전자상거래에서 소비자 피해구제를 위한 동의의결제도

Consent order for consumer damage relief in e-commerce

Recently, the e-commerce market is growing rapidly, and as online transactions are rapidly increasing due to COVID-19, consumer damage in e-commerce is also increasing. Consumer damage through e-commerce is characterized by a small amount of damage, and there is a very high probability that a large number of victims or the damage will spread. Therefore, the need for preventing consumer damage and effective damage relief is growing in e-commerce. Accordingly, discussions are underway to expand and introduce the consent order to e-commerce. It has been introduced and operated in major countries, including Korea, for efficient resolution of competition law violations. In the United States, where the consent order was first introduced, the consent settlement system is actively used not only for violations of competition laws but also for unfair or deceptive transactional behaviors or practices of business operators in e-commerce. Therefore, it is necessary to review the case of the United States as a reference model for using the consent order in e-commerce. This study first looked at the current status of consumer damage and damage relief in e-commerce accordingly. Second, the discussion related to the introduction of consent order in e-commerce was identified. Third, the case of US consent orders related to e-commerce was reviewed and analyzed. Finally, based on the results of the case study, three suggestions were made for the use of the consent order as a new means for relieving consumer damage in e-commerce.