[E-Daily Reporter YU JIN-HEE ] It has been confirmed that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has initiated administrative sanctions and legal proceedings against Company M, a multi-level marketing firm, for false and exaggerated advertising regarding its health functional food product “Brain Plus.” The company is accused of plagiarizing and misrepresenting the efficacy and research findings of raw materials from other companies. Health authorities have taken strong action against the company for deceiving consumers by promoting “Cera-Q,” a secondary ingredient in general food products that has not been recognized as having any functional benefits and for which it is legally impossible to make efficacy claims.

Removing the ingredient name from another company’s clinical graph and altering it to “Silk”… a clear case of impersonation and plagiarism

According to health authorities and industry sources on the 25th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) recently uncovered unfair advertising practices by Company M’s “Brain Plus” product and has initiated sanctions. The product had been promoted using phrases such as “memory enhancement proven through animal and human trials” and “nerve cell regeneration,” highlighting “Cera-Q” as an ingredient.

However, this newspaper’s investigation revealed that the graph titled “CeraQ’s Memory-Enhancing Functionality (Human Trials),” which appeared in an official YouTube product presentation by Company M’s sales team, was created by unauthorized manipulation of research data from a competitor’s ingredient that had formally obtained individual approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. They erased the unique ingredient name specified in the original graph or replaced it with the generic term “silk,” making it appear as if the results were from human trials of Ceracu itself. The ingredient whose data was misappropriated was confirmed to be a legitimate ingredient that had received official approval from health authorities in South Korea, the United States, and Canada, and was completely unrelated to this controversy.

Furthermore, the lecture video in question featured false statements such as “If dementia is suspected, even hospitals will prescribe it,” along with the explicit mention of specific medical conditions such as “Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)” and “Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD).” The company’s official social media accounts also promoted SeraQ as a “key ingredient that activates brain function.” This constitutes a comprehensive violation of current laws and regulations, encompassing types of unfair advertising strictly prohibited by law, such as claiming disease prevention or treatment efficacy, causing confusion with pharmaceuticals, false or exaggerated advertising, and consumer deception.

There are also claims that SeraQ is an ingredient that lacks even the scientific basis to justify such exaggerations. The key paper previously cited as evidence of its efficacy was officially retracted from an international academic journal due to “data manipulation and fabrication.” Consequently, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) revoked its functional food certification, and it is now legally nothing more than a “general food” ingredient with no recognized efficacy. Furthermore, even the remaining in-house research papers face serious allegations that they contain results that are physically impossible to obtain using the stated testing methods.

Even when the raw material is the same, protein hydrolysates have completely different peptide compositions depending on the digestive enzymes and processing conditions (temperature, time, pH, etc.). This is why the MFDS’s “Individual Recognition System” grants exclusive rights only to a specific company’s specific manufacturing process. Company M and its raw material supplier, BrainOn, now find it difficult to avoid criticism that they undermined the safeguards of this system and capitalized on the certified achievements of other companies.

BrainOn’s Key Executives’ Past Records Also Under Scrutiny… Pointed Out During Parliamentary Audit

The past records of BrainOn and its key executives have also come under scrutiny. A children’s height-growth product previously developed by Kang Yong-gu, CEO of BrainOn, was found to contain false advertising; those involved were referred to prosecutors, and the entire product line was recalled. At the time, the use of an ingredient not intended for human consumption (Eupatorium fortunei) led to additional recalls and the retraction of related research papers. Unfair advertising related to “SeraQ” was also pointed out four times during the National Assembly’s parliamentary audit, with the number of violations alone reaching 98. Overseas, the company has rebranded the product as “Memo-Q” and continues to fuel controversy by running ads claiming it has “been recognized by Korean regulatory authorities.”

The judiciary’s ruling is already firm. In the past, BrainOn received a business suspension order—upheld by the Supreme Court—on charges of misleading consumers into believing its product was identical to another company’s individually approved ingredient. CEO Kang was also convicted and fined. The criminal judgment at the time explicitly stated that the motive for the crime was “an intent to piggyback on another company’s research achievements” and that “the nature of the crime is serious.” The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s recent administrative sanctions and judicial measures are seen as steps to put an end to these repeated illegal acts.

Health authorities and experts are urging consumers to exercise extreme caution. Since SeraQ is merely a general food ingredient that cannot be labeled as having functional properties, consumers who encounter advertisements claiming to improve brain function or memory should directly cross-check and verify the product’s certified “functional ingredients” through the Food Safety Korea website. Consumers who purchased the product after being misled by false advertising can file a complaint or report the issue through the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center or the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s hotline for reporting substandard food products (1399).

An industry official suggested, “Companies that have been manufacturing and selling finished products using SeraQ as an ingredient must also thoroughly re-verify the authenticity of their suppliers’ data,” adding, “Given that this judicial action follows the retraction of the fabricated paper, referral to the prosecution, and a guilty verdict by the Supreme Court, they must immediately cease false advertising and sales—if only to protect consumers and avoid further legal liability.”

However, CEO Kang stated, “We are currently preparing a lawsuit regarding these issues,” adding, “We will contest the facts in court.”