Matchmaking firm Duo sanctioned for unsubstantiated 'most professionals, elite-university members' claims

Matchmaking firm Duo has been sanctioned by the Korea Fair Trade Commission after advertising — without objective evidence — that it had the most members with professional qualifications and elite-university backgrounds in the industry, and that it was the only matchmaking company subject to external audits.

An investigation also found the company had inflated the number of specialist matchmakers it employed by including general staff in the count.

The Fair Trade Commission said Wednesday it had issued a corrective order and a public disclosure order against Duo Information, and imposed a fine of 345 million won ($249,000) for false and exaggerated advertising.

According to the commission, Duo ran advertisements from November 2022 through internet articles, its website, blogs and outdoor bus ads carrying slogans such as "industry-leading 5,135 professional members" and "16,479 elite-university members — the most in the industry." Some of the internet articles remained live until July 16, the day the commission reviewed the case.

Investigators found, however, that Duo had tallied its member figures using its own internally defined criteria for "professional" and "elite university," and could not demonstrate that those figures were actually the highest in the industry. The only basis the company cited for the claims was its own sales figures and total membership count. It had not identified or compared the professional or elite-university member counts of rival firms using the same criteria.

Duo classified physicians, dentists, oriental medicine doctors, veterinarians, pharmacists, oriental medicine pharmacists, lawyers, judges and prosecutors as professional members. Elite-university members included graduates of medical-track universities, universities in Seoul and the greater metropolitan area, regional national universities, military academies and specialized institutions such as the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

The company's claim to be the only matchmaking firm subject to external audits was also found to be false. From April 14, 2022, Duo advertised through internet articles, its website and blogs that it was "the only externally audited corporation in the industry" and "the only domestic firm listed on the Financial Supervisory Service's DART system."

At the time, however, audit reports from other matchmaking companies were already publicly disclosed on DART, making the "industry's only" claim untrue.

The specialist matchmaker count was also inflated. From November 2022 through June 25 last year, Duo advertised on its website that "230 specialist matchmakers — the most in the industry — provide personalized two-to-one management." The actual number of matchmakers dedicated exclusively to arranging introductions between members stood at 188 as of October 2023, and the 230 figure used in the advertising included general staff.

The commission determined that Duo had impeded consumers' ability to make informed choices by providing false and exaggerated information on matters — such as the number of professional and elite-university members and the number of specialist matchmakers — that could significantly influence purchasing decisions. It also found that whether a company is subject to external audits bears on its perceived financial credibility and is therefore material to consumer decisions.

In response, the commission ruled that the conduct constituted false and exaggerated advertising under the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising, and imposed the corrective order, public disclosure order and fine.

The commission said it would continue to monitor deceptive advertising in the matchmaking industry to ensure that information important to consumers' purchasing decisions is provided accurately.

It is also pursuing regulatory reforms to raise penalties for deceptive advertising, citing a judgment that the current fine ceiling is too low to be effective given the growing consumer harm from misleading ads as AI and digital technology expand.

A bill to amend the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising — raising the proportional fine ceiling from 2 percent of sales to 10 percent, and lifting the fixed fine ceiling from 500 million won to 5 billion won for cases where relevant sales are difficult to calculate — was introduced in February and is currently under discussion in the National Assembly.