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(Photo= Yonhap news) |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] The Korea Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee (CDMC) under the Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 14th that it has decided on a compensation plan of up to KRW 21.7 billion related to the collective dispute resolution concerning probability-based items in Nexon Korea's game, "MapleStory."
The compensation will proceed if both Nexon and the applicants for dispute resolution accept the mediation decision.
The CDMC decided that Nexon should provide each applicant with a refund of 3.1% of the amount spent on "Red Cubes" and 6.6% of the amount spent on "Black Cubes" in the form of Nexon Cash, which can be converted into cash.
However, to encourage voluntary compensation by the company, 70% of the amount Nexon voluntarily compensated in May 2021 will be deducted.
Earlier, in January this year, the Fair Trade Commission imposed corrective orders and a fine of approximately KRW 11.6 billion on Nexon for violating e-commerce laws related to probability-based items.
Following this, the Korea Consumer Agency recruited applicants for collective dispute resolution, and 5,773 individuals applied. The committee began the collective dispute resolution process on April 29.
The CDMC explained that the decision was made because Nexon arbitrarily changed the probabilities of the items, resulting in economic losses for users, which required compensation.
If the parties accept the committee's mediation decision, compensation worth KRW 1.1 billion will be provided to 5,674 applicants (excluding those whose item usage could not be verified).
It is estimated that if compensation is provided to approximately 800,000 users in total, the compensation amount could reach KRW 21.7 billion.
This case marks the largest dispute resolution ever handled since the introduction of the consumer collective dispute mediation system.
In response, Nexon stated, "We respect and will sincerely follow the recommendations of the Korea Consumer Agency," adding that "we will apply the same standards not only to those who applied for mediation but also to all users, and we will approach this matter with a responsible attitude to protect user rights."
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
