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| Hakuna live logo / Courtesy of Hakuna live |
By Lee Hyo-jin
A 48-year-old man surnamed Kim living in Eunpyeong district, Seoul, was shocked to find that a lump sum of 130 million won ($114,000), the money he and his spouse had been saving for a new house, had vanished from their account in August.
It turned out that the money had been spent on "Hakuna live," a live streaming app, by his 11-year-old daughter.
"Hakuna live" is a Japanese media platform through which anyone above the age of 14 can become what is known in Korea as a "broadcasting jockey," someone who produces livestreamed video content and interacts with commenters. Viewers and fans are invited to support the streamers by sending limitless amounts of online currency called "diamonds."
Kim's daughter had sent 130 million won worth of diamonds in total to 35 streamers between Aug. 3 and 12, through the mobile payment system on her mother's smartphone.
"My wife always leaves her phone unlocked since she is visually impaired and suffers from brain damage," Kim said, explaining how his daughter was able to easily access the online banking system, in an interview with local radio station CBS, Wednesday.
He had to contact all 35 streamers to ask for reimbursement. Several of them agreed to refund the money, but 46 million won of the money spent will not be returned, said Kim.
A similar incident occurred on Monday, when a middle school student in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, sent around 17 million won through some 60 transactions to an online streamer using her father's credit card.
Data shows that the two cases are among thousands in which parents have received unexpected bills for unauthorized payments made by their children, as young people spend more time at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 1,587 reports were filed regarding unauthorized online purchases made by minors between January and September this year, which is more than double the 813 reports made in 2019, according to the data from the Korea Content Dispute Resolution Committee (KCDRC).
However, requesting refunds or seeking legal remedies is difficult under the current law.
"In Kim's case, we see that his wife allowed their daughter to use her cellphone," said an official at the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), adding that there is no legal action that can be taken as nothing illegal took place.
Platform operators cannot force their streamers to give refunds, and card companies are not required to cancel payments made by a family member of the card holder.
"Although platform operators cannot be fully held accountable for accepting payments from minors, they can't avoid responsibility for not having any measures such as age limits to prevent children from making huge transactions," said Hwang Yong-suk, a professor of media communications at Konkuk university.
