One in five consumer redress requests arising from online shopping failed to reach a settlement with the seller and moved on to dispute mediation. As the e-commerce market expands rapidly, critics say South Korea needs a dispute resolution framework and consumer safeguards that reflect how online commerce actually works.
A total of 1,952 consumer redress requests involving major e-commerce operators including Coupang, NAVER, 11st and Gmarket were filed through August this year, according to data submitted by the Korea Consumer Agency to the office of Rep. Park Hong-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's National Policy Committee, on the 19th. Of those, 377 cases, or about 20% of the total, advanced to mediation requests after consumers and companies failed to reach a settlement.
The share of mediation requests has risen steadily, from 9.5% in 2022 to 14.7% in 2023 and 28.7% in 2024. The 2024 jump came as redress requests surged following the large-scale unpaid settlement crisis at TMON and WeMakePrice. Last year the share eased to 25.5% from 2024 but was still 2.7 times the 2022 level.
By grounds for filing, problems with the quality of goods and services were the most common this year at 475 cases, followed by breach of contract at 425 and withdrawal of purchase at 315.
The rise in disputes that end without a settlement is attributed to the complexity of online transactions and the growing variety of goods and services on offer. Because shoppers buy online without inspecting products in person, disagreements over quality are more likely to arise. With more parties involved in a single transaction, including sellers and platforms, assigning responsibility when something goes wrong is also difficult.
"We need to overhaul consumer protection guidelines in a way that matches the growth of the e-commerce market," Park said. "In particular, a dispute resolution framework and institutional safeguards reflecting the nature of e-commerce, where consumers and businesses never meet face to face, must be put in place."