Republic of Korea: Issued FTC ruling against Kakao (Melon) regarding their violations of the Electronic Commerce Act

On 21 January 2024, the Korean government published the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruling against Kakao Co. Ltd. (Kakao)s' music provider Melon regarding their actions in violation of the Electronic Commerce Act, as they misled consumers and prevented them from exercising their contractual rights. The FTC imposed a fine of KRW 98 million on Kakao, a South Korean online music service provider, for not adequately notifying consumers about their options for cancelling subscription-type music listening tickets. In particular, Kakao offers music service vouchers with period payment and expiration types, and consumers have the choice of early termination or general termination when cancelling their contracts. However, Kakao did not differentiate between these options during the cancellation process and treated all cancellations as general terminations, failing to inform consumers about the possibility of early termination.