Until when are they going to keep saying ‘limited time only, 00% huge discount’?? Are they really giving away AirPods as prizes??(2025. 4. 10.)

• Corrective orders and fines imposed on Eduwill Co., Ltd. and ST Unitas Co., Ltd. for false and exaggerated advertising -

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (Chairperson: Han Ki-jeong, hereinafter referred to as the "KFTC") has decided to impose corrective orders, public disclosure orders, and fines totaling 310 million KRW on two online lecture service providers, Eduwill Co., Ltd. and ST Unitas Co., Ltd., for deceptive "limited-time" advertising practices related to their online lecture products for civil service and certification exams. The fines imposed are: Eduwill – 154 million KRW, ST Unitas – 156 million KRW.

 

① From June 1, 2020, to April 17, 2023, Eduwill advertised 109 online lecture products related to certification and civil service exams on 13 of its websites using phrases like "Limited-time offer: Special ₩50,000 discount for one week only," "Deadline approaching! 0/00 benefits are ending!", and "Limited-time, 00% huge discount." Among them, 11 products related to employment were advertised in batches with a one-week cycle.

 

② From January 2017 to November 2021, ST Unitas advertised 47 civil service exam prep products on its online platforms Gongdangi (civil service) and Gyeongdangi (police) using phrases like “Only □ Day ◌◌:◌◌:◌◌ left until the ◌◌◌ batch closes,” “This deal and bundle are the last – hurry up!”, and “D-□□ until this bundle ends.”

 

In addition, from July 2 to August 16, 2021, ST Unitas sold three civil service prep products on Gongdangi at increased prices while falsely advertising “Today’s lowest price,” and subsequently lowered the price after promoting it as the lowest.

 

Furthermore, from June 4 to August 5, 2021, on its Gongin Dangi site (certified realtor exam prep), ST Unitas set weekly sales periods and displayed messages like “□(month)/◇◇(day) sales end!” in pop-up windows, while including disclaimers such as “Products may be resold at the same price and benefits later” in very small or faint text at the bottom of the ads.

 

The KFTC judged that these advertisements constituted unfair advertising practices under the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising.

 

These companies falsely indicated that discounts or benefits were available only until specific deadlines, but in reality, continued to advertise the same offers with only slight changes in dates and phrases, thus engaging in false or exaggerated advertising.

 

In particular, ST Unitas was found to have concealed important consumer information using font colors similar to the background or extremely small font sizes, making it difficult or impossible for consumers to notice, thus deceiving consumers and disrupting rational purchasing decisions.

 

Moreover, these companies had already acknowledged the potential illegality of such practices by signing the "Self-Regulatory Agreement for Preventing Unfair Online Lecture Advertising" on November 28, 2019, along with other online education providers (Eduwill, ST Unitas, Megastudy Education, Champstudy, EduSpa Parkmungak, Willbes). This agreement outlines practices to prevent misleading advertisements in the online education sector, especially for civil service and certification exams.

 

③ Additionally, Eduwill conducted company-wide promotional events monthly to boost sales and advertised on its website and other channels from December 2022 and again from July to October 2023 that consumers who purchased their services could win high-value prizes like Apple AirPods or Samsung Galaxy Tabs through a lottery. However, they did not actually distribute these prizes.

 

The KFTC found that such advertisements could mislead consumers into believing that they had a chance to win high-value prizes by purchasing services during the event, which could influence their purchase decisions. Since the promised prizes were not delivered, this was deemed a false and exaggerated advertisement under the law and could potentially harm fair trade practices in the online education market.

 

This action by the KFTC aims to strictly regulate the recurring practice of misleading "limited-time" advertisements in the competitive online education market and address deceptive promotional tactics involving high-value prizes that were never intended to be given away.

 

The KFTC plans to continue monitoring unfair advertising practices in the online education market and will take strict action against violations.