Republic of Korea: Partial Amendment to the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce (Act No. 21312) including local operations requirement enters into force

On 20 January 2027, the local operations requirement from the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce (Law No. 21312) enter into force, 1 year after promulgation on 20 January 2026. The Act applies to overseas mail-order businesses and online marketplace intermediaries without a domestic address or place of business in Korea that meet revenue or consumer scale thresholds prescribed by Presidential Decree. Under Article 20-5, such operators are required to designate a domestic representative holding a domestic address or place of business. Where the operator has established or exercises dominant influence over a domestic legal entity, the domestic representative must be designated from among such entities. The domestic representative's name, address, telephone number, and email address must be submitted to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) and published on the operator's website. Acts of the domestic representative are deemed to be acts of the overseas operator under Article 20-5(4). The KFTC may request information on revenue and consumer scale to verify whether an operator meets the designation threshold under Article 20-5(6). Failure to comply with the designation and disclosure obligations under Article 20-5 attracts administrative fines of up to KRW 20 million under Article 45(3).