Galaxy Z Fold8 with a retail price of 2.27 million won for 900,000 won? Free device cost for senior citizens' filial piety phones?
It has been confirmed that reports of damage from false and exaggerated advertising have increased by 74% since the repeal of the Act on Improving the Distribution Structure of Mobile Communication Terminals, commonly known as the "Mobile Terminal Distribution Act," in July last year. This is interpreted as a result of the indiscriminate abuse of "holy grail" marketing, which previously flourished in the shadows, spreading through highly viral content such as influencers and short-form videos on YouTube and social media (SNS).
According to data on damage reports from the "Mobile Communication Market Unfair Practices Reporting Center" submitted by the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Ju-hee on the 11th, there were 859 reports of damage from "false and exaggerated advertising" against Hoo Daejeon sales stores from January to July this year. This figure represents a 74% increase compared to the 494th complaints regarding false and exaggerated advertising received from January last year until the repeal date of the Mobile Terminal Distribution Act on July 22. Compared to the total of 1,473 unfair practice reports received from January to July this year, 58% were complaints about false and exaggerated advertising.
The problematic cases of false and exaggerated advertising largely include: △the use of terms such as "maximum" and "lowest"; △content that differs from reality, such as "benefits only today" and "directly operated by headquarters"; △actions that do not distinguish the payer and scale of subsidies; △actions that advertise only the total discount amount or as "actual purchase price" or "monthly burden"; △actions that advertise fee discounts such as optional contracts as terminal subsidies; △actions that advertise credit card partnership discounts, used phone buyback amounts, etc., as terminal subsidies; and △actions that omit important conditions such as fee plans and contract periods in advertising.
The Lee Ju-hui (Rep.) side stated, "Although the Mobile Terminal Distribution Act was repealed in July last year with the intention of activating subsidy competition in the industry, damage to users due to information imbalance and false/exaggerated advertising has become a reality." They interpreted this as a result of the indiscriminate spread of "online holy grails," which were previously operated in the shadows, driven by the diffusion power of content such as influencers, SNS, and short-form videos, along with advanced advertising techniques like hidden ads, AI (artificial intelligence), and algorithms.
In particular, it is pointed out that in the absence of an advertising guideline from the authorities, damage to purchasers continues to occur due to misleading guidance on activation conditions or confusion between partnership cards/fee discounts and subsidies. It is also a problem that such damage may be concentrated among the elderly or vulnerable groups who are not accustomed to online advertising.
Lee Ju-hui (Rep.) stated, "The proliferation of false and exaggerated advertising ultimately causes significant damage to the national economy as a market-disrupting act." They added, "The government must promptly revise the guideline for eradicating false and exaggerated advertising in the mobile communication market and establish management and supervision measures. It should strengthen inspections of platforms and SNS, and promptly initiate self-purification activities that ensure the participation of mobile carriers and online platform operators."
in TECH
