Costco's policy, which allowed online membership but required in-store cancellation for its paid membership program, has been changed following an investigation by the Fair Trade Commission.
On the 24th, the Fair Trade Commission stated that it had issued a corrective measure (warning) for Costco Korea's violation of electronic commerce laws.
According to the Fair Trade Commission, Costco Korea offers individual memberships such as 'Gold Star' and 'Executive Gold Star' and business memberships like 'Business' and 'Executive Business.' Among these, the 'Executive' membership includes benefits that allow members to earn a portion of their purchases (2% of the purchase amount excluding value-added tax and discount coupon amounts, with a maximum of 1 million won annually).
Until now, it was possible to join the executive grade membership online, but cancellation could only be done by visiting the store in person. The Fair Trade Commission warned Costco to rectify this, citing the obligation to provide 'online completion service' that requiring cancellations to also be processed in the same way when electronic documents permit membership.
Through this measure, Costco improved its system so that executive members could cancel their membership electronically without visiting the store starting January 27.
The Fair Trade Commission expressed hope that 'this measure will alleviate inconveniences for Costco consumers and enhance consumer awareness of online completion services.'