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Naver's Star Rating System Returns, Reigniting Fears Among Small Business Owners
🇰🇷 South Korea /Culture & Society

Naver's Star Rating System Returns, Reigniting Fears Among Small Business Owners

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources New plan
  • Naver has reintroduced a star rating system for its Place reviews after a four-year hiatus, sparking concerns among small business owners.
  • The company previously abolished the system in 2021 following public outcry over "star rating terrorism" and its negative impact on merchants.
  • Naver claims to have implemented measures to mitigate past issues, including allowing merchants to control average rating visibility and using AI to filter unfair reviews.

South Korean tech giant Naver has reignited a contentious star rating system for its "Place" reviews, just under five years after abolishing it due to widespread criticism. The decision to bring back the star ratings, effective July 9, has sent ripples of anxiety through the small business community, who fear a return to the "star rating terrorism" that plagued them previously.

The star rating system is being revived, causing fear among small business owners.

— Kim Joon-ilAuthor of the article, highlighting the concerns of business owners.

In 2021, a highly publicized "shrimp tempura bullying" incident, where a customer left a one-star review and abusive messages after a refund dispute, led to the shop owner's death from a brain hemorrhage. This tragedy amplified existing frustrations among self-employed individuals who felt the rating system facilitated customer abuse and unfair pressure. Naver eventually succumbed to public pressure and removed the star ratings in October 2021.

Naver insists that its new system incorporates safeguards to prevent the abuses of the past. Merchants can now choose whether to display their average star rating. Additionally, an AI monitoring system is intended to restrict reviews from consumers who habitually leave ratings below three stars without reasonable explanation. The platform will also reveal the average star ratings given by individual consumers across multiple businesses, aiming to identify those who intentionally leave low scores.

The star rating system, which calculates a 'simple average,' led to '1-star terrorism' becoming commonplace.

— Article textDescribing the issues with Naver's previous star rating system.

Despite these assurances, many business owners remain skeptical. They worry that consumers will infer low ratings from businesses that opt not to display their average scores. Furthermore, there are concerns that even with AI, distinguishing between genuinely negative feedback and malicious "star rating terrorism" will remain difficult. The fear is that the relentless nature of "black consumers" will once again overwhelm small businesses, forcing them into costly customer engagement tactics like offering discounts for five-star reviews.

Even with AI, it will be difficult to catch star terrorism that is given with 'plausible explanations.'

— Article textExpressing concerns about the effectiveness of AI in filtering unfair reviews.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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