Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
AliExpress Korea fined $1.5 mil. for deceptive pricing
AliExpress Korea CEO Ray Zhang speaks during the firm's forum for its sellers in Seoul, Sept. 25, 2024. Courtesy of AliExpress Korea
By Lee Min-hyung
AliExpress Korea and its affiliates have been fined some 2.1 billion won ($1.5 million) total for displaying deceptive sales prices on the e-commerce platform, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Sunday.
According to the latest investigation by the antitrust watchdog, AliExpress' two affiliated partners — Ocean Sky and MICTW — engaged in misleading sales practices by pretending to offer huge discounts from listed prices.
However, the companies were found never to have sold the products at the advertised prices, which the FTC viewed as a violation of a local advertising act.
For instance, they deceived customers by presenting a false fixed price tag of 660,000 won for a tablet PC and offering a discount of 58 percent, even if they had not sold the products at that price before.
Both companies sold more than 7,000 products between May 2023 and October 2024 at AliExpress Korea with the deceptive pricing strategy, which ended up distorting customers’ reasonable choices when they purchased products through the e-commerce platform, the FTC said.
The authority slapped a fine of 2 billion won on MICTW and 90 million won on Ocean Sky. Both firms were also ordered to rectify their unfair sales activities.
AliExpress Korea was also fined 2 million won for violating the nation’s e-commerce act. The company failed to properly verify the identities of sellers in AliExpress’ K-venue section, which is designed for sales of Korean products to global customers, according to the latest FTC investigation.
“We will sternly sanction any undue sales practices that block customers from making reasonable choices when they use online platforms,” an FTC official said.
The authority also pledged to execute regulations on overseas online platform firms to create equal footing with their local counterparts and build a reliable e-commerce market for customers here.
In response to the FTC fine, AliExpress Korea said it has consistently adapted its operations to meet local requirements and expectations in Korea.
“All corrective measures related to the issues identified during the investigation have been fully implemented and have received official recognition from the FTC,” it said in a press statement.
"We will continue to prioritize consumer experience and trust as our core focus, continuously enhance our service capabilities and create more business opportunities for local SMEs.”