Bodyfriend "Grow Taller and Improve Grades"... Prosecution Indicts Without Detention for False Advertising

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] Bodyfriend, a massage chair company, and its CEO have been indicted for falsely advertising that massage chairs are effective in enhancing adolescents' height growth and cognitive functions such as concentration.

On the 28th, the Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Minhyung) announced that Bodyfriend Corporation and its CEO Park were indicted without detention on charges of violating the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising.

In January last year, Bodyfriend launched the adolescent massage chair "Highkey" and advertised through newspapers and magazines that it had effects such as "height growth" and "improvement in learning ability." However, the Fair Trade Commission's investigation confirmed that Bodyfriend had never proven the height growth effect through clinical trials. Accordingly, the Fair Trade Commission filed a complaint against Bodyfriend with the prosecution in July.

The prosecution judged that the CEO who approved the advertising act was also responsible. Therefore, the prosecution exercised the right to request the prosecutor general to file a complaint, and the Fair Trade Commission additionally filed a complaint against CEO Park on the 12th. A prosecution official explained, "This is a serious matter that hinders rational purchasing decisions of massage chair consumers and harms fair trade order by making false and exaggerated advertisements related to appearance and learning, which are concerns of growing adolescents and their parents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.