U.S. Retail Sales Decline in July, Breaking Nine-Month Growth Streak

REQUIRED Privacy Policy

Kertasmu (hereinafter referred to as the "Site") highly values your personal information and strictly complies with relevant laws, including the Personal Information Protection Act. Through this policy, we inform you of the purposes and methods for which the personal information you provide is used, as well as the measures taken to protect it. 1. Items of Personal Information Collected and Method of Collection The Site collects the following personal information for membership registration, smooth customer consultation, provision of multilingual services, and various service provisions such as communities/agits (gatherings)/growth missions. [Required Items Collected Upon Registration] - ID, Password (stored with one-way encryption) - Email Address - Name, Nickname - Gender - User Language [Optional Items Collected Upon Registration] - Phone Number, Date of Birth [Items Automatically Collected During Service Use] - IP Address, service usage records, access logs, cookies, login time and device information, last login IP address [Method of Collection] Direct input via the registration form on the homepage, log analysis tools during service use, and automatic system log collection. 2. Purpose of Collection and Use of Personal Information The Site utilizes the collected personal information for the following purposes: Fulfillment of contracts regarding service provision and fee settlement according to service provision. Provision of customized multilingual content, support for creating and operating agits (small groups), saving progress of growth missions (academy/exploration), and mapping advanced features such as AI-based text analysis/image generation. Member Management Identity verification for the use of membership-based services, personal identification, prevention of unauthorized or illegal use by malicious members, confirmation of intent to join, record retention for dispute resolution, handling of complaints and civil affairs, and delivery of notices. Development of new features and utilization for marketing/advertising (upon consent). Development of new features (AI chatbot, agit integration, etc.), provision of customized services, delivery of event and advertising information, and provision of participation opportunities. 3. Retention and Use Period of Personal Information As a general rule, the Site retains and uses your personal information only for the period during which services are provided, starting from the date of membership registration. If you request membership withdrawal or the purposes of collecting and using personal information have been achieved, the relevant information will be destroyed without delay. However, if it is necessary to preserve the information in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the Site will retain member information for a certain period as stipulated by the respective laws, as follows: - Website visit records (access logs, IP, etc.): 3 months (Protection of Communications Secrets Act) - Records on consumer complaints or dispute resolution: 3 years (Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, etc.) 4. Procedure and Method of Destroying Personal Information In principle, the Site destroys personal information without delay once the purpose of its collection and use has been achieved. The destruction procedure and method are as follows: Destruction Procedure: Information entered by members for registration, etc., is transferred to a separate database (or a separate filing cabinet for paper records) after the purpose is achieved. It is then stored for a certain period according to internal policies and other relevant laws regarding information protection (refer to the retention and use period) before being destroyed. Destruction Method: Personal information stored in electronic file formats is completely deleted using technical methods that render the records unrecoverable. 5. Provision and Delegation of Personal Information to Third Parties (Important Notice on the Use of AI Services) In principle, the Site does not provide your personal information to external parties. However, exceptions are made in the following cases: If the members have agreed in advance. If required by law, or if requested by investigative agencies for investigative purposes in accordance with the procedures and methods stipulated by law. [AI Integration Features] Kertasmu may provide service features such as AI news summarization (Gemini). When a user uses an AI feature, the request and the content needed to process it may be sent to an external AI provider's API server (such as Google LLC). Direct authentication information such as account passwords is not sent to external AI providers.6. Rights of Users and Legal Representatives and How to Exercise Them Members and their legal representatives may, at any time, view or modify their own registered personal information or that of the person they represent, and may request the termination of their membership (withdrawal). To view or modify personal information, click 'Edit Information' (정보 수정). To terminate your membership (withdraw consent), click 'Withdraw Membership' (회원탈퇴). After going through the identity verification process, you can directly view, correct, or withdraw your membership. Alternatively, if you contact the Chief Privacy Officer in writing, by phone, or by email, we will take action without delay. 7. Matters Concerning the Installation, Operation, and Refusal of Automatic Personal Information Collection Devices The Site operates 'cookies' and similar technologies that frequently store and retrieve your information. A cookie is a very small text file sent by the server operating the site to your browser and stored on your computer's hard disk. Purpose of Using Cookies: To analyze the access frequency and visit times of members and non-members, understand user preferences and areas of interest, track user footprints, and provide targeted marketing and customized services by identifying the degree of participation in various events and the number of visits. How to Refuse Cookie Settings: You have the choice regarding the installation of cookies. Therefore, by setting options in your web browser, you can allow all cookies, require confirmation each time a cookie is saved, or refuse the saving of all cookies. (However, if you refuse to save cookies, you may face difficulties in using some services that require logging in.) 8. Chief Privacy Officer and Responsible Department The Site has designated the following relevant department and Chief Privacy Officer to protect your personal information and handle complaints related to personal information. - Chief Privacy Officer: Administrator of KERTASMU (크레타스) - Contact: sistem@kertasmu.com - Date of Announcement: May 30, 2026 - Date of Enforcement: May 30, 2026 - Last revised: August 9, 2026

