On October 6, 2026, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (the “KFTC”) issued the Guidelines on Operating Online Interfaces to Prevent Dark Patterns (the “Guidelines”) to help businesses comply with the dark pattern regulations under the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce (the “E-Commerce Act”).
The Guidelines consolidate the Self-Regulatory Guidelines on Online Dark Patterns issued by the KFTC on July 31, 2023 and the Q&A on the Regulation of Six Types of Online Dark Patterns announced on February 13, 2025, reflect the KFTC’s enforcement experience to date, and systematically classify dark patterns into four categories and 13 types.
The Guidelines apply to all businesses engaged in electronic commerce or mail-order sales through cybermalls or online interfaces. In particular, the Guidelines provide detailed guidance on the design of cybermalls and online interfaces, including price displays, consent procedures, and cancellation paths.
Although the Guidelines are not legally binding in and of themselves, they are expected to serve as an important standard when the KFTC assesses whether a dark pattern violates the E-Commerce Act. For reference, the sanctions currently available under the E-Commerce Act for dark patterns are as follows:
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Type of Sanction
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Covered Conduct
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E-Commerce Act Provision
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Corrective Order
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All violations relating to dark patterns
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Article 32(1)
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Business Suspension (up to one year) or an Administrative Fine in Lieu Thereof
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Failure to comply with a corrective order, or where a corrective order alone is insufficient to prevent consumer harm
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Article 32(4) and Article 34(1)
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Administrative Penalty of up to KRW 10 Million
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Hidden renewal, drip pricing, pre-selection of specific options, etc.
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Article 45 (4)
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Administrative Penalty of up to KRW 20 Million
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Prohibited conduct under Article 21(1)(i) through (v), such as false discounts
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Article 45(3)
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The KFTC has shown strong interest in regulating dark patterns as part of its efforts to enhance consumer protection. Moreover, in preparing the Guidelines, the KFTC reportedly held a public comment period for business associations and hosted a meeting with businesses, in an effort to improve the practical feasibility of compliance.
In light of the above, the KFTC is expected to actively enforce the law against dark patterns following the issuance of the Guidelines. Accordingly, businesses engaged in electronic commerce or mail-order sales are advised to review the overall design and operation of their cybermalls and online interfaces.
Through the Guidelines, the KFTC classifies dark patterns into four categories, namely fraudulent, misleading, obstructive, and coercive types, based on how they operate and the type of consumer harm they cause, and sets out for each type (i) the concept and the resulting consumer harm, (ii) key compliance requirements, (iii) detailed points of attention, and (iv) specific examples.
The key elements of the Guidelines are set out below. For further details, please refer to the Guidelines in Korean (Link).
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1.
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Key Elements of the Guidelines
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(1)
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Fraudulent
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Type
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Compliance Points for Businesses
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Hidden Renewal
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Where a service provided free of charge or at a discount converts to a paid service or its price increases, businesses must provide accurate and easy-to-understand information to consumers and obtain express consent in advance (within 30 days before the date of conversion or increase) regarding the conversion or increase and the fact that payment will be made automatically. Systems must be designed so that no recurring payment is made without the consumer’s consent.
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When seeking consent, ambiguous wording that is unclear as an expression of consent, such as “Yes, I have checked,” is inappropriate.
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Separately from obtaining consent, businesses must notify consumers of the conditions, methods, and effects of cancelling or terminating the conversion or increase (including the fact that the contract will be terminated absent consent, and that consumers may change their minds and terminate the contract even after giving consent).
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Drip Pricing
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The first screen within a cybermall on which consumers encounter price information for goods (including banners) must display all costs that an ordinary consumer must necessarily pay to achieve the purpose of the purchase or use contract (e.g., taxes, resort fees, and delivery fees).
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Where the total price varies depending on consumers’ choices and conditions, the total price not being displayed on the first screen is acceptable; however, in such case, the first screen must disclose the items excluded from the total price and the reasons for their exclusion.
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Type
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Compliance Points for Businesses
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Pre-selection of
Specific Options
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When providing consumers with options relating to a purchase or subscription, businesses must design the interface so that consumers make the selection themselves without any option being pre-selected (excluding pre-selection for personal data processing or for mere convenience).
