By Jeong Ji-su
Some insurance companies have come under fire for allegedly having misused Sewol ferry disaster in their marketing strategies to provoke fear among people, said Nocut News on Wednesday.
A well-known local outdoor brand Kolon Sport was heavily criticized by using the Sewol tragedy in promoting their new product.
Four days after the Sewol incident, a man received a phone call recommending him to subscribe insurance by a marketer who constantly mentioned Sewol ferry disaster during the call.
Another man got a similar call that day saying that he should prevent this kind of loss in the future by signing up an insurance contract.
A spokesman of an insurance company said, “I don’t think the company itself decided to use this kind of marketing strategy. It must have been some branch offices or phone marketers under pressure who pursued this unreasonable demand.”
Meanwhile, civil organizations are calling for steps to stop such practices, claiming it is not proper to use a national disaster for profit purposes.