KFTC Penalizes Company for Promoting 'Doctor's Edition' Nutritional Supplements Through Improper Incentives
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has imposed sanctions on F&D Net, which provided benefits worth over 600 million won to medical institutions to sell nutritional supplements for pregnant women and infants. F&D Net is a health functional food manufacturer that sells vitamins for pregnant women and probiotics for infants under the 'Doctor's Edition' brand.
On the 16th, the KFTC announced that it had imposed a corrective order and a penalty of 196 million won on F&D Net.
According to the KFTC investigation, F&D Net provided improper economic benefits, including meal services, event support, and snack expenses, to medical staff at hospitals and clinics to encourage them to prioritize recommending its products.
From April 2022 to the end of 2024, F&D Net spent a total of 720 million won across 1,702 medical institutions. These expenses were recorded as 'entertainment costs' in internal accounting and were used to encourage the purchase of nutritional supplements.
The products in question include vitamins for pregnant women, probiotics for infants, and Vitamin D under the 'Doctor's Edition' brand. It was revealed that F&D Net operated 'Innershop' (exclusive sales counters) within medical institutions to encourage patients to purchase products directly at the institutions.
It was also confirmed that medical staff guided patients toward specific products. Based on internal documents, the KFTC pointed out, "There was a case where medical staff guided a mother to purchase a specific Vitamin D product, saying, 'Taking 1,000 IU is sufficient.'"
A source from the KFTC stated, "Ultimately, consumers ended up purchasing specific products based on economic relationships rather than medical judgment," adding, "Their right to free choice was infringed."