‘Black consumers’ to be shown no mercy

An Optimus Mach smartphone made by LG Electronics, the battery of which exploded, according to its owner. However, a police investigation found this claim to be false, and a court fined him on charges of defaming the manufacturer. / Captured from Internet

Law enforcement authorities and courts are increasingly getting tough on the so-called “black consumers” or charlatans who make international inappropriate complaints of products in order to coerce compensation from manufacturers.

On Monday, the Seoul Southern District Court slapped a 15 million won fine on a 28-year-old man, surnamed Kim, for spreading false rumors that his cell phone battery exploded. He was indicted for defamation and interference with business by spreading false rumors.

In November 2011, the battery of Kim’s Optimus Mach smartphone made by LG Electronics burned because of an external factor, but he claimed that it exploded during normal use while he was updating a navigation program. He claimed the damaged phone was bought two weeks earlier.

Kim wrote his claims on numerous websites along with photos of the phone under the title “Korean smartphone explosion, I can’t stand it anymore!” His posting soon spread quickly, resulting in bloggers ridiculing the smartphone, calling it “explosi-mus” or “explosion mach.”

He also distributed leaflets containing his claims to people near LG’s headquarters in Yeouido, central Seoul. He accused the company of not promptly responding to his case and even trying to cover it up.

Following Kim’s claim, LG Electronics collected the battery and examined it. Concluding it was impossible for the battery to explode during normal use, the company requested a police investigation.

A court official said the 15 million won fine is rather higher than penalties given in other similar cases, because “The false rumor defamed LG Electronics and caused huge damage to the product’s image. Kim is also not reflecting on his wrongdoing and he has a previous conviction of fraud.”

Another tough action against a black consumer took place last December.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office arrested and indicted a 56-year-old man, Lee, on charges of habitual fraud, as he blackmailed companies for financial gains to the tune of 240 million won.

Lee allegedly visited a service center of Samsung Electronics in a Gyeonggi Provincial city last April and demanded a refund, claiming his LED television didn’t work well. He reportedly engaged in a rowdy behavior and he was offered 6.2 million won compensation as a result. Resorting to similar tactics, he obtained some 200 million won over 206 occasions between 2009 and last September.

He also claimed that he had his PDA phone repaired at the same center and an important memo saved in the phone was removed. Lee threatened that he would spread this on the Internet, and the center gave him 5.9 million won. He took about 31 million won since 2006 through such threats.

According to a survey on 314 companies by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2011, more than 83 percent said they have had black consumers. While a small number of people habitually engage in such malicious acts on diverse companies, firms are not allowed to share information about them because it is considered “consumer information,” which has to be classified. <The Korea Times/Kim Rahn>