Fair Trade Commission imposes a fine of 286 million KRW on Eduwill
'Number one in passers', concealed fact limited to a specific year
"Strict response to chronic unfair advertising in the online education industry"
[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] Online education company Eduwill has been sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for deceptive advertising.
The FTC announced on the 20th that it decided to impose corrective orders and a fine of 286 million KRW on Eduwill, which advertised itself as the number one in the number of successful candidates across all fields and exam years. This is the first case in the past three years where the FTC has imposed fines on an online education provider.
Previously, Eduwill advertised itself as the "number one in the number of successful candidates" nationwide, including the Seoul metropolitan area, from 2018 to last year. However, the phrase supporting this claim, "Official certification from the Korea Records Institute for producing the highest number of successful candidates in a single session of the 2016-2017 Certified Real Estate Agent exam," was displayed in less than 1% of the area on bus advertisements. For subway advertisements, the supporting phrase occupied only 0.1% to 1.11% of the total area.
The phrase "Number one in civil service exams," advertised by Eduwill from 2019 to last year, was similarly presented. On bus exterior advertisements where this phrase was used, the supporting phrase "Korea Research Institute Education Brand Awareness Survey" occupied only 4.8% to 11.8% of the total area.
The FTC judged Eduwill's advertisements to be deceptive under the Act on Labeling and Advertising. First, the "number one in the number of successful candidates" phrase referred only to the 2016 and 2017 Certified Real Estate Agent exams, but the basis was not clearly indicated. The "number one in civil service exams" phrase was based solely on the 2015 "Civil Service Education Institution Preference and Awareness Survey" conducted by Korea Research, but the supporting phrase was printed in small letters, making it difficult to recognize.
Advertisement of online education company Eduwill. The phrase "Number 1 in passers" refers only to the results of the 2016 and 2017 Certified Real Estate Agent exams, but the basis was not clearly indicated for easy verification. [Photo by Korea Fair Trade Commission]
Accordingly, the FTC found that Eduwill concealed the fact that the advertising phrases applied only to specific fields and years. Furthermore, the FTC judged that the deceptive nature of Eduwill’s advertisements was significant because bus and subway advertisements are encountered briefly while in transit, making it harder to notice the supporting phrases.
Consumer misunderstanding was also an issue. It was pointed out that consumers who saw the two advertisements could mistakenly believe that Eduwill had the highest number of successful candidates across all fields and periods and was also the top performer in civil service exams. The FTC considered that consumers who saw both the "number one in the number of successful candidates" and "number one in civil service exams" phrases might mistakenly believe that Eduwill was number one in the number of successful candidates for civil service exams.
The FTC stated its position to strictly respond to the chronic unfair advertising practices in the education industry. Although it has continuously imposed sanctions such as two corrective orders and twelve warnings on unfair advertising by online education providers over the past three years, the FTC judged that industry practices have not been eradicated. In fact, about 150 reports related to three online education companies?Champ Study (Hackers), ST Unitas (Gongdangi), and Eduwill?were received by the FTC last year.
An FTC official said, "This action is significant as it is a case where the main advertising claims were concealed, preventing consumers from receiving accurate information, and thus judged as deceptive advertising. It is meaningful in that strict measures were taken against advertising methods used by the majority of online lecture service providers."
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