▲ Ministry of SMEs and Startups
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced today (September 21) that it held a roundtable meeting at the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise in Yeouido to listen to the difficulties faced by small business owners and merchants on online platforms due to unfair trade practices, and to discuss cooperation measures.
During the meeting, representatives from the restaurant, lodging, and real estate brokerage sectors shared various cases of damage and difficulties they encounter in the field, driven by unfair trade practices from platform operators such as high brokerage fees, advertising costs, settlement cycles, and refund and return policies.
In particular, participants raised issues including < ▲ excessive inducement of advertising while platform advertising is effectively mandatory rather than optional, ▲ passing on refund and return processing costs to vendors without verifying consumer fault or intent, and ▲ a decline in store reputation due to one-sided penalties imposed by platforms >.
In response, Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Byung-kwon stated, "We will investigate the overall platform practices including total business burdens such as brokerage fees, advertising fees, and delivery fees, and institutionalize a 'Platform Win-Win Growth Index Evaluation.'" He added, "We will reflect today's on-site voices in our policies and strive to foster a voluntary culture of mutual cooperation between platforms and resident small businesses."
(Photo provided by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Yonhap News)
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