Ammway Korea (CEO Park Sae-joon), the largest multi-level marketing company, received correctional orders from the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for flaunting the regulations set for multi-level marketing companies. However, the FTC has also been criticized for handing out a too-light punishment.
Unilateral Arrogance
According to the FTC on July 29, Amway forced its salespersons who resell Amway products to not sell products cheaper than a stated purchase price. If any salesperson violated this order, they were temporarily disqualified from conducting any sales activities. Disqualified salespersons are not eligible for support allowances, usually paid depending on each person’s sales performance and that of their subordinate salespersons. Disqualified salespersons can no longer recruit subordinates, either.
This is a clear violation of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (Section 21). Amway salespersons are not employees of the multi-level marketing company, but are considered to be independent retail distributors. Accordingly, salespersons can legally dispose of products they buy from the company via any method, including price discounts. This possibly helps consumers buy daily necessities at lower prices.
The FTC gave Amway corrective orders to stop the price fixing activities and delete the relevant clause from their sales guidelines. The FTC said, “Amway deprived consumers of the opportunity