Is It a Karaoke War? Kumyoung Claims Competitor TJ Media Engaged in Unfair Product Comparison Practices

Conflict Over Sound Equipment Performance Comparison at Marketing Event for Prospective Business Owners

Comparison demonstration zone product model description. The orange color represents TJ Media products, and the blue color represents Kumyoung Entertainment products.
[Photo by TJ Media]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Kumyoung Entertainment (Kumyoung), a rival in the karaoke accompaniment device industry, is fiercely opposing the marketing methods of its competitor TJ Media (TJ), claiming they are unfair. Kumyoung has stated that if TJ does not cease these unfair practices, it will not hesitate to engage in legal battles, including reviewing potential violations of the Fair Trade Act.

The issue began with TJ. According to industry sources on the 2nd, since the 31st of last month, TJ has set up full sets?including karaoke machines (accompaniment devices), amplifiers, and speakers?from both their own and competing companies at 58 dealerships nationwide, allowing prospective business owners to sing and compare the performance of each company's audio equipment.

However, Kumyoung claims that during this process, TJ allowed comparisons between TJ’s top-tier products and Kumyoung’s entry-level products. In other words, they argue that by comparing products with different prices and specifications, prospective entrepreneurs were misled into perceiving Kumyoung’s products as inferior to TJ’s.

A Kumyoung representative stated, "TJ engaged in 'unfair trade practices involving inducement of customers through deception' by causing customers to mistakenly believe that TJ’s products are significantly superior or more advantageous than those of competing businesses, thereby enticing customers to do business with them."

Kumyoung’s products made available for testing included entry-level accompaniment devices (model: KMS-S900), amplifiers (KAM-550BT), speakers (KSP-350), and some discontinued products, whereas TJ’s products for testing were top-tier models such as the P2 (accompaniment device), TA-G402 (amplifier), and TS-180 (speaker). Kumyoung argues this is not a fair comparison.

Yoon Jung-ik, Vice President of Kumyoung, criticized, "The P2 is priced in the 1 million KRW range, while the KMS-S900 trades around 500,000 KRW, so there is about a twofold difference. Comparing these two products under unfair conditions deceives consumers and prospective entrepreneurs, and is a malicious and unfair method to increase market share, which must be eradicated."

In response, TJ stated that Kumyoung’s KMS-S900 model is not an entry-level product but a 'mid-priced mid-range model,' and it was chosen as a comparison target because it is the most well-known model in the market. TJ also claimed that their P2 model is not their top-tier product. A TJ representative said, "Our top-tier models are the A2 accompaniment device, TA-H4000 amplifier, and TS-A100 speaker, and in the domestic market where the two companies compete, Kumyoung’s products are the only comparison targets." They added, "If customers want, we have guidelines issued to dealerships nationwide allowing comparisons with any high-end models from other companies, so there is no problem with objective and fair comparison demonstrations."

The representative further added, "We regret being accused of unfair practices when we were the first in Korea to provide opportunities for customers to compare and experience high-quality products to revive the stagnant market."

Regarding TJ’s stance, Kumyoung stated, "We believe TJ issued guidelines belatedly after already engaging in unfair marketing practices. We have sent a certified letter urging the cessation of unfair trade practices scheduled until the end of the year to TJ, and we are also reviewing potential violations of the Fair Trade Act."

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