Research project on platform-related consumer protection to run through October
Attention on whether the contents of the Electronic Commerce Act amendment scrapped five years ago will be included
The Korea Fair Trade Commission has begun drawing up plans to improve the consumer protection framework in line with the growing clout of major online platforms such as Naver and Coupang. The intention is to prevent consumer harm, as regulation has remained stuck in the past even though platforms that once stayed in a mere intermediary role are now expanding into direct sales. Attention is focusing on whether measures such as strengthening the principle of joint liability for platforms, which triggered fierce backlash from the IT industry five years ago, will be included.
According to government sources on the 19th, the Fair Trade Commission recently commissioned a research project titled "Study on Improving the Consumer Protection System for Online Intermediary Service Providers under the Electronic Commerce Act." The research will run for six months, from April to October this year. Based on the findings, the commission plans to draw up amendments to the Act, its Enforcement Decree, and its Enforcement Rules. It also intends to carry out a preemptive process of gathering opinions through academic seminars and stakeholder meetings.
Intermediary service providers hiding behind disclaimer clauses... Platforms breaking down boundaries
The Fair Trade Commission is moving to strengthen consumer protection related to platforms because the law is trapped in an outdated framework that fails to reflect reality, while consumer damage continues to occur. The 2021 Merzipoint refund suspension incident and the 2024 Timef (Tmon+Wemakeprice) incident are representative examples. Under the current Electronic Commerce Act, an online intermediary service provider can largely evade responsibility for consumer harm such as payment and refund obligations, on the grounds that it is not a contracting party, as long as it notifies users that it is "not the seller." An "online intermediary service provider" is a business operator that provides the platform and is distinguished from an "online seller," which directly sells products.
In addition, the fact that major platforms have recently gone beyond simple intermediation to simultaneously engage in payment, delivery, and even direct-purchase sales, thereby breaking down the boundaries between the two domains (online sellers and online intermediary service providers), has become a catalyst for institutional reform. In the case of Coupang, it not only sells its own private-brand products, but also provides payment collection and settlement services through Coupang Pay and handles its own delivery through its subsidiary Coupang Logistics Service (CLS). Naver provides payment and settlement services through Naver Financial.
The Fair Trade Commission unsheathes its sword again after five years... Will joint liability be strengthened?
This is not the first time the Fair Trade Commission has reviewed the system related to online intermediary service providers. In 2021, it pushed to amend the Electronic Commerce Act to require platforms that mix intermediary transactions and direct-purchase sales to clearly separate and indicate each product in order to prevent consumer confusion, and to impose joint liability with sellers when consumer harm occurs in connection with work performed by the platform (such as payment collection, settlement, and delivery). The proposal also included allowing consumers to claim damages directly not only from sellers operating on the platform but also from the platform itself. At the time, there was fierce backlash from the IT industry, which denounced the move as "excessive regulation," and the amendment ultimately failed to pass the National Assembly.
The Fair Trade Commission’s move to overhaul the system again, in effect for the first time in five years, aligns with consumers’ increasingly strict perceptions of platforms. According to the Korea Consumer Agency’s "2025 Korea Consumer Life Index," 86.3% of consumers believe that platforms should also be held responsible in the event of a dispute. A total of 85.8% perceive platforms as actual contracting parties. This shows that, while the legal framework remains stuck in the past, consumers are already demanding that platforms bear substantial responsibility.
Through this study, the Fair Trade Commission plans to conduct a full-scale survey of the domestic and overseas markets for online intermediary service providers and to review problems in the current legal framework by analyzing global legislative trends, including the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The commission intends to clearly define new consumer protection obligations and the scope of joint liability that correspond to the expanded role of platforms. A Fair Trade Commission official said, "As the scope of platforms' work has expanded, the market is calling for their responsibilities to be strengthened as well," adding, "We will prepare effective institutional reforms to prevent recurring cases of consumer harm."
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