The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 13th that it imposed a penalty surcharge of 300 million won on BK Group, which operates the fast-food brand "Burger King," for compelling franchises to use specific cleaning agents.
According to the Fair Trade Commission, BK Group indicated 15 types of cleaning agents and 16 types of tomatoes as "recommended items" for franchisees to purchase voluntarily. However, it was revealed that the company actually designated only specific products as approved items, effectively mandating purchases through its internal system.
In particular, the Fair Trade Commission noted that the cleaning agents, although unrelated to the quality of hamburgers or maintaining uniformity, were required to use specific brand products. After inspections, disadvantages were imposed if the designated products were not used. In reality, some franchises were caught using other products in their containers and faced penalties in their evaluation scores. If the inspection results fall below a certain score, business suspension or contract termination could follow.
The Fair Trade Commission determined that such actions excessively enforced a specific transaction partner on franchisees, issuing corrective orders and imposing a penalty surcharge for violating Article 12, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Franchise Business Act.
Additionally, the Fair Trade Commission pointed out that BK Group described these items as "recommended items" in the information disclosure statement that should be provided before signing the franchise contract, while failing to inform that there would be disadvantages for not using approved products. This was deemed a deceptive practice of concealing and minimizing important information that could significantly influence franchisees' business decisions, resulting in additional corrective orders and a penalty surcharge for violating Article 9, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Franchise Business Act.
A representative of the Fair Trade Commission noted, "The correction of forced use of items unrelated to uniformity will protect the franchisees' choices and contribute to the spread of fair contract practices."