Fair Trade Commission launches fee probe into delivery, accommodation platforms

The Korea Fair Trade Commission is launching an investigation into the fees and other costs that vendors on online platforms — including food delivery, open-market and accommodation services — actually bear, as well as the harm they experience during transactions.

The Fair Trade Commission announced Thursday it is commissioning a research project titled "Survey on Transaction Conditions Between Major Platforms and Vendors, and Cases of Unfair Trade Practices."

The probe comes as disputes between platform operators and vendors have grown steadily alongside the expansion of the online platform market, prompting the commission to examine transaction conditions and the difficulties vendors face more closely. Online platform-related disputes filed with the Fair Trade Dispute Mediation Council rose about 330 percent, from 103 cases in 2021 to 445 last year.

The investigation covers three sectors where platform-related complaints are concentrated: food delivery, open-market and accommodation services. It aims to revisit market conditions that have changed since a similar survey conducted at the end of 2022, while focusing on the cost burdens vendors actually feel.

The commission plans to survey vendors on difficulties related to fees and other costs, cases of harm experienced during transactions, and their experience resolving disputes through mediation.

A written survey of platform operators will run in parallel. The commission will send questionnaires to major platform operators in the three sectors and request relevant data as needed.

The investigation will cover platform operators' fee and advertising cost structures, overall operational practices, data-related policies and standards, and dispute-handling procedures. By conducting the vendor survey and the platform operator survey simultaneously, the commission aims to comprehensively verify and analyze trade practices across the industry.

The research project will run for three months through Nov. 12. The commission plans to use the findings as foundational data for shaping future online platform policy.