On March 11, 2026, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) announced proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decree and the Enforcement Rules of the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce (“E-Commerce Act”), and released them for public comments until April 20, 2026. The proposed amendments focus on (i) reducing the identity verification requirements imposed on platforms with respect to individual sellers, and (ii) clarifying the criteria for the designation of local representatives by overseas businesses.
The KFTC also released the proposed amendments to the Notification on the Imposition of Administrative Fines for Violations of the E-Commerce Act (“Fine Notification”) for public comments until March 31, 2026.
These amendments follow the revisions to the E-Commerce Act passed by the National Assembly in December 2025 (please refer to our newsletter dated January 2, 2026 for further details) and form a part of the KFTC’s broader policy efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the administrative fine regime and strengthen deterrence against repeated violations.
I. KEY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
1. Reduced Requirements to Verify Individual Sellers’ Identity Information
Under the proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decree, e-commerce platform operators (i.e., online intermediaries facilitating consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions) will be required to verify only two types of identity information for individual sellers: telephone number and email address, which is a reduction from the existing five required types of information (name, date of birth, address, telephone number, and email address).
In addition, where a platform operator has already verified a seller’s identity through a certified identity verification service provider pursuant to Article 23-3(1) of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, it may verify only the seller’s telephone number without separately confirming the email address.
These amendments are intended to enhance personal data protection by reducing the scope of personal information collected, reflecting the reality that the transactions take place between individual sellers and consumers and helping to prevent personal data breaches.
2. Clarification of Local Representative Requirements for Overseas Businesses
The amended E-Commerce Act requires certain overseas businesses to designate a local representative in Korea. Where an overseas business has a local branch or a subsidiary under its effective control, that entity must be appointed as the local representative. The proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decree further set out the criteria for such designation.
Overseas businesses with neither an address nor a place of business in Korea must designate a local representative if they meet any of the following thresholds:
(i) generating annual revenue of at least KRW 1 trillion in the preceding fiscal year;
(ii) having an average of at least one million Korean users accessing the platform per month over the three months ending at the close of the preceding fiscal year; or
(iii) being requested by the KFTC to submit reports, materials, or data.
Once a local representative is designated, the overseas business must promptly submit information on the local representative to the KFTC in writing and disclose such information on the main page of its platform.
Overseas businesses will be required to respond to consumer complaints and disputes, as well as comply with KFTC investigations, through their designated local representatives. If the representative fails to perform these obligations, the overseas business will be deemed to have directly violated the relevant laws and may be subject to sanctions. The proposed amendments also introduce an explicit legal basis for the KFTC to impose business suspension orders ranging from three to twelve months on overseas platforms that fail to designate a local representative.
In light of these changes, overseas platforms that may fall within the scope of the E-Commerce Act should assess their exposure in advance. In particular, they should review whether they meet the designation thresholds, as well as their governance structure, the authority and responsibilities of the local representative, and internal processes for responding to KFTC investigations and consumer disputes.
3. Increased Administrative Fines for Repeat Violations and Lower Fine Reduction for Mitigating Factors
Under the proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decree and the Fine Notification, administrative fines may be increased by up to 50% for a single repeat violation and may be increased substantially for repeated violations, for example, by up to 100% by the fourth violation. At the same time, the maximum reduction available for voluntary corrective actions will be lowered from 30% to 10%.
These changes are intended to materially increase penalty levels and strengthen deterrence against repeated violations. As a result, businesses are likely to face a significantly higher financial burden for violations of the E-Commerce Act, and companies should therefore implement enhanced compliance controls and closely monitor repeat-risk areas.
4. Other Amendments
The proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decree require businesses to disclose, on the main page of the review section, the following information regarding user reviews:
(i) eligibility criteria for posting reviews;
(ii) the review posting period;
(iii) rating criteria and the implications of each rating level; and
(iv) standards for deletion and procedures for contesting the removal of reviews.
The amendments also establish a legal basis for the KFTC to delegate to the Korea Consumer Agency the monitoring of compliance with consent decisions, under which a business voluntarily commits to corrective measures to resolve alleged violations of the E-Commerce Act. They also refine the criteria for monetary penalties and introduce various follow-up measures to implement the recent revisions to the E-Commerce Act.
II. IMPLICATIONS
The proposed amendments signal a clear shift toward stronger enforcement under the E-Commerce Act, particularly through enhanced oversight of overseas platforms and a more stringent penalty framework.
A key development is that overseas businesses may effectively be brought within the direct regulatory scope of the E-Commerce Act through the local representative requirement. In addition to platforms that meet the applicable revenue or user thresholds, those subject to information requests from the KFTC will also be required to designate a local representative. The introduction of potential business suspension for non-compliance further underscores the increasing enforcement risks for such companies. The strengthened penalty framework is also expected to materially increase the financial exposure associated with violations, particularly in cases of repeated non-compliance.
In light of these developments, online platform businesses should review their current practices to ensure alignment with the proposed requirements, including those relating to identity verification of individual sellers and disclosure obligations for user reviews. Overseas businesses should also assess whether they are subject to the local representative requirement and establish appropriate governance structures and internal processes to respond to regulatory inquiries and consumer disputes.
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[Korean version]
