Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, Etc., last amended by Act No. 11461 (English Version)

(1) Article 2 subparagraph 4 defines “mail order brokerage” as “the act of intermediating mail order between both parties to a transaction by allowing the use of a cybermall (referring to a virtual shopping mall established to transact goods, etc. by using computers, etc. and information communications facilities), or by other methods prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister.” For example, Korea’s largest online shopping mall Gmarket owned by eBay Korea is a mail order broker according to the definition above. 

(2) According to Article 20 and 20-2, mail order brokers should inform consumers that they are not a party to a mail order, or they will be jointly liable if the seller caused financial damages to customers. Moreover, the brokers should make information about the sellers available to the consumers, or they will be jointly liable if the information was not available or incorrect. 

(3) The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has the power to impose correction orders when the brokers are in violation of Article 20 and 20-2 under Article 32(1)1. FTC can also suspend the business (Article 32(4)) or impose penalties instead (Article 34).