REQUIRED Community Guidelines

Welcome, Pioneers! Kertasmu, which literally means "Your Paper," is a warm and creative space. Here, you can fully record your own true stories without being burdened by the gaze of others (Academy/Academy), as well as share warmth and align your frequency with precious companions (Community/Alliance). To ensure that all Pioneers can respect one another and safely continue this journey of growth, we kindly ask for your cooperation in adhering to the community commitments outlined below. 1. Warm and Respectful Communication (A Warm Community) Principle of Mutual Respect: Kertasmu is a place for everyone to record their unique thoughts and feelings, regardless of age, gender, nationality, or religion. Please refrain from groundless criticism, mockery, or cynicism toward others' writings, and offer warm support to one another instead. Prohibition of Discrimination and Hate Speech: Any form of speech that discriminates against or incites hatred toward race, region, religion, disability, or gender is strictly prohibited. If a violation is discovered, your access may be restricted immediately. 2. Code of Conduct within the Alliance - Maintaining Trust within the Alliance: An Alliance is a cozy space built by like-minded companions. Please do not leak confidential information or personal matters shared within the Alliance to outsiders without the consent of the members involved. - Alliance Operational Principles: The Alliance Master (Founder) and the management team are responsible for ensuring that the Alliance does not lose its original positive and friendly purpose. Should any disputes arise between members, they must strive to resolve them peacefully. 3. Originality of Records and Respect for Copyright - Prohibition of Plagiarism: Do not steal or copy others' valuable writings, images, or creations without permission as if they were your own records. When quoting, always make sure to credit the original source. - Ethics of Using AI-Generated Features: When using the AI tools (such as text summarizers, image generators, etc.) provided within the site, it is forbidden to input immoral or copyright-infringing prompts to produce illegal or harmful content. 4. Prevention of Harmful and Prohibited Content (Clean Filtering) The following harmful content will be deleted immediately without prior warning, and strict sanctions—such as account suspension—will be imposed: - Pornographic and Harmful Content: The act of distributing photos, texts, or links that contain pornographic material. - Commercial Promotion and Spam: The act of flooding the community with spam, such as illegal gambling promotions, loans, or adult content that does not align with the nature of the community. - Leakage of Personal Information: The act of directly publishing sensitive personal information, such as your own or others' real names, addresses, or phone numbers, within the community and post bodies. 5. Prevention of Growth System and Reward Abuse Prohibition of System Abuse: Fraudulent activities, such as using automated macros or randomly flooding posts with meaningless text solely to obtain points or rewards through Academy Missions and Academy Quests, are strictly prohibited. If abnormal abuse is detected, the rewards will be reclaimed, and your mission participation rights will be revoked. 6. Active Utilization of the Reporting System Kertasmu trusts the self-moderation capabilities of our Pioneers. - Please use the [Report] feature on the right side of posts and comments to immediately notify the administrators of any content that violates the rules. - Reported posts and comments will be blinded in accordance with internal regulations, and administrators will carefully review them to take the necessary actions. - Let us bring these beautiful guidelines to life together, so that every single line of small records left by Pioneers today can become the seed of a brilliant miracle! 🌿 - Last revised: August 9, 2026

REQUIRED Service Operation and Data Use

KERTASMU processes member and visitor usage information to provide, operate, secure, and improve the service, and to analyze member activity and growth. [Account and preference information] Information entered at sign-up, language, interests, subscription, and usage status [Usage and interaction information] Content and features visited, time spent, scrolling, clicks, searches, writing, and participation flow [Access and acquisition information] Access country, language, device and browser, time zone, and acquisition source This information is used for personalization, activity, retention, conversion, and content-performance analysis, AI-based service improvement, and prevention of improper use. Visitor usage information may also be used to analyze member conversion and service improvement. This is a required term for completing sign-up and using the service. - Last revised: August 9, 2026