As Naver reintroduced the place review star rating system after five years, small business groups voiced concerns, calling it a "revival of predatory behavior."
The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) issued a commentary on the 14th, saying, "Regarding this measure that forgets the painful history in which countless small business owners and the self-employed were driven to the brink of closure, the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) expresses deep concern and strong regret."
Naver resumed the star rating review system in April. Starting on the 9th, it disclosed to users the accumulated star ratings in Naver Place reviews. It is about five years since the system was halted in 2021 due to so-called "star rating attacks."
The star rating review system allows users to record a rating out of five stars, including text, keywords, and satisfaction with their experience at a place. Business owners can choose whether to display the average star rating, but the individual review ratings left by users are disclosed without modification.
The KFME noted, "Small business owners and the self-employed will have no choice but to ask marketing agencies to boost star ratings, and will be forced to use Naver's keyword ads as a 'necessary evil,' causing only advertising costs to soar," adding, "This is like trying to empty the already thin pockets of small business owners whose survival is threatened by high inflation, high interest rates, and an economic downturn."
It added, "Naver previously acknowledged the side effects of the star rating system and, in the spirit of coexistence, introduced 'keyword reviews,' giving small business owners some breathing room," and "Reviving a star rating system that tightens the noose on small business owners again in just a few years is a declaration of a return to a predatory platform that abandons the platform's social responsibility."
The KFME urged Naver to introduce a function to hide individual star ratings and to prepare countermeasures against "star rating attacks." The KFME said, "We will closely monitor cases of damage to small business owners arising from Naver's revival of star ratings going forward," adding, "We plan to respond head-on to the abusive practices of online platforms that threaten small business owners' right to survive."
Naver said, "To coincide with the timing of full disclosure of star ratings, we provided an option for business owners to choose whether to display ratings, and we strengthened policies to improve review reliability."
It added, "We revised the Place review policy to prohibit indiscriminately assigning ratings below 3 stars, and we are responding by using about 20 types of automatic detection and monitoring systems that incorporate some artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, alongside manual reviews by an operations team."