This text discusses the Chinese e-commerce company Temu, which plans to enter the Korean market. According to the article, Temu’s terms and conditions state that users who refuse to allow the transfer of their personal information, such as addresses, phone numbers, and emails, abroad will be unable to use its services. Temu has updated its policy on providing personal information to third parties, now including ‘Korean sales partners’ along with customs authorities. Currently, the company outsources its data processing to enterprises in six countries, including Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
Although these types of data transfers are common in e-commerce, there are concerns in the Korean market due to past issues with the management of personal information by Chinese e-commerce firms. Similar to Temu, AliExpress requires users to agree to the overseas transfer of their personal data. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) of Korea launched an investigation into the personal data collection and use by AliExpress and Temu. In July of the previous year, the PIPC fined AliExpress 1.978 billion won for not adequately informing users about the countries and recipients of their transferred data. The investigation into Temu is reportedly nearing completion.