FTC sanctions imposed on plastic surgery clinics in Gangnam and Seocho 3 outlets

The Fair Trade Commission imposed sanctions, including corrective orders and orders to disclose, on 7month 12day, against View Plastic Surgery, AB Plastic Surgery Clinic, DA Plastic Surgery, and others. From an investor perspective, what matters is that advertising practices in the beauty medical industry have come under regulatory scrutiny.3."

View Plastic Surgery and DA Plastic Surgery are located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, while AB Plastic Surgery Clinic is located in Seocho-gu, Seoul. These hospitals are clinics and hospitals that are mainly displayed on major portal sites.

The hospitals recruited promotional models through their websites starting in 2018year and until last 5month 29day. The recruited promotional models were asked to write reviews in return for a discount on surgery fees.

The reviews were posted on medical aesthetics apps and internet cafes, and the posts did not disclose that the writers had received economic compensation such as discounts on surgery fees.

The hospitals collected and edited model reviews and posted them as a single article on their websites. They selected models through document screening and in-person consultations, signed advertising contracts, and specified the character count and whether before-and-after photos should be attached via KakaoTalk. They typically managed them to write one review before surgery and monthly reviews for years,1and some hospitals required a deposit.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission determined that if consumers do not know whether a review writer received economic compensation, it could affect their choice of a plastic surgery clinic. An order to make the announcement was imposed on View Plastic Surgery, and an order to stop the act and a future prohibition order were imposed on View Plastic Surgery and AB Plastic Surgery Clinic, while a future prohibition order was imposed on DA Plastic Surgery.