Seoul City Issues Consumer Damage Warning for Online Shopping Mall 'Anycube'

From July Last Year to April This Year, 186 Consumer Damage Cases Reported at City E-commerce Center, Total Loss Amounting to 22 Million Won
Products Reserved a Year Ago Still Undelivered, No Refund Response for Delivery Delays

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued a consumer damage advisory on the 12th regarding the online shopping mall ‘Anicube,’ which sells character products related to animation.

According to Seoul City, a total of 186 consumer damage reports related to this shopping mall were received by the ‘Seoul Electronic Commerce Center’ from July 2020 to April 2021, with the damage amounting to 21.97 million KRW. More than 10 cases were reported even after last weekend.

The shopping mall ‘Anicube’ is known for selling animation-related products that are difficult to find domestically or not handled by other shopping malls, gaining popularity among enthusiasts. In particular, some products were sold in a pre-order format one year in advance to coincide with overseas release dates.

The problem is that despite ongoing consumer damages such as non-delivery and loss of contact, the online shopping mall is still operating, causing new victims to continue to emerge. Although the payment agency stopped card payments, the shopping mall announced that card payments are temporarily unavailable due to system changes and is encouraging payments via bank transfer.

To prevent consumer damage, since July last year when damage reports related to the shopping mall were received, the Electronic Commerce Center has contacted the mall operator to request refunds and normal delivery. However, these requests were not properly handled, and thus the shopping mall’s name was publicly disclosed on the center’s website as a frequent damage business in December last year and April this year, urging consumers to be cautious.

The Electronic Commerce Center is maintaining a cooperative system by sharing information with the jurisdictional agency in Sejong City, where the shopping mall is located, to prevent the spread of consumer damage. Furthermore, Sejong City and the Fair Trade Commission have sent multiple correction recommendation letters regarding violations of the Electronic Commerce Act, made contact, and conducted on-site investigations, but were unable to meet with the business representatives.

Additionally, with the cooperation of the shopping mall’s hosting company, the Electronic Commerce Center has posted notices on the shopping mall’s main page warning consumers to be cautious when transacting with the mall and advising those who have suffered damages to immediately report to the police.

Meanwhile, Seoul City operates the Electronic Commerce Reporting Center to support consultation and relief for damages occurring during the use of online shopping malls. Consultations and reports can be easily made without separate login or membership registration. The center verifies the facts of reported cases and takes immediate consumer damage relief measures. If violations are found, it requests on-site investigations from the local government of the business location. Responses to reports are generally provided the next day, and results are communicated via text messages and other means.

Park Ju-seon, Director of Fair Economy, stated, “Currently, contact with the business operator is lost, and when related damage reports are received, we cooperate with card companies and payment agencies to proceed with refund and relief procedures. Consumers who purchased products with cash should immediately report to the Police Cybercrime Reporting System. Since internet shopping malls that only accept cash payments have a high rate of damage occurrence, it is advisable to be cautious when using them.”