As one of the maritime operations governed by maritime law, it involves acting as an agent for transactions related to the reception, stowage arrangement,
and loading of cargo transported by ships, received under delegation from entities engaged in maritime passenger transportation or maritime cargo transportation (general agents), including foreign shipowners. It is commonly referred to as ship agency services.
There are two types of shipping agencies: international shipping agencies that handle foreign ships and domestic shipping agencies that handle Korean ships or foreign ships under a consignment contract with a person operating an international shipping agency.