Japanese fashion brand, Uniqlo, fined over misleading ads

South Korea's antitrust regulator on Thursday imposed a fine of 153 million won (108,000 dollars), on a retailer of popular Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo, over misleading advertisements.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said the penalty on FRL Korea Co., which sells Uniqlo products in South Korea, came as it exaggerated the performance of its innerwear products through ads between 2018 and 2020.

The company was founded together with the Japan-based Fast Retailing Co., which has the brand under its wing, and the Seoul-based Lotte Shopping Co., with the South Korean firm holding a 49 per cent stake.

The FTC said that through various social media accounts, promotional items, flyers, and websites, FRL Korea advertised that its functional underwear, named AIRism and DRY-EX, has antibacterial and deodorization features.

According to the regulator, the company used expressions such as "comfortable wearing with a deodorisation feature" and "high-performance item with antibacterial and deodorisation features" in the advertisements.

The FTC said products must pass certain examinations to have their antibacterial features accredited, which FRL Korea never proved.

"FRL Korea handed in the test result of its fabrics regarding (antibacterial performance) on Staphylococcus aureus, but we cannot recognise its direct relation to the descriptions from the ads of the finished products," the watchdog said.

"Through nine tests carried out by institutions in South Korea and Japan, the results showed that we cannot expect an antibacterial feature (from the products), as samples showed a significantly low decrease in the antibacterial rate," the FTC said.

The watchdog added that such measures were necessary as customers were prone to choosing products with antibacterial features in spite of the higher prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic and that the brand's advertisements may mislead people.