The Fair Trade Commission (FTC), South Korea’s antitrust watchdog, has fined GM Korea, the South Korean unit of US automaker General Motors, 69 million won for running false advertisements.
According to the FTC, GM Korea advertised free coupons for car window tinting to potential buyers of eight different models, but the truth was that GM Korea had already inflated car prices by adding the cost of window tinting but dangled “free” car window tinting coupons in front of consumers.
The FTC said on March 13 that GM Korea advertised fake window tinting coupons from February 2013 to October 2014 for eight different models - the Captiva, Trax, Cruze, Spark, Aveo, Orlando, Malibu and Alpheon. Nearly 190,000 cars were sold under the false advertisement.
The FTC added that the automaker included the cost of car window tinting, about 60,000 won to 70,000 won, in the final price tag while tricking buyers into believing that they would receive “free” complementary coupons.