South Korea's trade mediation agency said Tuesday it solved over one-thousand-650 cases of unfair trade practices through arbitration during the first six months of the year, up 30 percent from the same period last year.

The processed cases are among more than one-thousand-780 cases filed with the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency between January and June, an on-year rise of 33 percent.

While the growth in the number of cases has stayed in the 30 percent range since last year, the agency said the data reflects people or firms suffering from unfair trade practices raising their voices in the form of mediation requests.

These practices, often dubbed "gapjil" in Korean, involve power bullying by those who wield excessive control or influence over smaller competitors and subcontractors.