Upon signing up for funeral service contracts, responsibility for incomplete sales of expensive electronic products advertised as "free" has been recognized, and the Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Dispute Settlement Committee issued a decision on August 2, 2026, requiring Lotte Rental to reduce installment payments for 221 consumers by 30%.

The Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Dispute Settlement Committee determined that day that electronic product purchase contracts sold in combination with funeral services constituted incomplete sales. The committee decided that Lotte Rental must reduce the total installment payments for 221 consumers by 30%. This was due to electronic product purchase contracts imposing high installment payments approximately three times the sale price on consumers, contrary to claims that they were "provided free of charge."

Affected consumers signed contracts after being told that they would receive expensive electronic products worth over 1 million won "free of charge" when signing up for funeral services, but in reality had to pay installments over a long period amounting to approximately three times the sale price of the electronic products. Claiming they bore unexpected financial burdens due to deceptive explanations, they filed for collective dispute settlement with the Korea Consumer Agency, resulting in 221 cases of large-scale damages being filed.

[Photo=Yonhapnews]

Lotte Rental had argued that it bore no responsibility for incomplete sales since it was not directly involved in notices about "free provision" of electronic products. However, the Consumer Dispute Settlement Committee pointed out that funeral service enrollment and electronic product installment purchase contracts were clearly combined in the contract. Additionally, it acknowledged that Lotte Rental held management and supervisory responsibility over overall sales through executive operations delegation contracts, ultimately determining that it could not escape responsibility for incomplete sales. This decision is expected to have significant market impact as it is the first case where incomplete sales responsibility is extended not only to funeral service companies but also to businesses selling combined products.

The committee considered that consumers had already used electronic products worth over 1 million won for a considerable period and that funeral services could also potentially be used in the future. Additionally, recognizing the need to quickly resolve disputes involving multiple victims and expedite relief, the committee ultimately prepared an adjustment plan of 30% reduction in installment payments. This is evaluated as a compromise reflecting both parties' positions comprehensively rather than one-sided damage compensation.

This collective dispute settlement decision will have legal effect if Lotte Rental accepts the adjustment plan within 15 days from receiving the decision. Should Lotte Rental accept, consumers who suffered similar incomplete sales but did not directly participate in this adjustment process can also receive compensation under the same standards. This is expected to serve as an important precedent for strengthened consumer protection across the funeral service combined product market. Companies will face further emphasis on their responsibility to transparently disclose accurate product prices and service conditions to consumers when selling combined products. Lotte Rental's subsequent acceptance or rejection of the adjustment plan is drawing attention as an important variable for additional victim relief as well as establishing the integrity of the relevant market.