Positive Regulation (Korea) vs. Negative Regulation (Anglo-American, China)

This year, the government's startup support policy is expected to continue to provide benefits and support, but discussions on deregulation that determines the survival of a business will likely continue. Of course, regulations are necessary. However, the reality is that many capable startups are unable to even start a business due to outdated regulations.

In China, Internet companies represented by BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) are expanding their territory to the world, using the Chinese government's infinite and close policy support as a stepping stone. In fact, in China, easy payment using smartphones is already a part of daily life, and utility bill payments and administrative processing can all be processed within messengers. Regarding regulatory policies, there are positive and negative, and it can be said that China's business model operates under negative regulations.

• Definition of positive regulation: This refers to a regulation that specifically lists what is permitted by law or policy and prohibits everything else. The intensity of regulation is much stronger than the negative method, which permits everything except for acts prohibited by law or policy. In Korea, the positive regulation method is applied to most bills. For example, the Automobile Management Act classifies automobiles into passenger cars, vans, cargo vehicles, special vehicles, and two-wheeled vehicles, and if they do not fall into one of these categories, they are not considered automobiles. For this reason, in 2015, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport judged that electric vehicles that can carry one to two people were not classified as passenger cars or two-wheeled vehicles, which caused controversy. (Source: Hankyung Economic Dictionary)
• Definition of negative regulation: The opposite of positive regulation, in which everything is permitted except for some prohibitions.

The Hey Dealer issue that occurred a few years ago (article link: "Don't come into our market!" A collusion between vested interests and the government and local governments? ) clearly shows the problems with domestic positive regulations. This is especially evident in the financial sector, represented by fintech. A representative example is ActiveX (exe file), a non-standard technology. ActiveX is an institutional device created by the financial sector and the government. While it can block exceptional situations (e.g. chargebacks, card theft) that may arise during the payment process in principle, it has the disadvantage that all of these procedures and requirements must be borne by the end user.

Fortunately, starting January 22, 2018, the information will be abolished by the public certificate system, which will remove the obligation for public and financial institutions to use it, but it is expected to take considerable time for an alternative technology to take hold. To be exact, it is abolishing the mandatory use, not the use of ActiveX (exe).

What about internet banking at overseas banks? Chase Bank, which is widely used in the US, only allows you to log in with your ID and password when using internet banking, and does not use external security programs such as certificates when sending money overseas.

Internet Explorer vs Google Chrome, Firefox

Ranking of overseas web browser usage: 1. (overwhelming) Chrome, 2. Safari, 3. Firefox

​Like many people, I don't use Explorer at all except when I'm accessing government or financial sites. However, there are times when I have no choice but to use Explorer in Korea. If you're targeting overseas, you should definitely use Chrome or Firefox and create a site optimized for that web browser. In Korea, many agencies are still focused on creating sites optimized for Explorer.

▲ Ranking of the fastest web browsers selected by overseas Internet experts

Web browser extensions

Explorer is difficult to expand beyond the functions supported or updated by MS, while Chrome and Firefox can be configured with more diverse functions and an optimized environment for users through paid and free apps provided by 3rd party developers. For example, the Gmail service provided by Google can manage emails more efficiently through the Gmail management app. Overseas marketing service companies support Chrome apps in addition to their own programs, so users can use the service more conveniently.

▲ Chrome Web Store Extension

▲ Firefox add-on

Domestic representative portal Naver vs. global standard Google

Is Naver a search site? Is it a portal site? The answer is both. Once you log in, Naver shows search results that give weight to its own services such as its own shopping mall, blog, and cafe so that you can finish surfing within Naver without leaving (or not being able to). You can see it as a portal (70%) + search engine (30%) format.

​However, Google is a 100% search engine that ranks sites around the world and exposes them to web browsers through a Google search algorithm called PageRank. Since Google operates based on web standards, it is essential to create a site based on web standards in order to be exposed to Google. In addition, site measurement is possible through Analytics, Search Console, and Tag Manager, and it is configured to exchange information with Google servers.

