Matchmaker Duo Fined $250,000 Over Misleading Advertising Claims

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has fined matchmaking company Duo 345 million won ($250,000 or just over £184,000) for making misleading claims about the size and profile of its membership base and matchmaking team.

The regulator said Duo had used the claims on its website, blog and outdoor advertising since April 2022. Among the statements were claims that the company had the industry’s largest number of professional members and members from prestigious universities.

According to the FTC, Duo calculated these figures using its own definitions of what constituted a professional occupation and a prestigious university. The company did not establish its rankings through comparisons with competing matchmaking firms or provide objective evidence to support the claims.

The regulator also challenged Duo’s assertion that it was the only matchmaking company in South Korea subject to an external audit and the only one disclosed through the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system, DART.

The FTC found that another matchmaking company, Baroyeon, also had external audit reports available through DART, making Duo’s exclusivity claims inaccurate.

The regulator separately examined Duo’s claims about the size of its matchmaking workforce. The company advertised having up to 230 professional matchmakers, but the FTC found that 188 employees were actually dedicated to arranging matches between members as of October 2023. The larger figure included employees whose roles were not directly related to matchmaking.

The FTC classified the claims as false or exaggerated advertising under South Korea’s advertising law, noting that information about membership numbers, member qualifications and the number of matchmakers can influence consumers when choosing a matchmaking service. Alongside the financial penalty, the regulator ordered Duo to correct the advertising practices.