Trade minister Ahn Duk-geun says the government is working to create conditions to ensure fair competition as Chinese e-commerce platforms expand their influence in the Korean market. 

Ahn made the remark to reporters on Monday as he visited the funeral hall at Severance Hospital in Seoul to pay his respects to late Hyosung Group honorary chairman Cho Suck-rai. 

Ahn said the government is looking into whether South Korean companies are suffering any discrimination in terms of consumer safety or product quality before mulling regulations on the growing presence of platforms such as AliExpress and Temu in the domestic market. 

The minister’s remarks suggest the government will focus on policies that create an environment for fair competition based on the basic principle of guaranteeing consumers the right to use various e-commerce platforms, including AliExpress and Temu.

As domestic distributors have become increasingly concerned over the growing influence of such Chinese firms, the government is currently operating a task force to address their woes. The task force includes the finance and trade ministries as well as the Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Customs Service.

According to mobile app analytics service Wiseapp Retail Goods earlier this month, AliExpress, held by the Alibaba Group, came second among the list of most-used online stores by South Korean shoppers, outpacing 11Street, while Temu came in fourth.