Republic of Korea: Issued ruling in Korean Fair Trade Commission investigation into live e-commerce platform providers regarding general terms and conditions

On 6 October 2023, the Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) issued a ruling following an investigation into unfair contract clauses in the general terms and conditions of live e-commerce platform providers Coupang, Naver, Kakao and Grip Company. The FTC issued a correction order of the general terms and conditions. The FTC stated that the clauses unilaterally burdened sellers with all responsibility, regardless of cause, charged sellers with copyright infringement and implemented vague reasons for disadvantages and changes related to the use of content. In addition, the live e-commerce providers' terms contained unilateral contract termination clauses for vague reasons and restricted sellers' moral rights. The clauses also required sellers to defer to the decisions of platform operators in the event of disputes and imposed disproportionate obligations on sellers. The FTC stated that the platforms voluntarily changed their terms and conditions but will continue monitoring compliance with fair contract clauses.