E-Commerce Act · Article 20-5
Will you need a domestic agent under Korea’s E-Commerce Act from 2027?
Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce (the “E-Commerce Act”), Article 20-5
Scheduled Enacted 20 January 2026. Takes effect 21 January 2027.
From 21 January 2027, online sellers and marketplace operators with no address or office in Korea must appoint a domestic agent in writing once they meet any one of three tests. The agent’s details must be sent to the Fair Trade Commission and shown on the front page of the online store. The thresholds are already fixed in the enforcement decree.
| Who | Online sellers and marketplaces with no office in Korea (from 21 Jan 2027) |
|---|---|
| Tests | Meet any one of 3 |
| Korean entity first? | Yes — a Korean entity you set up or control comes first |
| Where the agent is published | Store front page, plus a filing with the FTC |
| Fine for no agent (cap) | KRW 20 million |
| Status | Enacted 20 January 2026. Takes effect 21 January 2027. |
| Korean title | 전자상거래 등에서의 소비자보호에 관한 법률 |
| Also called | Domestic representative, local representative (국내대리인) |
Who must appoint a domestic agent?
A company with no address or office in Korea that meets any one of these tests:
- Total revenue of KRW 1 trillion or more in the prior year (or prior fiscal year)
- A monthly average of 1 million or more consumers in Korea visiting your online store over the last three months of the prior year
- An FTC reporting order after serious consumer harm
How are the numbers counted?
- Revenue
- Revenue for the prior year, converted to Korean won at that year’s average exchange rate.
- Visitors from Korea
- A monthly average of 1 million or more consumers in Korea visiting your online store over the last three months of the prior year.
- FTC route
- A reporting order from the Fair Trade Commission after serious consumer harm also triggers the duty.
Does a Korean entity have to be the agent?
If you set up a Korean entity, or one in which you control the officers or the running of the business, the agent must be chosen from among those entities.
What does the agent do, and what stays with you?
| The agent | Your company |
|---|---|
| Handles complaint and dispute terms (sellers) or resolution steps (marketplaces) | Decides each consumer case |
| Receives and carries out FTC orders | Provides accurate information and decides how to answer |
| Keeps a working line of contact with your company | Keeps the agent’s details on your store’s front page and notifies the FTC of changes |
Anything the agent does wrong in these tasks is treated as your company’s own breach. Legal positions stay with your counsel.
What must you publish, and where?
| Item | For a company agent |
|---|---|
| Name | Company name and its representative |
| Address | Office address in Korea |
| Phone | A Korean phone number |
| A contact email |
Without delay after appointing or changing the agent, send its details to the FTC in writing (electronic documents count) and show them on the front page of your online store.
What are the penalties?
| Failure | Cap | Standard amount in the decree |
|---|---|---|
| No agent | Up to KRW 20 million | — |
| An ineligible agent | Up to KRW 20 million | — |
| Missing FTC notice or front-page disclosure | Up to KRW 20 million | — |
| Withholding data the FTC requests | Up to KRW 20 million | — |
Korea’s E-Commerce Act Article 20-5 in English
English translation by KoreaAgent. The Korean text on law.go.kr is the binding version.
Article 20-5 (Designation of Domestic Agents)
(1) A mail order distributor or mail order broker (hereinafter referred to as "mail order distributor, etc.") with no address or place of business in the Republic of Korea that meets the criteria prescribed by Presidential Decree in consideration of sales, the size of its consumer base, and other factors shall designate, in writing, a person who acts on its behalf with respect to the following matters, as classified below (hereinafter referred to as "domestic agent"): 1. In the case of a mail order distributor: the following matters: a. Performance of the transaction terms under Article 13(5) (limited to the transaction terms concerning the matters specified in Article 13(2)8); b. Implementation of a disposition under Article 81(1)3 of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 39(2); 2. In the case of a mail order broker: the following matters: a. Measures necessary to resolve consumer complaints or disputes under Article 20(3); b. The matter specified in subparagraph 1(b).
(2) A domestic agent shall have an address or place of business in the Republic of Korea. In such cases, a mail order distributor, etc. that has any of the following corporations shall designate a domestic agent from among such corporations: 1. A domestic corporation established by the mail order distributor, etc.; 2. A domestic corporation over which the mail order distributor, etc. exercises dominant influence in terms of the composition of executive officers, the operation of the business, and other relevant matters.
