E-Commerce Act Compliance: Who Qualifies and What You Get
Learn how online sellers in South Korea must manage returns and refunds under national consumer protection laws.
This is a set of legal requirements that online sellers must follow to ensure they are operating within the national framework for digital trade. It provides the necessary structure for how digital businesses interact with consumers regarding transactions and buyer protections.
Who it's for
This compliance framework applies to all online sellers. If you conduct business through digital platforms or your own website, you fall under these regulations. This includes individuals running small-scale dropshipping operations as well as larger digital storefronts.
What you get
By adhering to these regulations, you gain the benefit of a clear, legal framework for managing returns and refunds. Having a standardized way to handle these transactions helps you operate legally within the South Korean market and ensures that your business follows the consumer protection standards set by the Fair Trade Commission. This structure helps define the relationship between the seller and the buyer during the post-purchase phase.
What it costs you
Compliance requires a specific operational commitment regarding how you handle customer dissatisfaction or changes of mind. By law, you must offer a return policy that allows customers to return items within a 7-day window. You must ensure your logistics and customer service processes are set up to accommodate this specific timeframe for every transaction made through your store.
The catch to know
The most important thing to remember is that your own business rules do not take precedence over national law. You cannot write custom terms of service that attempt to override or limit the mandatory 7-day return rule. Even if your store's specific policy states a shorter window, the law requires you to honor the full 7-day period for returns.
How to apply
- Audit your current digital storefront to see if you currently have a return policy in place.
- Verify that your policy allows for the mandatory 7-day return window required by law.
- Update your terms of service to ensure they do not contain any clauses that attempt to bypass the 7-day rule.
- Set up your internal processes to handle refunds and returns within the legal timeframe.