[Law or Coupang?] ② Personal Information Like Bank Accounts Must Be Provided to Other Companies for Refunds
When a product purchased and paid for on Coupang has problems, how much can consumers resolve through Coupang? Tracking children's products that the government ordered recalled as hazardous, we found that while Coupang handled tracking down buyers and notifying them of the recall, everything after that was “up to the consumer.” The statutory withdrawal period set by law differed from Coupang's own return policy, and instead of canceling the original payment, consumers had to provide their bank account numbers to sellers to receive refunds. Over three installments, Suwon Ilbo examines how consumer rights guaranteed by the Electronic Commerce Act actually function within a large platform's system, why money and personal information move outside the platform in the subsequent process, and how far current law defines the platform's responsibility. —Editor's Note
To receive a refund for a recalled product purchased on Coupang, consumers must separately provide personal information including order details and bank account numbers to companies outside Coupang, it has been confirmed.
According to Coupang and the Fair Trade Commission on the 22nd, when Coupang notified buyers of children's products subject to recall by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, it instructed them to contact the seller directly for product retrieval and refunds.
When the buyer contacted the seller, the company agreed to retrieve the product and send money directly, requesting Coupang order details, address, contact information, and bank account information.
In this process, the buyer said they did not receive separate notice from the seller about the purpose of collecting and using personal information or the retention period.
The buyer stated, “It should be natural to receive a refund for a product the government determined to be hazardous,” and added, “To get a refund for a product I paid for on Coupang, Coupang is excluded from the process, and I have to take my personal information including order details and bank account number outside the platform to receive a refund—this is a structure Coupang created.”
Coupang previously experienced a major personal information breach, putting its personal data management practices under scrutiny.
It was not the case that Coupang was unaware of the buyer's personal information. Coupang directly notified the buyer of the recall, specifying not only the 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 collection purpose, items, and retention and use period must be disclosed.
The Electronic Commerce Act separately stipulates procedures for refunds following withdrawal of offer.
Article 18 of the Electronic Commerce Act imposes refund obligations on 'those who received payment from consumers.' In cases of payment by credit card or other means, it stipulates that the payment handler be requested to stop or cancel payment claims or refund already-received amounts.
The law establishes a procedure to return funds through the original payment method when withdrawal occurs, but in this case, instead of canceling the original payment made on Coupang, the seller received the buyer's new bank account number and processed a direct transfer.
Coupang possessed consumer information about those who purchased recalled products and transaction information sufficient to identify the relevant orders. However, as Coupang redirected the retrieval and refund process to the seller, the buyer was placed in a situation where they had to provide personal information without notice of the collection purpose or retention and use period outside of Coupang.
Coupang stated that it has “no additional official response” regarding the reason for not canceling the original payment, the structure requiring additional personal information provision, Coupang's responsibilities under relevant laws, beyond its explanation that sellers handle product retrieval and refunds following recalls.