Consumer Agency "Caution on Open Market Overseas Transactions... Must Indicate Overseas Business Operators"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] #Mr. Lee experienced an absurd situation in March when the mask shortage crisis occurred at a major domestic open market. Mr. Lee purchased a box of masks for about 90,000 won from a Chinese seller operating on the open market and requested a cancellation within an hour. However, there was no response from the seller, and when he tried calling, he was told the number did not exist. Later, the seller claimed that the product had already been shipped and that a return shipping fee of 60,000 won would be charged for returns, which was an outrageous claim.

Consumer complaints related to overseas sellers on domestic open markets such as Naver Smart Store, Coupang, 11st, and Gmarket have been increasing recently, prompting the Korea Consumer Agency to issue a warning.

According to the Consumer Agency on the 31st, from January to June this year, a total of 58 consumer consultations related to overseas sellers on open markets were received, a 52.6% increase compared to the same period last year. Among these, cases related to 'Chinese (Hong Kong) sellers' were the most frequent at 28 cases (48.3%). The main reasons for complaints were 'product defects and poor quality' with 24 cases (41.4%), followed by 'cancellation and refund delays or refusals' with 17 cases (29.3%).

Since the contracting parties in open market transactions are overseas sellers and consumers, sellers are responsible for compensating damages if consumer harm occurs. However, the Consumer Agency explained that communication can be difficult due to time differences and language barriers with overseas sellers, causing delays or loss of contact.

Furthermore, even if damages such as selling defective products, refusal of withdrawal from contract, or excessive return shipping fees occur, if the overseas seller does not cooperate, dispute resolution under domestic law may be difficult. It is recommended to thoroughly verify the identity of overseas sellers on open markets and to clearly indicate on the sales page that the seller is overseas.

In particular, some open markets inadequately distinguish whether the seller is domestic or overseas, causing consumers to mistake overseas sellers for domestic ones and engage in transactions. In fact, some overseas sellers display information in Korean on the sales page and provide domestic addresses for return shipping.

Consumers are advised to check the seller information displayed at the bottom of the sales page and carefully review sales conditions, user reviews, and ratings before making a transaction.

A representative from the Consumer Agency stated, "If a dispute arises with an overseas seller on a domestic open market and the damage is not resolved smoothly, consumers can seek help from the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center and the International Trade Consumer Portal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.