The Fair Trade Commission imposed a 1.5 billion won fine on Davichi Optic, a major domestic eyeglass franchise, for forcing its franchisees to meet sales targets and for other unfair trade practices. The commission said on the 21st that it had levied the fine on Davichi Optic, which runs 1,070 franchise stores nationwide, for violating the unfair trade practices rules. Davichi Optic was found to have forced franchisees to purchase a certain amount of goods and to meet sales targets between 2017 and 2020. The company also forced franchisees to sign exclusive contracts for the supply of goods and to use designated suppliers. In addition, the company was found to have used its dominant position to disadvantage franchisees by unilaterally changing the terms of contracts and reducing the franchise period from five years to three years. The Fair Trade Commission said that Davichi Optic's unfair trade practices had caused significant damage to small business owners, who were already struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission plans to continue monitoring the franchise industry to prevent similar unfair trade practices.

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has imposed a fine of approximately 15 billion won on Daiichi Optical Chain, a franchisor of Daiichi Optical products, for forcing its franchisees to meet specific sales targets. The commission revealed its findings on the 17th, stating that Daiichi Optical Chain is to be given corrective and punitive measures, including a fine of 14,770,000 won, a warning, and a directive to improve its practices.

According to the investigation, Daiichi Optical Chain had set target sales percentages for eight product categories, including high-priced eyeglass frames, transparent nearsighted lenses, and professional eye exams. The franchisees were required to report their sales performance monthly, and those who failed to meet the targets were subjected to various penalties.

The franchisee would first require the franchisee to attend a workshop, then submit a turnaround plan if the failure persisted, and ultimately terminate the franchise if the failure continued for three consecutive times. The commission noted that franchisees were forced to artificially increase their sales volume to meet the targets, effectively exploiting their commercial status.

Moreover, Daiichi Optical Chain required all franchisees to undergo store renovation and environmental improvements, but the costs were not evenly divided according to the legal regulations. The company also imposed costs on the franchisees for 652 advertisements and 87 promotional events without obtaining proper consent beforehand.

Daiichi Optical Chain defended its actions, claiming that the fine was imposed on a system designed to manage eyeglass quality and service standards, and that the decision was not a fair representation of the system's purpose and operation. The company stated that it would review the commission's final decision thoroughly before reaching a final conclusion.