China's AliExpress under inspection for shoddy customer service

Korea’s antitrust agency launched an investigation against AliExpress, a Chinese e-commerce giant, over an influx of consumer complaints regarding its customer services.

Actor Don Lee, AliExpress' Korean brand ambassador [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Korea’s antitrust agency launched an investigation against AliExpress, a Chinese e-commerce giant, over an influx of consumer complaints regarding its customer services.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) conducted an on-site inspection at AliKorea in Jung District, central Seoul, last week, according to industry sources. AliKorea, a local operation of AliExpress, handles marketing in the country.

The latest inspection comes as the online marketplace has gained a significant number of customers in Korea as of late, followed by a spike in complaints over its insufficient protection measures.

AliExpress’ mobile app garnered a record of 8.18 million users as of February, a 130 percent jump from the same period last year, according to WiseApp. Among online retailers in Korea, AliExpress ranked second, below Coupang, in terms of the number of monthly active users in February.

Meanwhile, the number of customer complaints submitted to the Korea Consumer Agency regarding AliExpress tripled last year from a year before to 673. In January alone, the figure already reached 212, nearly one-third of last year’s total.

Most of the customer complaints involved delays in delivery or rejection of refund requests. FTC is currently looking into whether AliExpress implemented appropriate measures for customer protection, as obligated by the E-Commerce Act which mandates online marketplaces to secure sufficient resources to handle customer complaints or possible conflicts. Such retailers are legally required to take action when customer harm occurs.

FTC is reported to have secured documents regarding AliExpress’ promotion campaign to investigate whether the company has run exaggerated or misleading advertisements, as its aggressive marketing scheme and lacking product quality have been raising controversies in Korea.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]