Following the amendment to the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, etc. (the “E-Commerce Act”) promulgated on January 20, 2026, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) has announced draft sub-regulations that would clarify aspects such as thresholds for designating a domestic agent for overseas businesses; disclosure requirements for consumer reviews; and increased penalties for repeat offenders.
Specifically, the KFTC has released for public comment (i) draft amendments to the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the E-Commerce Act (announced March 11, 2026, open for public comment until April 20, 2026); and (ii) a draft amendment to the Standards for Imposition of Administrative Fines against E-Commerce Act Violators (the “Fine Notice”), which was made as part of the agency’s plan for Administrative Fines System Reform announced on December 30, 2025 (open for public comment until March 31, 2026).
The key points of the draft amendments are summarized below.
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1.
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Thresholds Established for Designating Domestic Agents
The draft amendments establish specific thresholds that would impose a domestic agent requirement on overseas business operators that do not have an address or place of business in Korea. A domestic agent designation is mandatory if any one of the following conditions is met:
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Annual sales in the previous year of KRW 1 trillion or more; or
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A monthly average of 1,000,000 or more Korean domestic consumers accessing the online store during the three months immediately preceding the end of the previous year; or
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If the business operator has received a request from the KFTC to submit reports, materials, or goods.
Upon designation, business operators must promptly report the domestic agent’s details to the KFTC (name, address, telephone number, and email address) and disclose those details on the first page of their online storefront, such as its online marketplace homepage.
Under the current draft, failure to comply with a corrective order issued for a violation may result in the suspension of all or part of business operations. For practical reasons involving overseas business operators, however, such suspensions could be replaced by administrative fines, as the E-Commerce Act allows for the imposition of fines in lieu of business suspension.
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2.
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Enhanced Disclosure of Consumer Reviews
To improve transparency, business operators must clearly disclose the following information on the first page where consumer reviews are viewed:
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Who is authorized to post reviews and the retention period for posts;
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Criteria used for rating or grading and the effects associated with each grade; and
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Criteria for deleting reviews and the procedure for filing an objection in the event of a deletion.
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3.
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Narrower Identity Verification Requirements for Individual Resellers
The amendment reduces the identity information that online consumer‑to‑consumer (C2C) marketplace operators must verify for individual sellers as follows:
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Previous
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Amended
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Name, date of birth, address, telephone number, email address
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Telephone number, email address
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* Note: If the online marketplace operator already holds identity information verified through an identity‑verification agency under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, it need only verify the seller’s telephone number.
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4.
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Tougher Sanctions for Repeated Violations and Reduced Mitigation for Voluntary Correction
To maximize the economic and behavioral deterrent effects of the law and effectively curb repeat violations, the KFTC proposes raising penalty levels while narrowing the scope of mitigation:
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Increased penalties for repeat offenders: A single repeat violation may increase a fine amount up to 50%, with a 100% increase for a fourth repeat offense.
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Reduction in mitigation for voluntary corrective action: The maximum fine reduction for voluntary correction will be lowered from 30% to 10%.
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Most provisions are scheduled to take effect on July 21, 2026, while the domestic agent obligation will be granted a grace period and will take effect on February 21, 2027.
[Korean Version]
