Alphabiz - Online Platform Disputes Surge as E-Commerce Expands

[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Seoul, October 12 — Disputes between sellers and consumers on major online platforms such as Naver, Coupang, Kakao, and Baemin (Baedal Minjok) have sharply increased amid South Korea’s accelerating shift toward digital commerce.


According to data submitted by Rep. Lee Kang-il of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Policy Committee, the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) received 57,177 consumer dispute cases in 2023, marking a 19% increase from the previous year.


Of these, 6,147 cases (10.8%) were linked to 18 major online platforms, up 4 percentage points from 2020 — highlighting the growing proportion of online-related consumer issues.


Among individual platforms, Naver saw dispute cases rise from 598 in 2020 to 1,114 in 2023, an 86.3% increase, while Coupang’s cases surged from 364 to 839, a 130.5% jump over the same period.


Experts note that as online transactions become increasingly central to consumer life, dispute resolution mechanisms must evolve to match the scale and complexity of platform-based commerce. Calls are growing for stronger accountability standards and clearer dispute mediation procedures between online marketplaces, vendors, and consumers.

Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)