South Korea and AliExpress, Temu Sign Agreement on Product Safety

South Korea Takes Steps to Ensure Product Safety on Chinese E-Commerce Platforms

In a move to protect consumer safety, South Korea’s government has signed an agreement with Alibaba’s AliExpress and PDD Holdings’ Temu to promote product safety, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced on Monday.

The agreement comes after heightened regulatory scrutiny of AliExpress, Temu, and other Chinese e-commerce platforms as they continue to expand their user base in South Korea. Recent safety inspections revealed a concerning amount of harmful substances in products sold on these platforms, prompting the need for increased monitoring and regulation.

Qin Sun, co-founder of Temu, emphasized the importance of consumer safety and stated that the company would strengthen monitoring efforts to prevent the distribution of harmful products in Korea. Similarly, Ray Zhang, CEO of AliExpress Korea, highlighted the platform’s enhanced consumer protection policies, including a customer hotline and faster returns.

Under the agreement, the government will provide data to ensure that harmful products are blocked from sale on the platforms. Additionally, the KFTC is working towards passing a Consumer Safety Act that will hold platforms legally responsible for the products they sell.

This agreement marks the first time Temu has signed such a voluntary agreement globally, showcasing a significant step towards ensuring product safety in the e-commerce market. With South Korea’s e-commerce market ranking as the fourth-largest in the world, the government’s efforts to regulate foreign platforms are crucial in protecting consumers and maintaining a thriving online marketplace.