Last Updated: 2026-08-21
Ascend Quest Co., Ltd. (“Ascend Quest”), the publisher of Korea Alpha, handles personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection of the Republic of Korea. This Privacy Policy explains what we collect, why, how long we keep it, and what you can do about it.
1. What We Collect
We do not create user accounts and we never ask for a password.
When you unlock Alpha Research (email)
– Email address
– Date and time of the request, and the IP address it came from
When you unlock Alpha Research with Google
– The email address and basic profile information released by Google after you authorize it
When you subscribe to the newsletter
– Email address
– Date and time of your marketing consent, the IP address it came from, and the exact wording you agreed to
– Date and time of any later unsubscribe, and the date of the last email we sent you
Automatically
– Access logs kept by our hosting provider (IP address, browser and device type, pages requested)
When you read the site
- Google Analytics 4 records your visit: the pages you open, how you arrived, approximate location derived from your IP address, and general device and browser information. It uses a randomly generated identifier stored in your browser, not your name or email address, and we do not link it to the email address you may have given us for Alpha Research or the newsletter.
We do not use advertising networks, and we do not sell or share this information for anyone else’s marketing.
2. Why We Use It
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Give you access to member-only content (Alpha Research) | Performance of the service you requested |
| Send the newsletter and marketing emails | Your prior consent |
| Prove that consent was given, if we are ever asked | Legal obligation |
| Answer your enquiries | Performance of the service you requested |
| Keep the site secure and operational | Legitimate operation of the service |
We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for anyone else’s marketing.
3. How Long We Keep It
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Email address collected for access (email or Google) | Until you ask us to delete it, or 1 year after your last visit |
| Newsletter subscriber email address | Until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it |
| Marketing consent record (time, IP, wording) | 3 years after the consent ends, then deleted — retained only to evidence lawful consent |
| Unsubscribe record | 3 years, so that we do not email you again by mistake |
| Server access logs | 3 months |
When the period ends, the data is deleted from the database and from backups on the next backup cycle. Electronic records are deleted so that they cannot be restored.
4. Cookies
We set one cookie of our own, and Google Analytics sets two more:
| Cookie | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
ka_access |
Remembers that you unlocked Alpha Research, so you do not have to verify again on every article. It carries a signed token, not a password. | 30 days |
_ga |
Google Analytics: tells one visitor apart from another using a randomly generated identifier. | 2 years |
_ga_<measurement id> |
Google Analytics: keeps track of a single visit. | 2 years |
You can refuse or delete it in your browser settings. If you do, Alpha Research will ask you to verify again. You can also opt out of Google Analytics on any site by installing Google’s browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. Refusing the analytics cookies does not affect anything you can read or do here. WordPress also sets session cookies for site administrators; these are not used for readers.
5. Google Sign-In
If you choose “Continue with Google”, Google verifies your identity and returns a signed token containing your email address. We check that token and use the email address for the purposes above. We do not receive your Google password, and we do not gain access to your Google account. Google’s handling of your data is governed by Google’s own privacy policy.
6. Newsletter and Marketing Email
We send marketing email only to addresses that ticked the consent box on our subscription form. We record when you consented, from which IP address, and the exact sentence you agreed to.
You can withdraw consent at any time:
– the unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email — it works immediately and needs no login;
– the one-click unsubscribe button your mail app may show; or
– by emailing us at the address in section 10.
Withdrawing consent stops the emails. It does not remove your access to Alpha Research.
7. Who Else Processes It
We use the following providers to operate the service. They act on our instructions and may not use the data for their own purposes.
| Provider | Role | Country |
|---|---|---|
| FastComet, Inc. | Website and database hosting | United States |
| MailChannels | Outbound email relay | United States |
| Google LLC | Sign-in verification (only if you use it), and website analytics | United States |
Transfer abroad. Because these providers operate outside Korea, your personal information is transferred to and stored in the United States. What is transferred, why, and for how long is exactly as described in sections 1–3; the transfer happens whenever you use the corresponding feature, over an encrypted connection. If you do not wish your information to be transferred abroad, do not submit it — the site remains readable without it, except for Alpha Research and the newsletter.
8. Your Rights
You may ask us to show you the personal information we hold about you, correct it, delete it, or stop processing it. Write to the contact in section 10; we respond within 10 days. You may also complain to the Korea Internet & Security Agency Privacy Call Center (118) or the Personal Information Protection Commission.
9. Children
Korea Alpha is intended for adult readers with an interest in capital markets. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 14. If we learn that we have, we delete it.
10. Data Protection Officer and Contact
| Data Protection Officer | Minsun Kang |
| hollis@ascendquest.info | |
| Address | 446, Dosan-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea |
| Company | Ascend Quest Co., Ltd. |
11. Changes
If we change this policy we will update the date above and, where the change is significant, announce it on the site at least 7 days before it takes effect.