Web standards and URL structure

Have you ever clicked on a page searched through a PC search bar and been directed to a mobile page? This can happen if the page is not responsive. This is because domestic sites often create separate mobile pages, but web standards require responsive site design and composition. Overseas builders such as Shopify and WordPress do not require a separate mobile site because responsiveness is the default.

Have you ever compared the URL structure of domestic sites with that of foreign sites? Most domestic sites are built so that the URL structure cannot be changed, while foreign sites have a Friendly URL Structure that emphasizes the keywords of the page. This is also essential for SEO.

Domestic Marketplace vs. Overseas Marketplace

The representative domestic e-commerce marketplaces are led by the so-called social big three, Coupang, WeMakePrice, and Tmon, and the open markets, Auction, Gmarket (eBay Korea), 11st, and Interpark. In these marketplaces, except for the integrated listing management program, there is no connection between each market or 3rd party apps. However, in the case of eBay, which can be said to be a representative overseas marketplace, there are many 3rd party apps that can be used within the eBay platform, which can be used conveniently when selling on eBay.

▲ eBay App Center

[Useful eBay Selling Apps]

• AfterShip : A free app that integrates shipping information to reduce shipping-related customer service (customer push mail function is paid)
• Feedback Pro : Send feedback push mail
• Froo! Template Themes : Provides description page template themes
• InkFrog : A listing integration management program specialized in multi-country listings

Alternative eBay sites like Bonanza offer the ability to import listings from eBay and Amazon. In the case of eBay, you can even import feedback, so if you have perfect eBay feedback, you can start selling on Bonanza with perfect seller feedback.

Domestic shopping cart hosting vs. overseas shopping cart hosting

Domestic shopping cart hosting services, such as Cafe24, MakeShop, and NHN Godomall, are made in each company's own programming language and do not disclose the source code, so 3rd party development is fundamentally impossible. Accordingly, if each company does not update the function, shopping mall operators have no choice but to wait for the update, which has a passive structure. PG services are also occupied by companies such as Inicis (listed company), KCP (owned by NHN), LG CNS, U+ (large corporations), and are under contract with shopping cart hosting companies such as Cafe24.

If you are using a shopping mall with a hosting company, you cannot receive a discount on commissions based on sales because the payment fees provided by the hosting company are fixed. However, overseas shopping malls have a sole contract between the shopping mall operator (merchant) and the PG company, so discounts based on sales are possible, and changing or adding PG companies is easy.

▲ Magento Extension Marketplace

▲ Shopify App Store. You can use over 2,000 online shop-related apps.
​ ▲ PayPal fee discount based on sales volume

Product Description Page Configuration

The product description pages used in Korea often use a single jpg file edited from dozens of images. What you should pay attention to here is the jpg file. Since the product description (page) of the web standard is based on text, Google recognizes this product page as a page without product-related description. Therefore, Google Shopping linkage is also impossible. When I meet with overseas companies and see the product description pages of Korean shopping malls, most of them are surprised. How can they make pages like this? It can be said that product pages consisting only of images are blocking the overseas expansion of Korean shopping malls.

​Also, Korea is probably the only country where sellers go overseas to shoot images for sleeveless T-shirts that cost 12,000 won. This is because the culture values ​​the image of the model more than the product itself. The characteristic of Korean Soho shopping malls is that they are all centered around models. On the other hand, overseas shopping malls often use images that center around the product.

▲ Women's clothing product description page with 50 product options (Source: Gmarket). It's dizzying.

▲ Product description page of Wingsmall, a domestic mid-sized shopping mall, consisting of 50 images

Product Image

In the case of open markets, the use of GIF images was banned several years ago, but they are still commonly used in fashion shopping malls. However, overseas, GIF images are generally not used in product images, and even if there are model cuts, the model's face is not exposed or only partially exposed so that the focus can be on the product.

▲ Product description page of Nordstrom, a leading department store in the United States, on its online shopping mall

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Overseas e-commerce related services are expanding their influence to target the entire world based on web standards, but domestic services cannot help but feel trapped in the small market of Korea. If you are targeting overseas, we strongly recommend that you build a site using a shopping mall builder such as Shopify based on web standards.