South Korean Presidential Office issues official apology over restrictions on overseas online shopping … President Yoon denies apology

The South Korean Presidential Office has officially apologized for the confusion caused by the regulatory measures against overseas mail order sites. However, President Yoon Seok-yeol did not personally apologize.
"Recently, the government has announced measures to directly purchase goods from overseas online stores, but the measures have not been implemented," said Song Tae-yoon, the government's policy director, at a press conference on the 20th.
"We sincerely apologize for the confusion and inconvenience caused," he said. Mr. Sung pointed out that the government's response had two major flaws, saying, "The KC (National Certification Integrated Mark) certification
Although the policy of making it impossible to purchase directly from overseas (online shopping) unless a license is obtained is intended to protect the safety of the public, it unduly restricts the consumer's right to choose and causes inconvenience to the public who want cheap products.
"In the process of explaining the policy announcement, the actual plan was not accurately conveyed," he said, adding, "The government failed to properly explain the convergence of public opinion regarding the revision of the law and the related procedures.
Despite the need for a ban, the government failed to fully explain its policy of restricting imports only when harmfulness was confirmed before the law was revised, leading to the misunderstanding that direct purchases of 80 items from overseas would be prohibited from June.
"The Presidential Office has listened to public opinion and instructed the Prime Minister's Office to add an accurate explanation. We have been told to take necessary measures to prevent inconvenience to the public," he added.
"In accordance with the president's instructions, the relevant government ministries and agencies are conducting a comprehensive review of the KC certification introduction policy and are considering ways to better balance consumer choice and safety."
"President Yoon will take measures to prevent such incidents from recurring, such as reviewing policies in advance, gathering public opinion through party-government consultations, explaining policies through press conferences, and
"I have instructed the government to strengthen its policy risk management, including by re-examining the government's policy risk management," he said. He added, "We will use this incident as an opportunity to do our utmost to increase the credibility of government policies," and "We will do our utmost to prevent confusion among the public."
"Once again, we deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused," he added. After announcing the policy to make KC certification mandatory for overseas direct purchases, the company essentially withdrew the policy three days later in response to confusion, and then on the 4th
The presidential office later issued an apology, but reiterated that "President Yoon did not directly apologize for the confusion regarding overseas direct purchasing."
When asked whether the president had offered an apology for the controversy, a senior official in the presidential office responded, "The presidential office is centered around the Office for Government Policy Coordination.
"I did not participate in the coordination of the Foreign Direct Purchase Task Force that was established in the United States, and this issue has not been reported to the President."
President Yoon was not briefed on the policy-making process, but he was not involved in the controversy.
After learning that the situation had worsened, he instructed his staff to apologize to the public for the inconvenience. Prior to the meeting with Mr. Sung, President Yoon held a scheduled lunch with Prime Minister Han Deok-soo.
This is being interpreted as a move to scold the Office for Government Policy Coordination, which has been leading the effort to develop safety measures for overseas online shopping.
Previously, the South Korean government banned direct purchases from overseas online retailers for 80 items, including children's products, electrical appliances and daily necessities, without KC certification.
The government announced a safety measure to ban the use of alcohol, but this was criticized as unduly restricting consumer choice.