Law or Coupang? ② Personal Information Including Bank Accounts Must Be Provided to Other Companies for Refunds
When a product ordered and paid for through Coupang has a problem, how far can consumers resolve it through Coupang? Tracing children's products that the government ordered recalled as hazardous, we found that notifying purchasers of the recall was handled within Coupang, but everything after that was "up to the consumer." The legal withdrawal period differed from Coupang's own return standards, and consumers had to provide bank account numbers to sellers instead of using existing payment methods for refunds. News S will examine over three installments how consumer rights guaranteed by the e-commerce law actually function within a large platform's system, why money and personal information move outside the platform during the subsequent process, and how current law defines the platform's responsibilities. —Editor's Note
To receive a refund for a recalled product purchased through Coupang, consumers must separately provide personal information including order details and bank account numbers to companies outside of Coupang.
According to Coupang and the Fair Trade Commission as of the 22nd, when notifying purchasers of children's products subject to recall by the National Institute of Technology and Standards, Coupang directed them to contact the seller directly for product retrieval and refunds.
When the purchaser contacted the seller, the company said it would retrieve the product and send money directly, then requested Coupang order details along with address, contact information, and bank account information.
In this process, the purchaser said they did not receive separate notice from the seller regarding the purpose of collecting and using personal information or the retention period.
The purchaser stated, "Getting a refund for a product the government determined was hazardous is natural," and added, "Coupang created a structure where to get a refund for a product purchased through Coupang, Coupang is excluded and consumers must take their order information and bank account numbers outside to receive a refund."
Coupang previously experienced a massive personal information breach, putting the company's personal data management practices under scrutiny.
It was not a situation where Coupang was unaware of the purchaser's personal information. Coupang directly notified the purchaser of the recall, specifying not only the actual product name and seller, but also the order number and order date.
Article 15 of the Personal Information Protection Act stipulates that when collecting and using personal information with the consent of the information subject, the purpose of collection, items, and retention and usage period must be disclosed.
The E-Commerce Law separately stipulates procedures for refunds following contract withdrawal.
Article 18 of the E-Commerce Law imposes a refund obligation for contract withdrawal on 'those who received payment from consumers.' For payments made with credit cards and similar methods, it stipulates that the payment processor must be requested to stop or cancel payment claims or refund the already-received amount.
The law establishes a procedure to return funds through the original payment method when contract withdrawal occurs, but in this case, instead of canceling the original payment made through Coupang, the seller processed it by receiving a new bank account number from the purchaser and transferring funds directly.
Coupang possessed transaction information sufficient to identify the consumer who purchased the recalled product and the relevant order. However, as Coupang redirected the retrieval and refund procedures to the seller, the purchaser was placed in a situation of being requested to provide personal information outside of Coupang without notice regarding the purpose of collection or retention and usage period.
Coupang responded that beyond explaining that the seller handles product retrieval and refunds according to recall procedures, there were "no separate official answers" regarding why existing payments are not canceled, the structure creating the need for additional personal information disclosure, or Coupang's responsibilities under related laws.