2.Business Model Legality/ Regulatory Approval Investigation

|Q9 (Cooling-Off Period in Online Sales)

We have heard that we should be careful about a cooling-off period in advertising mail order (including online) sales, but what does this mean?

For mail order (including online) sales (excluding services) under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions, in principle, there is an 8-day period during which the purchaser can return the product for any reason. However, you can avoid this cooling-off period by including a special stipulation (special stipulation on the return of goods) in the mail order (including online) sales advertisement. Accordingly, if you do not wish to be subject to a discretionary return of goods, it is important to clearly state this special stipulation in the advertisement. Further, it is necessary to include this special stipulation on the return of goods not only in the advertisement, but also on the so-called final confirmation screen (Regulations for Enforcement of the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions Article 16(2)).

The details of the actual method of display are specified in guidelines published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, so please refer to them as appropriate.

(Posted: January 27, 2012)