Seoul, May 13 (IANS): The South Korean antitrust regulator said on Monday it signed agreements with the Chinese retail platforms AliExpress and Temu meant to prevent them from selling harmful products and to better protect consumers.

The move came as the customs agency found that some of the products sold on AliExpress, owned by Alibaba, and Temu contained high levels of carcinogens and other harmful substances, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).

Under the voluntary agreements, the two e-commerce companies will carry out safety checks of their products based on data and the results of monitoring conducted by the South Korean government and other entities, and halt the distribution and selling of hazardous items, reports Yonhap news agency.

The Chinese retailers are also supposed to inform customers of such information, and the Seoul government will check if the platforms thoroughly implement due follow-up countermeasures.

"The agreements were the first of their kind signed between the South Korean government and foreign online platform operators on product safety," the FTC said in a release.

"The government will establish a close monitoring system."

The number of complaints by South Korean users about the products and services on the Chinese platforms has soared recently.