Fair Trade Commission to Investigate False and Exaggerated Advertising in Private Education Market

by Lee Eunjoo

Published 02 Jul.2023 12:16(KST)

The Fair Trade Commission will start closely monitoring false and exaggerated advertisements in the private education market from July.

According to related government departments on the 2nd, the Fair Trade Commission is waiting for the results of reports submitted during the "Private Education Cartel and Corruption Intensive Reporting Period," which the Ministry of Education is conducting until the 6th of next month. The Fair Trade Commission plans to receive related report data from the Ministry of Education and review whether there are violations of the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising.

Recently, the Fair Trade Commission completed sanctions against adult education companies. Hackers Academy, which teaches various certifications and employment exams including for public officials and licensed real estate agents, was issued a corrective order and fined 286 million won on the 27th for false and exaggerated advertisements.

Hackers Academy advertised with phrases such as "No. 1 for Public Officials" and "No. 1 for Licensed Real Estate Agents" on buses, subways, and the internet. Although it was only selected as No. 1 in a satisfaction survey by a specific media outlet, they printed this basis in very small letters, making it very difficult or impossible for consumers to identify, effectively concealing the information.

In February last year, the Fair Trade Commission also imposed a fine of 286 million won on Eduwill for violating the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising. Eduwill advertised "No. 1 in number of successful candidates" on the outside of buses and subway stations from November 2018 to August 2021, but this only applied to the licensed real estate agent exam and was limited to 2016 and 2017. Eduwill filed a lawsuit against the Fair Trade Commission at the Seoul High Court to cancel the corrective order, but lost last month.