Assemblyman Kim Won-i, Illegal Online Food Sales Including Unauthorized Distribution on the Rise

A Total of 135,861 Cases Detected in the Past Two and a Half Years

Only 27 Contract Workers Monitoring Under MFDS Supervision

Won-i Kim, Member of the National Assembly (The Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] A grain processed product was being sold on online portals as if it had disease prevention and treatment effects, despite having none. Imported food product B was advertised through online portals with content that could lead consumers to perceive it as a pharmaceutical product.

As the online market size rapidly grows, violations of food sales laws by online portal operators, such as false exaggerated advertising and illegal distribution, have also significantly increased.

According to data on ‘Food Sales Law Violations by Online Portal Operators in the Last Three Years’ submitted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to Kim Won-i, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party representing Mokpo City, Jeonnam, approximately 135,861 food sales-related law violations occurred online over about two and a half years from February 2018 to June this year.

The number of violations, which was 49,595 in 2018, increased significantly to 60,910 in 2019, and already reached 25,356 by June this year. Among these, false exaggerated advertising accounted for 90,206 cases (66.4%), illegal distribution for 41,568 cases (30.6%), and other violations for 4,087 cases (3.0%).

Looking at violations by online portal operators, Naver accounted for 45,343 cases (33.4%), meaning one out of every three violations occurred on Naver. This was followed by 11st with 10,391 cases (7.6%), Auction with 8,501 cases (6.3%), and Interpark with 8,241 cases (6.1%).

In particular, Coupang, which has recently gained many users, had only 57 violations in 2018, but by June this year, the number had sharply increased to 2,605 cases within two years. Many products are being distributed with distorted functions or effects, deceiving consumers.

To exchange or refund products sold through exaggerated advertising, consumers must separately request assistance from the Korea Consumer Agency, causing inconvenience, and many consumers are unaware of this and overlook it.

Therefore, initial supervision is important, but the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had only 27 online monitoring personnel, all of whom were contract workers.

Online portal operators only serve as platforms connecting sellers and consumers, so under current laws, direct sanctions are difficult.

Assemblyman Kim Won-i stated, “As the online market continues to grow every year, new methods of false advertising and illegal distribution are becoming more intelligent and covert,” adding, “It is necessary to strengthen the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s supervisory functions by increasing personnel and to establish measures to hold telecommunication sales intermediaries, such as Naver, responsible for distribution when lending their platforms.”

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