Gov't to tighten certification rules on foreign e-commerce purchases

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Gov't to tighten certification rules on foreign e-commerce purchases

A person parks her bicycle in front of Alibaba's offices in Beijing, China. [AP/YONHAP]

A person parks her bicycle in front of Alibaba's offices in Beijing, China. [AP/YONHAP]

 
The Korean government will impose stricter certification requirements on certain goods directly purchased overseas to safeguard domestic consumers and retailers.
 
Child merchandise and electronic devices, such as water-heated mattresses, must obtain the Korea Certification (KC) mark if the products are purchased from foreign e-commerce providers like Amazon, AliExpress and Temu. The KC is a compulsory safety mark in Korea, which applies to a range of imported products sold in the Korean market.  
 
The move comes as Chinese e-commerce operators have rapidly increased their presence in Korea’s e-commerce market, raising concerns about the lack of safety regulations to oversee products imported from overseas and stalled growth for local platforms.  
 
Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Han Ki-jeong, center, poses with AliExpress Korea CEO Ray Zhang, right, and WhaleCo Korea CEO Qin Sun, after signing a voluntary safety agreement in Seoul. [YONHAP]

Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Han Ki-jeong, center, poses with AliExpress Korea CEO Ray Zhang, right, and WhaleCo Korea CEO Qin Sun, after signing a voluntary safety agreement in Seoul. [YONHAP]

 
The Office for Government Policy Coordination and related agencies announced Thursday that items closely linked to consumers' health and safety, such as electrical and household appliances and children's products, will be required to obtain the KC mark. Without this certification, these items will be prohibited from entering the Korean market.
 
The items also include strollers, frames for children’s glasses and sunglasses, electric chargers and lithium secondary batteries.
 
The government is also reviewing whether to overhaul the tax exemption system to eliminate discrimination against domestic operators.  
 
Currently, Korean consumers receive duty-free benefits if the price of an item purchased directly from overseas is either equal to, or below, $150.
 
Korean retailers have voiced their concerns, saying the current system produces discrimination against domestic e-commerce players, as the price of parallel items purchased from Chinese websites is at least 20 to 30 percent cheaper.  
 
The government will also strengthen the crackdown on foreign websites to prevent cases of exploiting the tax exemption system’s loopholes.
 
Logo of Temu [JOONGANG ILBO]

Logo of Temu [JOONGANG ILBO]

 
Koreans' spending on overseas direct purchases jumped 27 percent to 6.8 trillion won ($4.9 billion) in 2023 from the previous year, powered by a significant increase in the use of Chinese websites, according to the prime minister’s office.
 
Coupang ranked first in the domestic e-commerce market for the number of app users, followed by 11st and Gmarket as of February 2023. But the rankings have swiftly changed, with AliExpress and Temu securing second and third places, respectively, in March 2024.
 
By the end of this year, the government will strengthen monitoring of hazardous products being distributed and sold on websites and push e-commerce operators to set up domestic agents to address consumer complaints.

BY CHOI HAE-JIN [choi.haejin@joongang.co.kr]
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