Delivery Hero Author Who Wrote 350 Fake Reviews Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison

Restaurant Owner Commissioned Fake Reviews
Court Sentences to Imprisonment for Obstruction of Business
Woowa Brothers "Eradicate Review Manipulation Practices"

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] A person who wrote fake reviews on the Baedal Minjok application in exchange for payment from restaurants has been sentenced to imprisonment. Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok, has also filed or is preparing lawsuits against numerous other review manipulation operators.

On the 25th, Woowa Brothers announced that the Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced Mr. A, who wrote fake reviews in exchange for money from restaurants, to 10 months in prison for obstruction of business. Although the ruling was made in the first trial last November, the court recently dismissed the operator's appeal, finalizing the original judgment.

Since 2018, Woowa Brothers has tracked down operators who manipulated reviews and reported them to the police. Review manipulation refers to writing false reviews and evaluation information favorable to restaurants by pretending to have actually used restaurants that were never actually used.

Mr. A, who was sentenced to imprisonment this time, committed the crime based on the fact that consumers ordering delivery food refer to reviews posted on the app to decide their orders. He wrote fake reviews a total of 350 times upon requests from multiple restaurant owners. It was also revealed that he wrote fake reviews commissioned by other fake review operators.

Until now, even when fake review writers were formally tried, it was rare for imprisonment to be sentenced. However, as reviews have a significant impact on restaurant operations, it is analyzed that the court judged that review manipulation harms the majority of honest restaurant owners and consumers.

Woowa Brothers has filed or is preparing lawsuits against numerous other review manipulation operators besides the one caught this time. In addition, they plan to eradicate review manipulation by continuously monitoring fake reviews to prevent fraudulent acts.

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