C&K Law Offices advised a business operating an online sales platform on whether its structure for integrating a long-term installment payment service would be subject to Korean financial regulations.

Under the business model, when a consumer applies for long-term installment payment on the platform, a financial institution conducts a credit assessment and pays the sales price, and subsequently collects the price from the consumer in installments. The key issues were the extent to which the platform operator would be regarded as involved in payment and financial services, and whether, as a result, its activities could constitute regulated activities such as the brokerage of financial products.

C&K Law Offices comprehensively reviewed the contractual relationships among the parties, the flow of funds and actual operating practices, and analyzed the difference between a structure in which the platform operator functions merely as a service provider and one in which it is substantively involved in financial services.

C&K Law Offices also explained the need to clearly distinguish the roles of the platform operator and the financial institution in both the contracts and actual operations, and proposed a direction for revising the contractual and operational framework accordingly.

C&K Law Offices provides legal advice on business models that combine platforms and financial services, reviewing whether regulations apply based on actual operating practices and each party’s role, and helping ensure the legal soundness of the business structure.