From now on, when individuals conduct a transaction with each other through platforms such as secondhand marketplaces, sellers only need to enter a phone number and email address on the platform. Considering that they previously had to provide not only a phone number and email address but also a name, date of birth, and address, the information required to be entered has been reduced.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on the 14th that a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, etc., centered on these measures, passed the Cabinet meeting. The revision takes effect on the 21st.
Under the revision, the scope of identity information that platforms brokering mail-order sales must verify for individual sellers has been reduced. Currently, five items (name, date of birth, address, phone number, and email address) must be verified, but starting on the 21st, only a phone number and email address need to be verified. The aim is to prevent excessive collection and leakage of personal information.
Also, among overseas businesses without a place of business in Korea, if any of the following apply — ▲ sales of 1 trillion won or more in the previous year ▲ a monthly average of 1 million or more domestic consumers accessing the online mall during the three months immediately before the end of the previous year ▲ receipt of a request from the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to report and submit materials or goods due to a legal violation — they must designate a domestic agent. Once a domestic agent is designated, information on the domestic agent must be submitted in writing to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) without delay and disclosed on the first screen of the online mall.
When a business posts consumer reviews, it must disclose on the first screen information on ▲ the scope of those authorized to write reviews ▲ the posting period ▲ the criteria for rating and the effects by rating ▲ the deletion criteria and the procedure to object when a review is deleted.
As the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) revised the enforcement decree, it also revised the notice on penalty surcharges, under which businesses that violate the Electronic Commerce Act twice will face a 50% increase in the penalty surcharge. If violations accumulate to five times, the penalty surcharge will be increased by 100%. When a business voluntarily corrects a legal violation, the reduction rate for the penalty surcharge has been cut from within 30% to within 10%.