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Displaying a particular option in a manner that goes beyond visual emphasis to the extent that consumers perceive it as the only available option is inappropriate, as it may constitute a “false hierarchy.”
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For goods or services with multiple options, it is desirable to sell them through separate product pages where possible.
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False Hierarchy
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When designing screens for options relating to a purchase, subscription, or contract, or to a cancellation, withdrawal, or termination, it is desirable to display each option so that it is perceived clearly and neutrally.
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Displaying particular options with low saturation or brightness so that they appear faint, or with small font sizes or selection boxes, is inappropriate.
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False Discounts
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Businesses must not inflate the reference price to make a price appear discounted when there is in fact no discount, or understate the current selling price to make the discount rate appear higher than it is; instead, they must accurately present information such as the reference price, the selling price, and the discount rate to consumers.
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It is desirable to display the reference price based on a price at which the product has actually been sold, and to provide a detailed explanation of the reference price (e.g., the previous transaction price or the price at official retailers).
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False Endorsements
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Businesses must not delete unfavorable reviews or place them where consumers will have difficulty finding them, or post false favorable reviews.
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Where such conduct is carried out by engaging an advertising agency or similar party, both the engaging business and the advertising agency are liable for the violation.
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Bait-and-Switch
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Luring consumers by falsely displaying or advertising so-called bait products that are not actually for sale as if they were available is not permitted.
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To prepare for momentary stock-outs, businesses need to update inventory status on the cybermall periodically so that consumers receive accurate inventory and stock-out information.
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Disguised Advertising
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Where a business produces content (e.g., research results) either directly or by commissioning another party with which it has an economic interest, it must clearly indicate that the content is an “advertisement” in a location that consumers can easily find and in a form they can easily recognize.
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Trick Questions
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When soliciting offers or providing choices to consumers, businesses must design questions and screens so that each question has a single, clear meaning:
(i) Screens must clarify exactly what the consumer is consenting to or selecting.
(ii) Easy-to-understand sentences should be used, and double negatives must be avoided.
(iii) If there are multiple items to choose, separate questions and selection interfaces must be built so consumers know exactly which item they are consenting to.
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Type
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Compliance Points for Businesses
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Obstruction of Cancellation, Withdrawal, etc.
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Businesses must allow consumers to cancel and withdraw through the same method by which they made the purchase or signed up.
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It is desirable to use intuitive wording for cancellation and withdrawal buttons. Placing such buttons in locations that are difficult to anticipate, requiring more clicks to cancel or withdraw than to purchase or sign up, or forcing consumers to complete a survey in order to cancel or withdraw is inappropriate.
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Hidden Information
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Businesses must accurately display material information that may affect consumers’ purchasing decisions, such as the price, quantity, fees, delivery charges, method and timing of supply of goods, and any conditions or restrictions on discounts or key benefits shown in advertisements.
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Trick Questions
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Businesses must ensure that consumers are provided with accurate price comparison information, as follows:
(i) Comparison information must be based on prices that apply equally to all consumers using the price comparison information, without separate conditions (such as holding a particular credit card); and
(ii) It is desirable to display prices based on the total amount necessary to purchase or use the goods, and to separately display delivery fees by region or product in an easy-to-understand manner.
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Type
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Compliance Points for Businesses
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Nagging
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Re-confirming whether consumers wish to change a choice or decision they have already made (not limited to choices relating to a purchase, subscription, or contract), or repeatedly presenting an option that consumers initially declined, is inappropriate.
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It is desirable for pop-ups and the like that seek to reverse consumers’ choices or decisions to include an option allowing consumers not to receive such requests for a certain period (at least seven days).
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For reference, selecting “Close” or “Remind me later” is in principle not regarded as a choice or decision by the consumer; however, caution is required because, where no express option to decline was provided in addition to the consent option, selecting “Close” or “Remind me later” may be regarded as an effective refusal.
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※ The previous Self-Regulatory Guidelines on Online Dark Patterns classified dark patterns into four categories and 19 types; six of those types have been removed, namely the fraudulent type (sneaking items into the basket), the obstructive type (inducing click fatigue), and the coercive types (emotional language, time-limited alerts, low-stock alerts, and alerts on other consumers’ activity).
[Korean Version]
