Republic of Korea: Fair Trade Commission and Consumer Agency announced memorandum of cooperation on monitoring of unfair labelling and advertising

On 21 May 2025, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) and the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) announced a memorandum of cooperation to strengthen the monitoring and correction of unfair labelling and advertising practices. The memorandum links the KCA’s advertising status surveys, including consumer reporting and sector-based monitoring, with the FTC’s ex officio investigations under the Act on Fair Labelling and Advertising and the Act on Consumer Protection in E-Commerce. The memorandum of cooperation focuses on the sectors with a high risk of misleading claims, such as childcare products and “AI washing”, where companies misrepresent the use of artificial intelligence. Under the cooperation memorandum, the KCA will recommend voluntary corrections, while the FTC may initiate formal investigations in cases of non-compliance or serious violations. Joint investigation teams may also be formed pursuant to Article 16-2(1) of the Fair Labelling and Advertising Act.