Used cars for sale are parked in Seoul on Feb. 18.YONHAP
Used car dealers in Korea will be required to disclose all fees upfront in advertisements starting next year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Thursday.
Consumers will also gain additional legal protections as part of the government's effort to improve transparency in the used-car market.
Buyers will be able to demand repairs from the seller if a defect arises during the warranty period. In addition, if a major component develops a defect within seven days of purchase and the repair burden is deemed excessive, consumers will be entitled to cancel the purchase and receive a refund.
In Korea, roughly 2.5 million used vehicles are traded each year. The country also exported 880,000 used units last year.
However, consumers have long complained about the lack of transparency surrounding vehicle prices and condition, as well as inadequate compensation for defects.
Under the new measures, dealers advertising used vehicles on online platforms will be required to explicitly disclose the full purchase price, including all applicable fees, rather than listing only the vehicle's sticker price.
Currently, consumers are often informed of brokerage and other fees only when signing the contract, while insurance premiums incurred during vehicle inspections are also passed on to buyers.
The government will make sellers responsible for defect warranties. It will also replace the existing vehicle performance insurance program — covering discrepancies between a used car's inspection report and its actual condition — with mandatory insurance for used-car dealers. The new program will feature extended warranty coverage and lowered insurance costs.
Consumers will also be allowed to rescind a purchase if a major component, such as the engine, is found to be defective within seven days of purchase and the required repairs are excessively costlyor time-consuming.
Used cars are seen parked in Incheon on March 8 before being exported.YONHAP
The ministry suggested that an excessive repair burden would include cases where repair costs exceed 3 million won ($2,100) and 30 percent of the vehicle's purchase price, or where repairs take more than 30 days.
The measures, announced Thursday, were developed following discussions at the Policy Coordination Meeting chaired by the prime minister. The ministry plans to submit revisions to the relevant laws and regulations as early as next month and establish a separate task force team to develop detailed implementation measures.
“We will correct outdated practices and shortcomings in the current system to build a fair and transparent used car market where consumers can buy with confidence and businesses are evaluated fairly,” Transport Minister Kim Yun-duk said.
BY KIM JI-HYE [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
