Hongseon Jo, Vice Chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Meets with Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency Minister to Discuss Policy Issues

Vice Chairman Cho Hong-seon of the Korea Fair Trade Commission is meeting with Yutaka Arai, Minister of the Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan, at the Sejong Government Complex on the 16th.

Cho Hong-seon, Vice Chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, held a meeting with Yutaka Arai, Minister of the Japan Consumer Affairs Agency, at the Sejong Government Complex on the 16th to exchange views on the current status of consumer policies.

Vice Chairman Cho explained that this year, the Fair Trade Commission is focusing on creating an environment where consumer rights are guaranteed as a core task to build a "fair market economy that supports people's livelihoods and innovation," and is implementing various policies accordingly.

He mentioned that the consumer policies emphasized by the Fair Trade Commission are based on the transition to the digital economy and the increase in cross-border transactions, and explained measures to respond to online deceptive practices (dark patterns) and consumer protection measures in the gaming sector.

He introduced the experience of handling probability-type item cases by the Fair Trade Commission earlier this year, along with consumer protection measures in the gaming sector announced at two recent public livelihood forums. The Fair Trade Commission revised terms and conditions requiring game companies to establish and operate a dedicated window for refunding unused paid items for at least 30 days after the termination of game services, and is promoting the introduction of a consent decision system under the Electronic Commerce Act.

Minister Yutaka Arai expressed interest in the Fair Trade Commission's policy efforts and shared policies recently promoted by the Consumer Affairs Agency in response to the rapid transition to the digital economy and the increase in international transactions. Both authorities deeply agreed on the importance of close cooperation between consumer authorities, as recent consumer issues are occurring beyond borders.

Since 2004, the two countries, along with China, have held the Korea-Japan-China Consumer Policy Council, a director-level consultative body among the three countries' consumer authorities. The 10th meeting scheduled for the second half of this year will be held domestically.