Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission Decides Collective Dispute About Merge Point

- The Commission Decides on Compensation for Unused Points -

Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission (Chairman Byun Ung-jae, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Commission’) made a decision on June 14, 2022 to partially acknowledge the responsibility of the mail order brokers who brokered the transaction with the sellers, in addition to Merge Plus Co., Ltd., which oversaw and carried out the business, in relation to the case of an application for a collective dispute settlement in which consumers who had purchased Merge Points* demanded a refund of the price from the sellers** and mail order brokers***, etc., for such reasons as a drastic reduction of the affiliated companies, etc.

There are a total of 7,203 applicants, of whom 5,467 consumers are subject to compensation, while the others have been excluded due to such reasons as the withdrawal of their application as of the date of the mediation decision (06.14.2022), the filing of a lawsuit, the inability to contact them, or their failure to submit the required data within the deadline.

   * There are three types of Merge Point vouchers: ① Merge Money electronic gift certificate type, ② Merge Point card type, and ③ a subscription service. Merge Money or Merge Points are money-type cyber currencies that can be purchased at a discount of approximately 20%. Consumers can also receive a discount on subscription services by signing up for a membership fee of 15,000 won per month.

** Telecommunications (online) sellers including Merge Supporter Co., Ltd., Smartcon Co., Ltd., Zlgoon., Ltd., Coup Marketing Co., Ltd., Korea Phase Service Co., Ltd., Style C Corporation Co., Ltd., Kakao Co., Ltd., and offline distributors GS Retail Co., Ltd. and BGF Retail Co., Ltd.

     *** Online marketplace operators including WeMakePrice Co., Ltd., Tmon Co., Ltd., 11st Co., Ltd., Lotte Shopping Co., Ltd., Interpark Co., Ltd., and Gmarket Global Co., Ltd.