[Digital Today, Shin-hye Ahn] Prosecutors have launched a forced investigation into online lodging booking platforms Yanolja (Nol Universe) and Yeogieottae. They are accused of selling advertising products to partner accommodation providers while unilaterally expiring unused discount coupons.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office's Fair Trade Investigation Division searched Yanolja's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi province, and Yeogieottae's headquarters in Seoul's Gangnam district on Tuesday, according to the industry. Search warrants were reported to cite suspected violations of the Fair Trade Act.

The companies are accused under the Fair Trade Act of selling "advertising coupons" to partner firms since 2017 and then unilaterally expiring coupons that consumers did not use.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups in January asked the Fair Trade Commission to file a complaint against Yanolja and Yeogieottae on the allegations. The raids were carried out as a follow-up investigation.

According to the ministry, Yanolja sold partner firms an ad product called "Nearby Coupon Ads" that included discount coupon costs from February 2017 to May 2024. After the ad contract period of 1 month ended, it expired about 1.2 billion won worth of unused discount coupons without refunds. It received a corrective order and a 540 million won penalty from the antitrust regulator in August last year.

Yeogieottae Company sold partner firms a "premium ad" product that included discount coupon costs from June 2017 to August last year. It then set the coupon validity period to just 1 day and expired about 35.9 billion won worth of unused discount coupons without refunds. Yeogieottae also received a corrective order and a 1.0 billion won penalty from the antitrust regulator in August last year.

The two companies have filed administrative lawsuits challenging the decisions. Nol Universe says the value of coupons unused for 2 years is about 0.94 percent of the total amount issued.

Prosecutors and the antitrust regulator judged that partner firms that bought coupons bore the costs for promotions but had no opportunity to recover the costs for coupons that did not lead to actual use. Prosecutors are examining whether the practice amounts to using the platform's superior bargaining position to disadvantage partner firms.

A Yanolja Nol Universe official said, "We are cooperating in good faith with the investigation in line with requests from the investigative authorities."