(3) A mail order distributor, etc. that has designated a domestic agent pursuant to paragraph (1) shall submit all of the following matters to the Fair Trade Commission and then disclose them on its website, etc. The same shall apply where it changes its domestic agent: 1. The name of the domestic agent (in cases of a corporation, referring to its name and the name of its representative); 2. The address (in cases of a corporation, referring to the location of its place of business), telephone number, and e-mail address of the domestic agent.
(4) If a domestic agent violates this Act in relation to the subparagraphs of paragraph (1), the mail order distributor, etc. that designated the domestic agent shall be deemed to have committed such violation.
(5) A domestic agent shall secure a valid means of communication with the mail order distributor, etc. that designated it.
(6) In order to verify whether a mail order distributor, etc. meets the criteria requiring the designation of a domestic agent under paragraph (1), the Fair Trade Commission may request the relevant business operator to submit data on matters prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as sales and the size of its consumer base. In such cases, the business operator so requested shall comply with such request, unless there is good cause.
(7) Matters necessary for the submission and disclosure under paragraph (3) shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
Enforcement Decree, Article 25-4: the thresholds
(1) "A person who meets the criteria prescribed by Presidential Decree" in the part of Article 20-5(1) of the Act, other than the subparagraphs, means any of the following persons: 1. A person whose total sales for the previous year (referring to the immediately preceding business year in the case of a corporation; the same shall apply hereinafter in this Article) are at least one trillion won; 2. A person whose cybermall operated by it was accessed by a monthly average of at least one million domestic consumers during the three months immediately preceding the end of the previous year; 3. A person who has received an order to report or to submit materials or objects under Article 81(1)3 of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 39(2) of the Act, where significant consumer damage has occurred or is likely to occur due to a violation of the Act.
(2) The total sales under paragraph (1)1 shall be the amount converted into Korean won by applying the average exchange rate for the previous year.
(3) A mail order distributor or mail order broker shall, without delay after designating a domestic agent under Article 20-5(1) of the Act (including designating a new domestic agent upon change) pursuant to paragraph (3) of that Article, submit the matters specified in the subparagraphs of Article 20-5(3) of the Act to the Fair Trade Commission in writing (including electronic documents) and disclose such matters on the first screen of the cybermall, etc. it operates.
(4) "Data on matters prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as sales and the size of its consumer base" in the former part of Article 20-5(6) of the Act means the following data: 1. Data on sales, such as financial statements; 2. Data on the size of the consumer base, such as the number of visitors to the cybermall.
How KoreaAgent runs it
- We prepare the FTC submission and the front-page wording before 21 January 2027, so the agent is in place on day one
- Consumer complaints reaching the agent are logged, answered in wording you have agreed in advance, and escalated with a summary when they need your decision
Questions about the E-Commerce Act agent rule
What will the E-Commerce Act agent’s core role be?
For online sellers, handling complaint and dispute terms and FTC orders; for marketplaces, complaint and dispute resolution steps and FTC orders. The agent must keep a working line of contact with your company.
What happens if we do not appoint one?
From 21 January 2027, a fine of up to KRW 20 million for each failure: no agent, an ineligible agent, a missing notice or disclosure, or withheld data.
Must our Korean subsidiary be the agent?
Yes, from 21 January 2027, if you have a Korean entity you set up or control.
Does this apply today?
No. Article 20-5 was enacted in January 2026 and takes effect on 21 January 2027. The decree with the thresholds was published in July 2026.
How is the 1 million test counted?
As a monthly average of consumers in Korea visiting the online store you run, over the last three months of the prior year.
Can KoreaAgent be our E-Commerce Act agent?
Yes, if you have no Korean entity you set up or control. We also prepare the notice to the FTC and the wording for your store’s front page.
Related questions
Sources
- E-Commerce Act Art. 20-5 (version effective 21 Jan 2027) (Korean, official text)
- Enforcement Decree Art. 25-4 (version effective 21 Jan 2027) (Korean, official text)
- Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, English translation (for reference; does not yet include this article)
Korean title: 전자상거래 등에서의 소비자보호에 관한 법률. Summarized by Youngho Kim (KoreaAgent) from the official Korean text on law.go.kr, which is the authoritative version. This is general information, not legal advice, and it does not say whether the law applies to your company. Last reviewed: .