AliExpress, Temu sign safety agreement with Korean antitrust watchdog

Korea's antitrust watchdog signed a safety agreement with AliExpress and Temu on Monday, as transaction volumes from the Chinese ecommerce giants soared along with consumer complaints.

From left: WhaleCo Korea CEO Qin Sun, who spearheads Temu's Korean operation, Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairperson Han Ki-jeong and AliExpress Korea General Manager Ray Zhang pose for a photo during a signing ceremony held in central Seoul on Monday. [FTC]

Korea's antitrust watchdog signed a safety agreement with AliExpress and Temu on Monday, as transaction volumes from the Chinese ecommerce giants soared along with consumer complaints.

AliExpress Korea General Manager Ray Zhang and Whaleco Korea CEO Qin Sun, who handles Temu's local operations, attended the signing ceremony held in Yongsan District, central Seoul, along with Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Han Ki-jeong.

The agreement is the first of its kind signed with overseas ecommerce service providers related to consumer safety, according to the FTC.

The goal is to tackle growing safety concerns, as the Seoul Metropolitan Government recently announced that it found that toys sold on Chinese ecommerce platforms were contaminated with carcinogens.

Under the latest voluntary-basis agreement, AliExpress and Temu pledged to work closely with the government to monitor any safety concerns and remove any products found to be harmful by the government.

“We expect the latest voluntary agreement, along with existing agreements signed with local ecommerce companies, to play a significant role in protecting consumer safety across online retail transactions,” said Han in his remarks during the ceremony.

Korean consumers' direct purchases from China hit a new quarterly high of 938.4 billion won ($719 million) in the first quarter of 2024, up 54 percent from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea.

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