Open Market Terms Overhauled: Platforms Now Liable for Hacking Incidents They Once Denied Responsibility For

Terms of Seven Major Platforms, Including Coupang, Naver, and Gmarket, Reviewed

Operators Now Liable for Intentional or Negligent Security Incidents Such as Hacking

Controversial clauses in open market platforms’ terms of service that have exempted operators from responsibility for personal information leaks caused by hacking and other incidents will be largely eliminated. In addition, unreasonable practices such as avoiding all responsibility on the grounds of being a platform intermediary, or confiscating the cash balances of users who withdraw from the service, will be rectified.

The Fair Trade Commission has ordered the correction of unfair terms and conditions clauses on seven open market platforms. Photo by O Yugyo.

On April 27, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it had reviewed the terms and conditions of seven major open market operators—including Coupang, Naver, Gmarket, 11Street, Nol Universe, SSG.com, and Kurly—and ordered corrections to 11 types of unfair contract terms that unduly exempted operators from responsibility or infringed on user rights and interests.

"Not My Responsibility If It's Hacking?"... Platforms Now Liable for Personal Information Protection

The core of these revisions is to block platforms from evading responsibility. Until now, most open market platforms included clauses that completely exempted the operator from responsibility for security incidents such as hacking or virus leaks, regardless of whether the operator was at fault.

The Fair Trade Commission has revised these terms to explicitly state that operators must bear corresponding responsibility in cases of intent or negligence. It judged that blanket exemptions—such as “the company is not liable for incidents even if it fulfilled its security obligations”—are unfair. Numerous clauses that declared the platform would not be responsible simply because it acted only as an intermediary connecting buyers and sellers have also been amended. Now, the scope of liability is clearly defined so that platforms are responsible for compensation in cases of intent or negligence on their part.

"Lose Your Cash If You Leave?"... Protecting Consumer and Seller Rights

Unfair practices related to user convenience have also been substantially revised. First, the clause that immediately extinguished cash balances purchased for a fee upon withdrawal—without any refund process—has been corrected. Going forward, operators must provide guidance on the refund procedure for any remaining paid cash balances at the time of withdrawal. In addition, platforms such as Coupang are now prohibited from arbitrarily selecting alternative payment methods (such as Coupang Cash) if the user’s designated payment fails. This change reflects concerns that such practices infringed on consumers’ right to choose their payment method.

Clauses that allowed unfair treatment of partner sellers have also been improved. Operators are now required to clearly specify the reasons for withholding settlement of sales proceeds, preventing them from delaying payouts for vague reasons. The unfair clause that limited legal jurisdiction to the operator’s local court (such as Seoul Southern District Court) has been amended to comply with the Civil Procedure Act. Furthermore, platforms must now provide individual notifications when terms are changed, rather than deeming users’ silence as automatic consent, ensuring users are sufficiently informed.

The Fair Trade Commission explained, “By clearly defining the scope of platforms’ responsibilities in an era where online shopping is commonplace, we can effectively prevent consumer harm,” adding, “In particular, this will ensure that platforms fulfill their responsibilities as administrators in cases of security incidents such as personal information leaks.”

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