Samcheomsam told 2.55M Koreans 'your refund has arrived' — none had been confirmed

Samcheomsam, one of Korea's biggest tax-refund platforms, is a funnel: a free estimated-refund inquiry that leads into a paid tax-filing service. From 2023, its operator Jobis & Villains pushed that funnel through KakaoTalk advertisements sent to about 2.55 million consumers — personalised messages reading 'A new refund amount has arrived', 'You are a priority refund confirmation target', and 'You need to check an average refund of 536,991 won'. Without the taxpayer's consent and data, no platform can know whether a refund exists. For the recipients, no refund had been confirmed at all.

The numbers inside the ads were just as selective. 'Those who checked their refunds recovered an average of 197,500 won' — but the average counted only consumers who had paid for the filing service. The 536,991-won figure was computed only from users meeting special additional deduction requirements. 'One out of two wage earners is a refund target' read like a national statistic; it was based solely on Samcheomsam's own user data.

On 28 December 2025 the Korea Fair Trade Commission imposed a fixed surcharge of ₩71 million and correction and prohibition orders under the Fair Labeling and Advertising Act — its first-ever sanction against a tax platform. The commission noted that comprehensive income tax is a field where consumers lack prior knowledge and lean heavily on advertising, so messages with Kakao's reach and personalisation weigh heavily on purchase decisions. Jobis & Villains said it took the disposition seriously and had already corrected the practices during the investigation.