"X Flavor!" Fake Reviews on Delivery Apps... 7 Million Won Fine

Internet Promotion Marketing Company CEO Mr. A
Charge of Obstruction of Business
Baedal Minjok 'Review Manipulation'
Total of 9,985 Fake Reviews Posted Over 2 Months

"It's absolutely delicious!!! I've settled on this place for tonkatsu~~~^^"

"The texture of the fried chicken is different lol, it was crispy and I enjoyed eating it alone so much"

"Failed my diet again todayㅠ! How can the seasoning be this tasty!"

"The sashimi is so fresh~ I'm on a diet but couldn't resist haha"

A, a 50-year-old CEO of an internet marketing company, thought of making money by exploiting the fact that people refer to consumer reviews and ratings when ordering food on the delivery platform Baedal Minjok. He approached restaurant owners with a proposal to "promote by leaving fake consumer reviews." Some owners accepted this proposal, knowing the 'power' of ratings and reviews on delivery applications (apps).

A pretended to have used restaurants he never actually visited and wrote fake reviews. On June 1, 2020, when the 'review manipulation' began, over 100 fake reviews were posted in one day. Over the next two months, a total of 9,985 fake reviews were posted. He charged the owners a fee of 5,000 KRW per review and also commissioned another reviewer to write 100 reviews for 400,000 KRW. This reviewer recruited people under the pretext of short-term part-time jobs to carry out 'review manipulation.'

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 10 (Judge Yoon Yang-ji) sentenced A to a fine of 7 million KRW on the 9th for obstruction of business.

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