Last year, the number of dispute mediation cases filed with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (Commission) surpassed 4,000, marking the highest ever recorded. In particular, the number of dispute mediation cases related to online platforms, such as Naver and Coupang, increased by about 45% compared to the previous year.
According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (Commission) on the 23rd, the number of dispute mediation cases filed with the Commission last year was 4,041. This represents an increase of 42% compared to 2,846 cases in 2022 and an increase of 16% compared to 3,481 cases in 2023.
Looking at the number of cases filed by sector, the fair trade sector had the highest number at 1,795 cases, followed by the subcontracting sector (1,105 cases), the franchise transaction sector (584 cases), and the terms and conditions sector (457 cases). The number of cases filed in the fair trade, terms and conditions, and subcontracting sectors has seen a significant increase compared to the previous year.
Last year, the number of dispute mediation cases filed in the fair trade sector was 1,795, an increase of 31% (423 cases) compared to the previous year (1,372 cases). In particular, the number of cases filed in the online platform sector rose from 229 cases to 333 cases, marking a 45% increase.
The Commission explained, "A typical type of dispute arises when online platform operators unilaterally suspend the selling account of the vendor or withhold detailed settlement information while deducting a portion of the settlement amount."
The terms and conditions sector saw 457 cases, a 35% increase compared to the previous year (339 cases). It was revealed that the number of mediation requests related to clauses concerning excessive compensation amounts due to early contract termination after entering into online advertising agency contracts and rental contracts increased.
In the franchise transaction sector, actions related to excessive penalty fee claims due to early contract termination were the most frequently reported. Of the total 584 cases, 143 cases (24%) were related to this issue.
The subcontracting sector recorded 1,105 cases, representing a 6% increase compared to the previous year (1,044 cases). Among these, the construction subcontracting sector accounted for 660 cases, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and a 34% increase compared to two years ago. The Commission reports that the number of dispute mediation cases has significantly increased due to the recent downturn in the construction market.
The total number of cases processed in 2024 is 3,840, a 22% increase compared to the previous year (3,151 cases). Of these, 1,450 cases resulted in mediation, which is a 13% increase from the prior year (1,278 cases).
However, the mediation success rate last year was 76%, which is lower than the rates of 78% in 2022 and 79% in 2023. The Commission noted, "There are various reasons for this, but it is believed that the poor economy has left original operators without the means to accept mediation," adding that it would work to enhance mediation capabilities to improve the success rate.
The Commission expects that disputes will continue to rise in the future. It stated, "This year, as the construction market worsens and the digital economy accelerates, disputes will continue to increase in various sectors such as online platforms and construction subcontracting, and the types of unfair trading practices will become even more complex and diverse."
It continued, "Based on accumulated professional mediation capabilities, we plan to expand face-to-face mediation and actively propose mediation plans to provide a more proactive dispute mediation service to effectively address the damage from unfair trading practices faced by small and medium-sized businesses."