SNS group-buy complaints reach 3,642 last year

Contract failures, cancellation fees, refusal to refund top the list

Lawmaker Park calls for strong sanctions against illegal conduct

The Instagram logo, a social networking service often used by influencers to promote products. This image is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images]
The Instagram logo, a social networking service often used by influencers to promote products. This image is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images]

Consumer A ordered a silver bar in January after seeing an Instagram advertisement. The seller told him the item would ship in mid-March, but he changed his mind and asked to cancel. The seller refused, saying the product was non-cancellable.

Consumer B saw an Instagram advertisement, contacted the seller via direct message and placed an order for four coats, paying a deposit. After the seller notified her that the items had arrived and requested the remaining balance, she paid by installment credit card and visited the store to try them on — only to find the sizes ran small and the fabric differed from what had been advertised. She returned all four coats and requested a refund, but the seller refused.

Consumer complaints filed after purchases made through Instagram and other SNS platforms — including group buys — more than doubled in a single year, data released Thursday showed. Formal damage-relief applications filed so far this year have already surpassed last year's full-year total through August alone, underscoring how rising SNS commerce is generating a growing wave of consumer harm.

According to data submitted to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Park Jun-tae of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee by the Korea Consumer Agency, SNS advertising, influencer advertising and group-buy related consumer consultations totaled 3,642 cases last year — a 124.7 percent increase from 1,621 cases the year before.

The volume of such complaints has climbed sharply of late. From 1,033 cases in 2022, the figure rose to 1,421 in 2023 before jumping to 3,642 last year — roughly 3.5 times the 2022 level in just three years. The upward trend has continued this year, with 2,874 cases logged through August.

Particularly notable is that the bulk of complaints stemmed not from misleading product descriptions but from problems at the contract fulfillment or cancellation and refund stage. Over the past five years, SNS advertising and group-buy related consultations included 2,361 cases of contract non-performance, 2,131 cases involving contract cancellation, termination or penalty fees, and 1,896 cases of subscription withdrawal. Combined, the three categories accounted for 6,388 cases — 60.3 percent of all consultations.

A large share of consumer complaints involved buyers who never received goods as promised after purchasing through SNS or influencer channels, encountered penalty-fee disputes when trying to cancel, or found that subscription withdrawal requests were not properly honored.

The number of consumers moving beyond consultations to file formal damage-relief applications is also rising. From January through August this year, 280 such applications were filed related to SNS advertising, influencer advertising and group buys — already exceeding last year's full-year total of 269. By reason, contract cancellation, termination and penalty fees led with 87 cases, followed by contract non-performance at 53 cases, false or misleading advertising at 46 cases, and subscription withdrawal at 37 cases.

Discussions about regulatory reform to protect consumers have been ongoing for some time. The Korea Consumer Agency in 2021 recommended that SNS platforms strengthen seller identity disclosure and management responsibilities and establish in-platform dispute resolution mechanisms. Last year, the agency announced a cooperative framework with the Korea Fair Trade Commission under which cases of non-compliance with improvement recommendations or serious violations would be referred for the commission's own-initiative investigation.

Despite those measures, SNS advertising and group-buy consumer complaints have surged and damage-relief applications have already exceeded last year's level, prompting calls to examine whether existing consumer protection mechanisms are functioning effectively in practice. With six in 10 consultations involving contract performance or cancellation and refund issues, pressure is growing to strengthen post-sale consumer protections.

"Profiting from fame while washing their hands of any responsibility when problems arise with a product is a deceptive act that exploits consumer trust," Park said. "Relevant authorities must impose strong sanctions on illegal conduct so that sellers, influencers and platforms cannot keep passing the buck to one another."

People Power Party lawmaker Park Jun-tae [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Park Jun-tae [Yonhap]

mp1256@heraldcorp.com