South Korea to investigate misleading ads on social media

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Seoul's regulatory Fair Trade Commission said it will launch an investigation into misleading influencer marketing prevalent on social media platforms.

The FTC, which regulates anti-competitive, unfair economic activities, will join with the state consumer agency and an Internet advertising foundation to collect online product review posts that appear misleading to consumers.

It will investigate cases in which companies hire paid influencers to post reviews of their products without clearly labeling it as a paid promotion.

The FTC said influencer marketing has been widely used for cosmetics, small electronics and weight-loss supplements on social platforms, such as Instagram.

Some of the advertising is not clear whether they are paid content or honest reviews.