01:23 PM EDT, 05/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with Temu's and AliExpress Korea's statements to MT Newswires in the third and fourth paragraphs, respectively, and the companies' latest stock move in the sixth paragraph.)

Alibaba Group Holding's ( BABA ) AliExpress and PDD Holdings' ( PDD ) Temu signed an agreement with South Korea's Fair Trade Commission to monitor the sale of possibly harmful or hazardous products on their platforms to block them, according to media reports Monday.

"Recently conducted safety inspections on products such as those for children sold on the AliExpress and Temu platforms detected a large amount of substances harmful to the human body, seriously threatening consumer safety," Reuters quoted the South Korean regulator as saying.

The agreement "is an opportunity for Temu to reaffirm its commitment to consumer safety protection and to promise mutual cooperation with regulators to safeguard consumer welfare," Temu said in a statement to MT Newswires.

"We understand that providing effective consumer protection solutions requires continuous collaboration, and we are committed to working closely with [South] Korean regulators to ensure we meet local standards," a spokesperson for AliExpress Korea said in a statement to MT Newswires.

The FTC did not respond to a request for comment by MT Newswires.

Shares of Alibaba ( BABA ) were down 7.4%, while PDD fell 1.4% in recent Tuesday trading.

Price: 78.29, Change: -6.32, Percent Change: -7.46