court.

Addenda

These Terms shall enter into force on July 01, 2014.