False or Misleading Advertising | Launch of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's Emergency Response Team, “Expanding Enforcement to Cover AI and Social Media Advertising”

From the early stage of the response team's launch, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has signaled that it will focus its enforcement on the types of false or misleading advertising most likely to cause consumer confusion.

In particular, advertising that emphasizes specific ingredients so as to imply efficacy similar to that of pharmaceuticals, as well as advertising that imitates the names of pharmaceuticals so that consumers may be confused, are expected to be the principal targets.

In addition, advertising disguised as expert recommendations and exaggerated advertising that uses reviews and testimonials are highly likely to be included among the subjects of regulation.

Recently, advertising content that uses AI technology to feature experts who do not actually exist, or that feigns credibility, has been increasing, and such types are also expected to be actively enforced against.

Going further, regular planned enforcement is to be conducted each month, and for violations, criminal complaints and notifications to relevant agencies are to be pursued alongside administrative dispositions, indicating that the intensity of regulation is also expected to be strengthened further.

If any one of the items below applies, the advertising may be found to be false or misleading, so a prior review is necessary.

1. Expressions Implying Pharmaceutical Efficacy or Treatment of Disease

• Although it is a food, does it directly express an effect of preventing or treating disease?
• Does it state medical efficacy in definitive terms, such as “reduces blood sugar,” “improves joint pain,” or “cures immunity”?
• Does it exaggerate the effect of the entire product based on the inclusion of only some functional ingredients?

2. Use of Names or Expressions That May Be Mistaken for Pharmaceuticals

• Does the product name or advertising copy include expressions resembling pharmaceuticals, such as “drug,” “treatment,” or “clinic”?
• Does it use a name that may be confused with an actual pharmaceutical or health functional food?
• Is there a possibility that consumers may perceive the product as a pharmaceutical?

3. Advertising With Expert Recommendations or Endorsements

• Does it represent a person who is not an actual expert as a doctor, pharmacist, or the like?
• Does it use an AI-generated figure or a fictitious expert to induce trust?
• Does it edit or distort an expert's statement to use it as if it were an endorsement of a particular product's efficacy?

4. Advertising Using Reviews or Testimonials

• Does it selectively highlight only some positive reviews in an exaggerated manner?
• Does it include content that differs from the actual experience of use?
• On social media, shorts, or similar platforms, does it conceal that it is advertising and post it as if it were a natural review?

5. Expressions Emphasizing Comparison or Superiority

• Does it claim superiority without objective grounds, such as “No. 1 in the country,” “the best,” or “twice the effect”?
• Does it make expressions comparing the product with competing products without specific data?
• Does it use absolute expressions that may mislead consumers?

6. Exaggerated or Potentially Misleading Expressions in General

• Even if true, is there a possibility that only part is emphasized so that the overall efficacy is distorted?
• Is there a gap between the advertising copy and the product's actual ingredients or functions?
• Does it imply an effect exceeding the level that consumers generally expect?

7. Advertising Structure and Liability Risk

• Is the allocation of responsibility unclear in influencer, outsourced, or platform advertising?
• Is content distributed immediately without an advertising review procedure?
• Is marketing copy produced individually without internal guidelines?

For regulation of false or misleading advertising, the key lies not merely in complying with the statutes but in designing a structure that can control risk from the advertising-planning stage onward.

In particular, as the scope of regulatory application expands beyond the food, bio, and healthcare industries to platform, commerce, and content businesses as a whole, the importance of advance response is growing even greater.

Daeryun Law Firm LLP comprehensively diagnoses a business's advertising risk by connecting the fields of food and labeling-and-advertising regulation, fair trade, and data and platform regulation.

It provides practice-oriented advisory services, including prior legal review of advertising copy and expressions, examination of contractual risk in influencer and outsourced marketing structures, and the formulation of strategies for responding to administrative investigations and enforcement.

In addition, it supports businesses in managing regulatory risk in a structural manner by identifying in advance the areas that may become problematic as false or misleading advertising, establishing internal guidelines, and designing an internal control system in which a business's marketing organization and legal organization are connected.

In an increasingly strict regulatory environment, advertising is no longer a mere means of promotion but an area directly linked to legal liability.

In response to the changing regulatory environment, Daeryun Law Firm LLP will provide practical legal advice and strategic response measures so that businesses can conduct their operations on a stable basis.