[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] The recent 'honeymoon appliance payment fraud' incident that occurred at an LG Electronics Best Shop store in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul is causing a great shock to Korean society.

Branch manager A (40s) collected payments worth millions to tens of millions of won from customers, including prospective newlyweds, for home appliances, then disappeared before the appliances were delivered. Police arrested A in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, on the 10th, and on the 12th, the Seoul Northern District Court issued an arrest warrant, citing flight risk.

According to a police investigation, the damages are estimated to exceed 1.4 billion won, and the number of victims is known to exceed 100. The victims are primarily newlyweds preparing for their wedding appliances. They were reassured by the reputation of LG Electronics, a major corporation, and made large deposits, but ultimately fell victim to fraud.

The scam involved presenting the transaction as a legitimate transaction, directing payment to a personal account, and then, before the appliances were delivered, classifying the transaction as an "abnormal transaction" and canceling the payment, ultimately stealing the funds. The scammers also repeatedly requested cancellations and re-deposits, confusing customers. One victim stated, "The request for a personal account deposit was suspicious from the beginning, and I was so confident in the LG brand that I let my guard down."

LG Electronics stated, "We emphasize that the dealership in question is not directly managed by the company, but is operated by an independent, privately owned business, and we bear no legal responsibility." However, as the incident grew, the company announced that it was initiating preemptive compensation procedures, strengthening dealer management and supervision, and developing measures to prevent recurrence.

Nonetheless, this incident has starkly exposed how poorly corporate brand trust is managed and how vulnerable consumers are within complex distribution structures.

Victims are filing complaints not only with LG Electronics' customer service center, but also with the Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Consumer Agency, and some are even preparing class action lawsuits. In a social media group chatroom, approximately 80 to 170 victims are sharing information and working together to respond. Alongside the demand for compensation, there is growing criticism of LG Electronics' headquarters' inadequate initial response and the overall distribution system at its dealerships.

This incident highlights the dangers of a sales structure where responsibility is unclear between headquarters and distributors, and is fueling growing calls for stronger consumer protection measures. With trust in the LG Electronics brand severely shaken, the company's transparent response and compensation for actual consumer damages are emerging as key to restoring its image.

An official from the home appliance industry said, "This incident is expected to be widely used as educational material as it is a case of failed brand management by a large corporation that is difficult to dismiss as a simple individual's deviant behavior," and predicted, "Going forward, how strictly large brands like LG Electronics manage their distribution networks will be key to preventing recurrence and restoring trust."