Koreans Deeply Hooked on Chinese Products: "They Keep Buying Because They're Cheap"

Last year, the volume of direct purchases from China to South Korea through e-commerce increased by 70%. The number of consumer complaints tripled.

View of Incheon Customs Express Logistics Center, Jung-gu, Incheon. / Photo by Gonghang Photojournalists Group

According to the Korea Customs Service on the 17th, the number of e-commerce items from China last year was 88.815 million, a 70.3% increase compared to the previous year (52.154 million). Compared to the total cleared e-commerce items of 131.443 million, which increased by 36.7%, the scale of direct purchases from China grew more sharply than the overall increase in overseas direct purchases.

The volume of direct purchases from China has continuously increased from 27.483 million in 2020 to 43.954 million in 2021, and 52.154 million in 2022. The share of China in total direct purchases has steadily grown from 43% in 2020, 50% in 2021, to 54% in 2022. Last year, the share reached 68%.

In terms of value, the amount of direct purchases from China last year was $2.359 billion (3.1 trillion KRW), a 58.5% increase from the previous year ($1.488 billion). During the same period, the total overseas direct purchase amount increased from $4.725 billion to $5.278 billion, an 11.7% rise, which is a smaller increase compared to China-origin purchases.

The share of China in total overseas direct purchases also grew from 31% to 45%, making China the top country for direct purchases last year, surpassing the United States ($1.453 billion). This sharp growth in Chinese direct purchases is attributed to Chinese online platforms such as AliExpress and Temu targeting the domestic market with ultra-low-priced products.

On the other hand, there is a shortage of related personnel. Last year, Pyeongtaek Customs processed 39.752 million e-commerce clearance cases. Based on 310 working days, this averages 128,000 cases per day. However, only 34 customs officers are responsible for express clearance. This means each officer must handle an average of 3,800 cases per day.

The shortage of personnel has led to consumer damages. According to data received by Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, from the Korea Consumer Agency, the number of consumer complaints related to AliExpress last year was 673, three times more than the previous year (228). This year, 35 consumer complaints related to AliExpress have been filed as of last month.