"Can't Endure Excessive Fees and Unfair Transactions"... Urging the Enactment of the Onple Act

Press Conference by 6 SME and Small Business Organizations
"Must Be Addressed Within the December Extraordinary National Assembly"
"Urgent Need to Establish Fair Trade Order System"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners have urged the National Assembly to pass the Online Platform Fairness Act (Onplebeop) within this month. They voiced concerns over excessive fees and unfair trade practices, insisting on the need to establish a legal framework for online platforms.

On the 23rd, six SME and small business organizations, including the Korea Federation of SMEs, held a press conference at the Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, calling for the enactment of the Onplebeop.

The press conference was organized to demand the bill's passage during the December extraordinary session of the National Assembly. The bill includes provisions such as the definition of online platform intermediaries, the obligation to provide brokerage transaction contracts, prohibition of unfair trade practices, and procedures for incident handling and measures. In November, the ruling party and the government agreed to pass a revised version of the Fair Trade Commission's proposal within the regular session, but it has faced opposition from the industry.

SME and small business groups argued that dependence on online platforms has increased due to COVID-19, and that establishing an institutional foundation to ensure fair trade order in the platform market is urgently needed.

On August 23, at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul, representatives of online platform tenant organizations held a press conference urging the passage of the Online Platform Fairness Act during the August extraordinary session of the National Assembly. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

They stated, "The longer the legislative discussion on the Onplebeop is delayed, the more damages accumulate for small business owners operating within the blind spots of legal protection," emphasizing, "For the protection of small business owners' right to survive, prompt passage within this year focusing on agreed issues is necessary."

Song Yoo-kyung, Chairperson of the Distribution Industry Committee at the Federation of SMEs, said, "Despite excessive fees and occurrences of unfair practices, online platforms remain largely unregulated," adding, "Since the Onplebeop has been thoroughly discussed and proposed since June last year, it is now time to produce meaningful results."

Meanwhile, according to the 'Online Platform Tenant Survey' released by the Federation of SMEs in March, 98.8% of open market tenants and 68.4% of delivery app tenants support the enactment of the Onplebeop.

In particular, over the past three years, one in five (20.7%) of SMEs and small business owners operating on online platforms reported experiencing unfair trade practices such as excessive fees, advertising charges, and unilateral settlements.

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