1 week Ago By Korea Bizwire
The most common mobile service complaints involved disputes over cancellation fees and contract terminations. (Image created by AI/ChatGPT) SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Mobile phone services drew the most consumer complaints in South Korea last year, according to a report released Sunday by the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA), highlighting growing dissatisfaction with telecommunications providers. The agency said that 28,948 consumer inquiries were filed through the national e-government portal in 2024, marking a 22.
2 percent increase from the previous year’s 23,694 cases. Mobile service complaints led the list for the third consecutive year, accounting for 1,481 cases or 5.1 percent of the total.
They were followed by issues related to digital gift cards (804 cases, 2.8 percent) and airline passenger services (785 cases, 2.7 percent).
Among mobile service grievances, disputes over cancellation penalties and contract terminations were the most frequent, with 361 complaints (24.4 percent). Consumers also raised concerns over discrepancies between verbally promised benefits and the actual contract terms (335 cases, 22.
6 percent), as well as unauthorized enrollment in paid add-on services (286 cases, 19.3 percent). Complaints related to digital gift cards surged by 148.
9 percent year-on-year—the sharpest increase among all categories. The spike was largely driven by refund requests following a July 2024 incident in which e-commerce platforms TMON and WeMakePrice failed to settle payments with vendors. Meanwhile, grievances involving large passenger vehicles nearly doubled—from 186 cases to 366—representing the third-highest increase.
Many of these were tied to compensation demands from owners of electric vehicles equipped with batteries similar to those involved in a fire incident in August 2024. In a separate development, the KCA announced that it had been named a top-rated agency in a government evaluation of public complaint handling, conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission across 285 public institutions. The KCA ranked fourth in the number of processed cases.
The agency pledged to continue addressing consumer concerns swiftly and to push for institutional improvements, stating, “We are committed to delivering complaint services that align with public expectations by responding quickly and advocating for policy changes that reduce consumer inconvenience.” The KCA’s full 2024 consumer complaint analysis is expected to inform further regulatory discussions as South Korea heads into 2026 with a renewed focus on consumer protection. Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.
com).
