S. Korean regulator slaps $1.5 million fine on AliExpress over deceptive promotions

Seoul, Aug 31 South Korea's antitrust regulator said on Sunday it has imposed a fine of nearly 2.1 billion won ($1.5 million) on Chinese e-commerce giant AliExpress over misleading consumers with false discount rates for products sold on its online platform.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it has imposed the fine on AliExpress for violating the act on fair labelling and advertising, along with an order for corrective measures, reports Yonhap news agency.

Two subsidiaries of AliExpress are accused of posting misleading advertisements on over 7,500 occasions for South Korean consumers using the platform between May 2023 and October 2024.

They were found to have listed prices of products, at which they were never sold, and then indicated their selling prices along with false discount rates.

For instance, a tablet PC sold for 270,000 won was listed with an original price of 660,000 won, accompanied by a claimed 58 percent discount.

The FTC said such business conduct induced "consumer misperception" on the actual price of the goods and on the discount rate itself, adding it could "distort reasonable purchasing choice" by exaggerating the economic benefits from the purchase.

The watchdog also ordered AliExpress to pay a 2 million-won fine over failing to publicize its operators' personal information and its terms and conditions on its website.

In May, Chinese e-commerce platform Temu was fined for secretly transferring South Korean users' personal information to China and Singapore, the state data protection watchdog said.

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said it decided to impose a fine of 1.36 billion won ($970,000) on Temu during a plenary meeting Wednesday for violating the Personal Information Protection Act.

In April last year, the PIPC launched an investigation into personal data collection and usage by Temu and AliExpress -- two major Chinese e-commerce platforms expanding aggressively in South Korea. While the watchdog imposed a fine of about 1.97 billion won on AliExpress three months later, it postponed a decision on Temu due to insufficient data on its local sales.

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