The number of consumer dispute mediation cases dismissed after buyers failed to reach a settlement with businesses has climbed to its highest level in five years. Yet the Korea Consumer Agency, which handles the mediation process, does not classify or track why those claims were rejected.
Data submitted by the Korea Consumer Agency to Rep. Han Chang-min of the Social Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's National Policy Committee, showed 7,171 consumer dispute mediation cases were processed as of September this year. Of those, 4,858 went before the Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission, and 1,183 were dismissed after the commission declined to accept the consumer's claim. That is the highest figure in five years.
Consumer dispute mediation applies when a consumer and a business fail to settle a dispute even after going through the Korea Consumer Agency's damage relief procedure. The Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission reviews the arguments and documents filed by both sides before issuing a decision, and may dismiss the application if it finds the consumer's claim of damage unsubstantiated.
Dismissals rose from 854 in 2022 to 938 in 2023 and 1,148 in 2024. The figure slipped to 1,021 last year but has already exceeded that annual total this year, reaching 1,183 as of September. The dismissal rate also rose to 24.4% as of September, up 1.6 percentage points from 22.8% in 2022.
Among the 5,144 cases dismissed over the past five years, medical services accounted for the largest share at 505 cases, or 9.8%. Culture and entertainment services followed with 496 cases (9.6%), transport, storage and management services with 423 (8.2%), information and telecommunications services with 372 (7.2%), and information and telecommunications devices with 351 (6.8%).
When Han's office sorted the cases by type of complaint based on case titles, disputes over product and service defects, quality and after-sales service were the most common at 1,181 cases, or 23%. Next were demands for contract cancellation, withdrawal of an offer (cooling-off), or refunds at 1,146 cases (22.3%), damage from medical treatment or procedures at 505 cases (9.8%), and compensation claims over accidents, losses or damage at 500 cases (9.7%).
Although dismissals are concentrated in certain product categories and complaint types, the Korea Consumer Agency does not systematically classify or manage the grounds for rejection. That makes it difficult to determine statistically how many applications were dismissed for specific reasons, such as insufficient supporting evidence.
Critics say the agency should track and analyze the reasons for dismissal and disclose them, making outcomes more predictable for consumers seeking redress and strengthening the mediation system. Without systematic analysis, they warn, similar applications will be filed repeatedly, generating unnecessary social costs.
"The causes should be analyzed around the product categories and application types where dismissals recur, and the current consumer dispute resolution standards and evidentiary procedures should be reviewed for gaps," Han said. "The grounds for dismissal should be systematically classified, managed and disclosed, and the findings reflected in reforms."
A Korea Consumer Agency official said each mediation case has individual characteristics and that the reasons are complex and highly varied, making it difficult within the agency's systems to classify and manage them by type.