International Trade Consumer Inquiries Up 11% Year-on-Year... Significant Increase in Airline Ticket Consultations

Consumer Agency's Analysis Results on Trends in International Transaction Consumer Counseling

Status of Consumer Complaints on International Transactions in the Past 5 Years.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] # Mr. A booked a hotel in Australia for a 2-night, 3-day stay from April 27 to 29 last year and prepaid about 1.4 million KRW. When Australia banned Korean entry in March last year due to the spread of COVID-19, making travel impossible, he requested cancellation and refund from the hotel. However, the hotel refused, stating that the booked product was non-refundable.

As overseas travel became difficult due to the spread of COVID-19 last year, consumer consultations related to international transactions increased.

On the 15th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that the total number of international transaction consumer consultations received last year was 26,954, an 11.4% increase compared to the previous year. Among these, consultations related to international transaction agency services such as purchasing agency and delivery agency accounted for 48.8%, the highest, followed by overseas direct purchase (direct transactions) at 47.8%.

The number of consultations related to international transaction agency services increased by 0.2% from the previous year, and overseas direct purchase consultations increased by 35.4%. These consultations were due to cancellations or difficulties in using services directly contracted with overseas reservation agencies, foreign airlines, and local hotels caused by COVID-19.

When categorizing consumer complaints, more than half (50.6%) were cases where businesses delayed or refused cancellations and refunds. Complaints about unfair penalties or fees and price-related issues accounted for 14.8%, and complaints related to delivery delays or wrong deliveries accounted for 11.3%.

Among 26,533 consultations where the product category was identified, 41.9% were related to airline tickets and airline services. This was followed by clothing and shoes (15.8%) and accommodation (13.0%). The year-on-year increase rate in consultations by product category was highest for airline tickets and airline services at 152.7%, followed by cosmetics (31.2%) and household goods (19.1%).

Analyzing 12,103 cases where the overseas business operator’s country of origin was identified, consultations related to businesses located in China and Hong Kong accounted for 25%, followed by the United States (14.3%), Singapore (11.5%), Spain (5.6%), and Vietnam (5.3%).

The Korea Consumer Agency advised, "To smoothly resolve international transaction consumer complaints, overseas businesses above a certain scale without domestic offices need to designate and operate domestic agents," and "Consumers should carefully check seller information and transaction conditions to prevent damage."

If you have suffered damage related to international transactions, you can seek help from the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center (for international transaction agency services) and the International Transaction Consumer Portal (for overseas direct purchases).

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