South Korea’s antitrust regulator has fined Airbnb Ireland UC for failing to properly verify information of short-term rental hosts. The home rental platform was fined 500,000 won ($379.6) for violating the country’s electronic commerce act. Airbnb also failed to provide detailed information about the company on its website.
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced the fine, stating that Airbnb did not follow proper verification procedures for rental hosts. The company also did not mark detailed information about itself, such as a customer service phone number, on its website, which goes against its own identity information rules.
The FTC has ordered Airbnb to take corrective measures in accordance with the e-commerce law. The regulator emphasized that foreign operators, like Airbnb, must comply with South Korean laws when doing business in the country. Airbnb is the fifth-largest accommodation service platform in South Korea with 1.04 million members as of 2021, according to government data.
