Chinese electronics companies were sanctioned by the Korea Fair Trade Commission for selling TVs that cannot directly receive domestic terrestrial ultra-high definition (UHD) broadcasts without stating that fact.
On the 25th, the industry said the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) determined that the advertising practices of TCL and Xiaomi's Korea subsidiaries were "deceptive advertising" and issued a warning.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said the previous day through the online case processing system that the companies violated Article 3, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 (deceptive labeling or advertising) of the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising.
The companies did not equip their TVs with an ATSC 3.0 tuner, the domestic terrestrial UHD broadcast standard, so the broadcasts cannot be received directly without a separate set-top box.
Nevertheless, during advertising they used phrases such as "UHD TV" and "4K TV" without stating this fact, misleading consumers into believing broadcasts could be viewed, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC).
The case began in May last year when the incorporated association UHD Korea reported allegations of unfair advertising by foreign TV brands.
During the investigation, UHD Korea argued that the fact the products do not meet domestic broadcast standards was not sufficiently explained, causing consumer confusion.
Im Jung-gon, secretary-general of UHD Korea, said, "Misleading people into thinking UHD broadcasts can be received simply because the resolution is high infringes on consumer rights," and added, "We need an institutional mechanism that allows consumers to intuitively confirm whether reception is possible."