See past tier one.
Confirm it on site.
HELIOS ATLAS watches your suppliers against news, sanctions and trade signals, checks what matters on the ground in Korea and Southeast Asia, and reports in Korean and English.
Six pressures on Korean and Asian supply chains.
Each card names its source. What HELIOS does about it is in gold.
Middle East routing, inputs and freight
A Korean business think tank (KERI) estimated production costs up to 5.19% higher (10 Apr). KOTRA found 9 of 24 GCC ports operating normally (3 Aug).
→ Check on site whether tier-2/3 sources and alternative shipments are actually moving.
Forced-labour lists keep growing
DHS added 43 companies to the UFLPA Entity List on 31 Jul, bringing it to 187 — including firms outside Xinjiang and battery-materials suppliers.
Source: DHS ↗
→ Match tier-2/3 suppliers against the lists continuously; confirm any hit with documents and a site check.
Origin laundering through Korea
Korea Customs caught ₩574.7bn of goods falsely labelled Korean in Jan–Jul, ₩449.2bn of it Chinese-origin (reported 24 Sep).
Source: Maeil Shinmun ↗
→ Confirm the supplier's factory exists and can make what it ships; screen origin documents for tampering.
A truce with a deadline
The U.S.–China trade truce has been extended to 10 Jan 2027. Korea sources about 80% of its rare earths from China.
Source: Newstown ↗ · Seoul Shinmun ↗
→ Track export-control signals and alternative sources ahead of the deadline.
Ownership, not just names
The U.S. affiliates rule extends Entity List restrictions to companies 50% or more owned by listed parties. It is suspended under the U.S.–China deal and returns when the suspension ends.
Source: Federal Register (suspension) ↗ · Lawtimes ↗
→ Map supplier ownership against sanctions and Entity Lists, and re-check when ownership changes.
Your customers' due-diligence questionnaires
The amended CSDDD entered into force on 18 Mar and applies to non-EU companies with over €1.5bn EU turnover from 26 Jul 2029. The EU forced-labour ban applies from 14 Dec 2027.
Source: Shin & Kim ↗
→ Suppliers out of scope still get their customers' questionnaires. We provide graded, sourced evidence to answer them.
As of 5 Oct 2026. Figures are as published by each source. Not legal advice.
From your supplier list to a decision.
- 01Share your listCONFIDENTIAL
Priority suppliers, countries and what they supply.
- 02WatchHELIOS ENGINE
News in local languages, sanctions and entity lists, trade and shipping signals.
- 03VerifyGROUND TRUTH
Field checks on the sites that matter, scoped with you first.
- 04ScreenVISION AI
Photos and documents checked for tampering.
- 05ReportKO · EN
Executive alerts with grades and sources, in Korean and English.
Every alert says how far it has been checked.
Signals are cheap. HELIOS labels each alert by the strongest evidence behind it, so you know what you can act on.
| Level | What it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| SIGNAL | One source or an automated detection. Graded, not yet confirmed. | Watch it; ask the supplier. |
| CORROBORATED | Two or more independent sources agree. | Escalate; request documents. |
| FIELD-VERIFIED | Observed on site or in primary records by a HELIOS field partner, with provenance kept. | Decide: requalify, dual-source, or report. |
Requirements flow down. Evidence has to flow back up.
| Who asks | What they ask for | What HELIOS provides |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. defense prime | No 1260H-linked content; origin of covered magnets and metals | Ownership screening, origin evidence, site checks |
| U.S. importer | Tracing to raw material; no UFLPA Entity List links | Tier-n signals, list matching, site checks |
| EU customer | Due-diligence questionnaires; forced-labour risk evidence | Graded risk evidence per supplier |
| Korean government programs | Risk evidence for supply-chain stabilisation plans | Issue briefs with dated sources |
| Lenders and trade finance | Is the facility real? Is the trade real? | Facility checks, document forensics |
Start small, with the suppliers that keep you up at night.
Supplier exposure review
A scoped review of a short list of priority suppliers, with a field check where it matters. Scope, timeline and price are agreed up front.
Continuous monitoring
HELIOS ATLAS keeps watching the list, with alerts labelled Signal, Corroborated or Field-verified.
Lenders and trade finance
Before you fund it: does the facility exist, does it operate, and do the documents hold up?
- Korean and English executive reports, ready for internal approval
- Engagements can run under your own NDA
- Free daily context: Global Watch Asia edition in Korean
Before you ask
What do you need from us to start?
Do you visit suppliers in person?
Do you certify that we are compliant?
Are reports available in Korean?
Which supplier would you check first?
Tell us, and we'll show you what open sources say, what we would verify on site, and how sure we can be.