International Trade Consumer Damage 'Emergency'... 4,329 Cases Among Gyeonggi-do Residents Last Year

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Last year, the number of international transaction consumer damages reported by Gyeonggi-do residents reached 4,329 cases.

According to Gyeonggi-do and the Korea Consumer Agency on the 17th, last year, the international transaction consumer damages involving Gyeonggi-do residents totaled 4,329 cases, including 4,313 cases online and 16 cases of direct local transactions.

By transaction type, damages related to proxy services such as purchasing goods and services and delivery of goods accounted for 2,846 cases, making up 65.8%. Direct transactions with overseas businesses recorded 1,288 cases, accounting for 29.7%.

The most common damage issues were consultations related to cancellation, refund, and exchange delays or refusals, totaling 1,591 cases (36.8%). This was followed by complaints related to delivery issues such as damage during delivery or delayed delivery with 743 cases (17.2%), product defects or customer service (A/S) complaints with 698 cases (16.1%), and complaints about penalties or fees with 565 cases (13.0%).

The product category with the highest number of consultations was clothing and footwear with 1,263 cases (30.3%), followed by airline tickets with 722 cases (17.3%), information and communication (IT) and home appliances with 408 cases (9.8%), personal items with 357 cases (8.6%), and hobby items with 344 cases (8.3%).

To ensure safe international commerce, the province recommended ▲ caution against businesses luring consumers with heavily discounted prices through social networking service (SNS) advertisements ▲ verifying business information before transactions ▲ carefully checking the transaction conditions set by the business during transactions ▲ and promptly raising objections with the seller and the card company used for payment if problems arise after the transaction.

A provincial official stated, "In the case of online international transactions, domestic laws such as the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce may not apply, or safety measures for transactions are insufficient, making it difficult to verify the identity of businesses. Therefore, consumers need to exercise special caution when transacting." He added, "We will expand tailored consumer information promotions in Gyeonggi-do jointly with the Korea Consumer Agency to prevent international transaction consumer damages in advance and strengthen cooperation for dispute resolution."

Meanwhile, consumer information related to international transactions can be found on the International Transaction Consumer Portal operated by the Korea Consumer Agency. It provides services such as checking suspicious scam sites, English examples usable in various transaction situations, and allows consumers to apply for consultations in case of international transaction consumer damages.