Full Refund Available Within 7 Days If No Video Watched After IPTV Subscription to Additional Services

Correction of Unfair Terms in IPTV Operators' Contracts Including KT, SKB, and LGU+

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Customers who wish to cancel within one month of subscription can receive a full refund if they have not watched any videos by withdrawing their subscription within 7 days. If cancellation occurs after 7 days, a penalty fee of 10% of the remaining period's fee and a prorated charge for the subscription period will be deducted from the refund.

On the 21st, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it has corrected the terms and conditions of three IPTV providers?KT, SKB, and LGU+?which did not refund fees for cancellations within one month despite customers not watching videos after subscribing to monthly subscription video-on-demand (VOD) services and paying fees.

Until now, the three IPTV providers KT, SKB, and LGU+ stipulated that the full one-month fee would be charged regardless of whether videos were watched if the subscription was canceled within one month after subscribing to the monthly VOD service. The Fair Trade Commission judged that charging the full one-month fee regardless of video viewing within one month of cancellation constitutes an excessive penalty fee, effectively restricting customers' right to cancel under the law.

Accordingly, the three IPTV providers have revised their terms to allow customers who wish to cancel within one month of subscription to withdraw their subscription within 7 days without watching any videos and receive a full refund.

A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "As market restructuring such as mergers and acquisitions is taking place in the paid broadcasting and online video service (OTT) sectors, we plan to continuously monitor to ensure that consumers' rights are protected in contract cancellation and refund-related terms," adding, "This correction of terms will serve as an opportunity for related industries to self-inspect their terms of use and revise cancellation and refund-related provisions."