Hwang Unha: "Stroller with Detected Lead Content Rejected for Recall... Serious Safety Issue"

Hwang Unha, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Hwang Unha, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out the high number of consumer damage relief cases related to infant products reported to the Korea Consumer Agency, emphasizing that not only the transaction parties but also intermediary platform operators should pay attention to the safety issues of infant ride-on products.

According to the "Status of Consumer Damage Relief Cases Related to Infant Products in the Last 5 Years" received by Hwang's office from the Consumer Agency on the 26th, a total of 556 damage relief cases related to infant products were reported from 2018 to August of this year. By product, there were 92 cases related to infant ride-on products such as strollers, 120 cases related to infant dietary utensils, and 344 cases related to infant clothing.

Looking at the number of cases by reason for claim, for ride-on products, quality-related claims were 34 cases, safety-related claims were 17 cases, and withdrawal of subscription was 9 cases in order of frequency. For dietary utensils, quality issues accounted for 41 cases, contract non-fulfillment 32 cases, and safety 17 cases. Notably, safety-related damage relief claims for infant ride-on products accounted for a high proportion of 18.48%.

There were also cases where retailers refused refund requests for recalled products. Consumer A purchased a stroller and, one month later, confirmed that the safety bar of the stroller exceeded the lead content standard, leading to a recall announcement. The consumer requested an exchange or refund from the respondent company, but the company refused, prompting the consumer to apply for damage relief through the Consumer Agency.

Additionally, among the companies reported as respondents related to infant ride-on products, platform companies such as Naver and Coupang ranked high. It is pointed out that even if they are not the actual transaction parties, these sites are mainly used by consumers and cannot escape responsibility for safety accidents, including recall incidents.

Assemblyman Hwang stated, "If cases where consumers did not apply for damage relief to the Consumer Agency are also considered, the scale of damage would be even larger," and emphasized, "Since infant ride-on products are directly related to children's safety, intermediary platform operators must also be more cautious in product distribution."