South Korea forces e‑commerce terms fixes

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission ordered seven major e-commerce platforms to revise user agreements it said contained unfair terms. (en.yna.co.kr) (koreajoongangdaily.joins.com) The April 27 order covered platforms run by Coupang, Naver, Kurly, SSG.com, Gmarket, 11Street and NOL Universe. The regulator said it reviewed their terms and found 11 unfair clause types across four categories. (en.yna.co.kr) (koreajoongangdaily.joins.com) One category covered clauses that exempted platforms from responsibility for personal information protection or shifted that responsibility onto users. Chosun Biz said six of the seven companies used that type of language, with SSG.com the exception. (biz.chosun.com) (en.yna.co.kr) Another set of clauses limited refunds, cancellations or dispute options. The regulator also targeted terms that forced users to file lawsuits only in courts chosen by the company. (koreatimes.co.kr) (ajupress.com)) One example came from Coupang’s earlier policy on Coupay Money, a prepaid balance used on its platform. The Fair Trade Commission said users could lose access to refunds after terminating an account under that structure. (koreatimes.co.kr) (en.sedaily.com) Coupang had previously said about 3,000 accounts were affected, but a later joint public-private investigation found the issue touched more than 33.6 million accounts, according to Korea Times. Seoul Economic Daily reported the prepaid-balance forfeiture structure is now set to change. (koreatimes.co.kr) (en.sedaily.com) The companies agreed to revise the terms after the regulator’s recommendations, according to Yonhap and Korea JoongAng Daily. The commission said the changes are meant to strengthen consumer protections and improve safer handling of personal data. (en.yna.co.kr) (koreajoongangdaily.joins.com) The action fits a broader South Korean push to tighten oversight of platform power in e-commerce. In September 2024, the Korea Fair Trade Commission outlined legislative steps aimed at monopoly risks and financial misconduct by e-commerce platforms. (ftc.go.kr 1) (ftc.go.kr 2)) For shoppers and marketplace sellers, the immediate effect is less room for platforms to write one-sided rules into the fine print. The regulator said it will keep reviewing platform terms to improve trading practices and user safety. (ajupress.com) (en.yna.co.kr)