The antitrust regulator said Thursday it has decided to impose a fine of 780 million won (US$582,089) on Hackers Language Institute Co., a major language education company, for misleading advertising.
Workers of the institute and two related companies were found to have run 16 online communities and recommended their courses and books while concealing their link to the companies, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).
They manipulated the results of online surveys to rank Hackers the top local language institute and used the polls for advertisements.
Employees have also pretended to be students and written complimentary comments about the institute's programs and teachers, the regulator said.
Hackers offers online and in-person English courses mainly for TOEIC test takers and preparation programs for civil service examinations.
The FTC said those promotion strategies constitute deceptive practices and ordered corrective measures, along with the fine.
"Managers of online communities intentionally conceal and omit key information to mislead consumers and prevent their rational decision making," the FTC said.
"We will continue to closely monitor unfair online advertising practices and sternly deal with them," it added.
Source: Yonhap News Agency