(Fair Trade Commission)
(Fair Trade Commission)

The number of multilevel marketing firms operating in South Korea continued its downward trend in 2024, the antitrust watchdog said Friday.

According to the Fair Trade Commission, there were 121 such firms as of the end of December, down from 122 tallied a year earlier. The number has been steadily declining from 144 in 2017.

Multilevel marketing, also known as network marketing, is a controversial business model where sales personnel earn commissions not only from direct product sales but also from the sales made by the individuals they recruit.

In the fourth quarter of last year, six new firms were established, while four were shut down.

As of December 2024, there had been cases where some companies had changed their business names or addresses more than five times in the past three years.

"Before working with a multilevel marketing company, it is crucial to verify key details, such as the company's registration status and whether it has suspended or ceased operations," an FTC official said. (Yonhap)