Livestream shopping complaints pile up as refunds are refused, sellers vanish
Published: 12 Sep. 2025, 15:39
![The Korea Consumer Agency [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/12/4596ccc4-f1cb-42f7-8b95-37a33abc1ef8.jpg)
The Korea Consumer Agency [YONHAP]
As livestream shopping booms on social media, so do consumer complaints — with hundreds reporting unfulfilled orders, refund denials and vanishing sellers, the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) warned Friday.
The agency said 444 consumer counseling requests related to livestream commerce were filed with its call center from 2022 through June this year, with a sharp increase in recent years.
There were 54 cases reported in 2022, 66 in 2023, 185 in 2024 and 139 in just the first half of this year, data showed.
The most common complaint was denial of order cancellation or withdrawal, accounting for 49.5 percent with 220 cases. This was followed by quality issues at 21.6 percent, or 96 cases, and breach of contract at 18.5 percent, or 82 cases.
In one case, a shopper purchased three mink coats for 4.51 million won ($3,250) through a social media livestream on June 22. But when the items arrived, they didn’t fit. The buyer attempted to contact the seller for a return, but received no response.
In another case, a customer made 32 purchases between Feb. 25 and Nov. 18, 2024, after watching livestreams on social media, spending a total of around 2.68 million won. The seller repeatedly delayed shipment, claiming the items were still in production — and eventually cut off communication entirely.
The agency noted that social media livestream purchases often involve direct communication with sellers via texts or calls, making it difficult to preserve evidence when problems arise.
It added that many sellers do not register as telecommunication sales businesses or fail to provide clear business information, making dispute resolution challenging.
The KCA advised buyers to verify whether a seller is registered as a telecommunication sales business and to check for a valid business registration number and refund policy. It also urged consumers to avoid placing orders via private messages or comments and to use secure payment services or credit card installment plans rather than direct cash transfers.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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