1,393 Cases Recorded Over 6 Years
It has been confirmed that recent complaints from domestic consumers using China’s Alibaba shopping platform AliExpress have sharply increased.
According to the response data on “the status of consumer consultations related to AliExpress-related complaints and damage compensation” received by the office of Kang Min-guk, a member of the ruling People Power Party, from the Korea Consumer Agency, the total number of consumer consultations related to platform complaints over the six years from 2018 to 2023 amounted to 1,181 cases, with as many as 212 cases reported in January alone.
Furthermore, the number of cases filed for damages due to unfair practices by AliExpress-related businesses from 2018 to January 2024, amounted to a total of 69 cases.
Looking at the status of damage claims related to AliExpress by year, there were no cases reported from 2018 to 2021. However, there were 3 cases in 2022, 30 cases in 2023, and 36 cases in January 2024, indicating a recent surge. Particularly in January of this year, with 36 cases reported within a month, it is anticipated that damages to domestic consumers through the use of AliExpress will sharply increase in the future.
When classifying the records of damage claims related to AliExpress by type of damage, contract non-performance accounted for the highest number of cases at 26, representing 37.7 percent of the total. This was followed by 23 cases of subscription withdrawals, comprising 33.3 percent of the total, and 10 cases related to quality issues, making up 14.5 percent of the total.
Representative Kang Min-guk pointed out, “As an overseas platform operator, AliExpress operates under different languages, trading practices, and applicable regulations compared to those in South Korea. Until recently, there was no customer service center in the country, resulting in a lack of communication channels when consumer damages occurred. Moreover, there have been numerous cases of refusing refunds citing reasons such as non-arrival of goods upon return. This poses difficulties in resolving consumer damages domestically.”
He further stated, “The Korea Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Consumer Agency should thoroughly investigate whether AliExpress violates the Electronic Commerce Act due to the mass sale and distribution of counterfeit Chinese products, which has led to a rapid increase in consumer damage in South Korea. They should also take the lead in preventive measures against consumer damage by regularizing business meetings with AliExpress.”