On September 2, 2025, the Consumer Policy Committee (“CPC”) held its 15th meeting and released a press statement summarizing the outcome (link for the statement in Korean, Link). The CPC is a presidential advisory body under the Prime Minister, established pursuant to Article 23 of the Framework Act on Consumers. It is responsible for establishing, coordinating, deliberating, and resolving core consumer-related policies. Co-chaired by the Prime Minister and a private sector chairperson and composed of ministers from eight related ministries, the CPC serves as the control tower for government-wide consumer policies. Most agenda items discussed at the CPC have already undergone prior coordination among related ministries, making their implementation highly likely.
In particular, agenda items under the jurisdiction of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) discussed at the CPC are closely linked to the KFTC’s key initiatives, making subsequent legislation and policy enforcement very likely. The key KFTC-related policies discussed at the CPC meeting are as follows.
|
1. |
Strengthening Regulation of Unfair and Deceptive Practices |
-
Strict Response to Unfair Practices such as Cartels
|
– |
Monitoring and taking firm action against unfair practices that lead to price increases, including cartels, resale price maintenance, and shrinkflation. |
-
Strengthening Surveillance of Deceptive Consumer Practices
|
– |
Enhancing the monitoring system for deceptive consumer practices such as fake reviews and deceptive advertisements (including greenwashing). This stance was also confirmed in the written responses of the new KFTC chairman nominee for the confirmation hearing. |
|
2. |
Consumer Protection Measures in the E-commerce Sector |
-
Strengthening the Consumer Protection System for Online Platforms
|
– |
Addressing regulatory blind spots in the rapidly growing section of peer-to-peer (“C2C”) transactions such as secondhand trading, and promoting improvements to the E-Commerce Act, including easing the conditions for issuing temporary suspension orders (Article 32-2 of the Act). |
-
Strict Law Enforcement Against Consumer Rights Violations
|
– |
Enhancing monitoring and announcing targeted inspections on common consumer harm practices in e-commerce, such as (i) deceptive online tactics targeting digital consumers (dark patterns), (ii) deceptive and false advertising, and (iii) unfair platform terms and conditions. |
-
Establishing Consumer Transaction Order Through Voluntary Industry Participation
|
– |
Encouraging voluntary industry participation through the revision of various self-regulatory codes and standard contract terms (in particular, by specifying prohibited and mandatory provisions related to dark patterns and by introducing voluntary guidelines featuring examples of desirable online interfaces). |
-
Strengthening Consumer Remedy Measures
|
– |
Introducing mandatory designation of domestic representatives for overseas business operators under the E-Commerce Act. |
|
– |
Implementing a consent decree system for speedy relief of consumer damages caused by E-Commerce Act violations. |
The agenda items discussed at the CPC meeting demonstrate the government’s strong commitment to protecting consumer rights. In particular, the policies overseen by the KFTC indicate proactive responses and institutional improvements targeting consumer protection issues in the e-commerce sector, such as dark patterns and deceptive advertising. Relevant business operators are advised to proactively review their consumer protection measures in light of these new policy directions. Additionally, attention should also be paid to agenda items overseen by other related ministries beyond the KFTC that were discussed at the CPC meeting.
