Second-hand trade disputes top 5,000 a year as platforms like Karrot, Bunjang boom

Government moves to close protection gaps; KISA and Ministry of Science and ICT set dispute-resolution standards for peer-to-peer transactions

As second-hand trading platforms such as Karrot, Bunjang and Joonggonara have become part of everyday life in South Korea, disputes arising from such transactions have climbed into the thousands each year. Critics say consumer protection rules are failing to keep up because the trades occur between private individuals.

KISA's Electronic Commerce Dispute Mediation Committee received 8,938 e-commerce dispute filings in 2025, according to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and Yonhap News Agency. Of those, 5,848 — or 65.4 percent — involved peer-to-peer transactions.

Because buyers and sellers in peer-to-peer deals hold equal legal standing, standard consumer protection rules do not apply. That means victims cannot seek relief from the Korea Consumer Agency or file for mediation with the Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee.

Common flashpoints include determining who bears responsibility when goods are damaged during delivery, and how a buyer can seek compensation when an item purchased through a direct in-person exchange turns out to have a serious defect.

Verifying the identities of the parties involved poses another challenge. Peer-to-peer transactions are often conducted under usernames rather than real names, making platform operators' cooperation essential for gathering the personal information needed to mediate a dispute. Trades conducted through social media or online communities are even harder to resolve, as no platform has the standing to intervene.

To fill that gap, KISA's Electronic Commerce Dispute Mediation Committee has since 2022 signed MOUs with major second-hand platforms — including Karrot, Bunjang and Joonggonara — and has been running a voluntary dispute-mediation system.

Under the previous arrangement, peer-to-peer disputes were filed directly with KISA's mediation committee. The revamped two-tier system requires platforms to attempt a first-round resolution themselves; only unresolved cases are then referred to KISA. The change is designed to ease the committee's workload while allowing it to handle a greater number of complaints.

The Ministry of Science and ICT has also assembled a research group comprising platform operators, dispute-related agencies and legal experts to draw up "peer-to-peer transaction dispute-resolution standards," covering 20 categories of situations from listing a product and completing a direct or delivery-based transaction to canceling a contract.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission has separately issued a "second-hand trade dispute resolution guide" recommending refund rates for nine product categories, including electronics, clothing, accessories, manufactured goods and food.

However, critics say the institutional framework governing peer-to-peer transactions remains inadequate. Such trades fall outside the scope of the E-Commerce Act, and despite representing a new platform-based form of commerce, the policy foundation is still incomplete.

In response, an amendment to the E-Commerce Act that took effect this year established for the first time a legal basis for including peer-to-peer transactions within the definition of e-commerce — but only in cases where the mediation committee requests data for dispute resolution purposes.

KISA has called for further steps, identifying as immediate priorities the establishment of a basic policy on peer-to-peer transactions under the Electronic Commerce Act, the creation of measures to protect consumer rights, and the securing of a legal basis for conducting transaction surveys. It also said the Electronic Commerce Dispute Mediation Committee needs a dedicated legal mandate along with adequate budget and staffing.

sun@heraldcorp.com