Temu (Image from Temu webpage)
SEOUL, Apr. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Choi Jang-hyuk, the vice chairperson of South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission, said on April 22 that he has made it clear to major Chinese internet companies operating in the domestic market, including Alibaba’s AliExpress and Temu, that they cannot be given a grace period to comply with the country’s privacy laws.
Choi made the remarks during a briefing with reporters after returning from Beijing, where he met with 13 Chinese internet firms, including the Internet Society of China as well as companies like Alibaba, Temu, 360 Group and Qi An Xin Technology Group.
“When foreign companies want to do business in South Korea, they need sufficient time to understand the domestic systems, laws and regulations that differ from their home countries,” Choi said. “However, the Chinese firms rushed into the Korean market, overlooking certain aspects.”
He emphasized that under South Korea’s personal information protection act, companies can face fines of up to 3 percent of their average annual revenue from the previous three years for violations. Foreign companies operating in South Korea are subject to these regulations, he added.
“While considering the difficulties faced by the Chinese companies, I made it clear that we cannot give them a grace period,” Choi said. “All of the Chinese firms seemed to accept our position on this matter.”
Choi Jang-hyuk, the vice chairperson of South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
According to data from WiseApp, the number of monthly active users for Alibaba’s app in South Korea jumped 130 percent year-over-year to 8.18 million as of February. AliExpress also surpassed the 11Street online mall to become the second most popular e-commerce platform in the country after Coupang.
Temu, another Chinese e-commerce firm that launched services in South Korea in July 2023, has already secured 5.81 million users within seven months, ranking fourth among online malls.
Choi said the Personal Information Protection Commission will soon complete its investigation into potential violations of domestic privacy laws by Chinese internet companies like Alibaba and Temu, which was prompted by questions raised during last year’s national audit.
“There is great public interest in the results of this investigation,” he said, adding that the commission plans to finalize its findings by the end of the first half of the year.
The companies, he noted, have been cooperating diligently with the probe and have acknowledged areas where they may have fallen short as they rapidly expanded their businesses.
During his visit to Beijing, Choi also attended the opening ceremony for the Korea-China Internet Cooperation Center, a new official communication channel between the two countries that he described as highly meaningful.
The center had been operating informally as an office for South Korea’s internet promotion agency since 2012 but was officially established as a representative body in December after receiving approval from the Chinese government.
“At a time when South Korea-China relations are not as smooth as before, it is very significant from the government’s perspective that an official channel approved by the Chinese authorities has been established, with formalized procedures,” Choi said.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
