[Consumerwide - HueSoung Jun Reporter / Yohan Bok Reporter] Junggonara was suspected of speculative acts as they were not returning participating fees to customers after the Lucky Draw Me event. The Lucky Draw Me is similar to "100 Won Deal." Yoon Gyeongho, the representative lawyer of a law firm, "Gukminsaenggak," who is also a legal advisor to Consumerwide, said this can be considered a speculative act.

According to a report we've received from Mr.A, recently he suffered a big loss by participating in the Lucky Draw Event organized by Junggonara, which is hosted monthly on a regular basis. Any customer could participate in the game when they paid 100,000 won. The winner gets a gold bar worth 350 thousand won, while the rest of the participants have a chance to receive Naver points worth 100 thousand won under the condition of registering a coupon within thirty days from the day they received the coupon. In the case of not registering the coupon, they won't return the money (points). In the case of Mr.A, he participated in the event a number of times, having in mind that he could get the money back anyway even if he lost the event. But then he totally forgot until he remembered that he had to register in order to get the money back. It was already over 30 days. Thus, Junggonara responded that there is no return as the days are over.

Regarding this issue, an associated person from Junggonara said during an interview with Consumerwide, "The event was giving out points that corresponded to the participating fee (100 thousand won), which differs from the idea of a purchase, such as gifticon. Earlier, we've communicated with the Korea Consumer Agency and now understand that our event does not have any issue."

Here is an observation regarding the Lucky Draw event in Junggonara. The structure is basically the same as a 100-won deal. In the case of the December event, which Mr.A has participated in, only one person, the winner, gets a gold bar worth 350 thousand won when he pays at the point of participation. For the rest of the participants, the participating fee disappears, and Junggonara gives away Naver points worth 100 thousand won. But this point also disappears when it is not registered within 30 days from the day the coupon is issued.

The problem lies in the characteristics of the Naver pay coupon, which loser participants get, in terms of law. Referring to Junggonara, in the case of losing the event, the participating fee disappears; instead, participants are given free Naver points worth 100 thousand won. This point differs from the gift voucher category (according to the "new type of gift voucher regulation"); thus, it is not possible to refund after a short period of time (due date). However, because the 100,000 won disappeared, the event itself can be considered gambling.

Yoon Gyeongho, the representative lawyer of Gukminsaenggak, said, "The organizer of the event is supposed to return the same amount of money as the participation fee in the case of a loss. If it does not happen, this can be considered an act, which is against the Act on Special Cases concerning the Regulation and Punishment of Speculative Acts."

Earlier, the National Police Agency said that it can be considered an Act on Special Cases concerning the Regulation and Punishment of Speculative Acts if the participating fee (100 won) was not returned in the case of a loss regarding the 100 won deal.

According to the law, speculative acts mean resulting financial loss or gain through a speculative approach based on the collected benefit or wealth of participants, which includes lottery businesses using digital methods that result in awarding benefits to winners while the rest of the participants are left with a loss.