Korea's antitrust regulators take aim at tech, promises reform

Industry

Published: 20 Mar. 2023, 15:55

Korea's antitrust regulators take aim at tech, promises reform

Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Han Ki-jeong, fourth from right, and American Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman James Kim, fourth from left, pose for a photo at a conference held to discuss the FTC’s policy direction for this year at Grand Hyatt Seoul in central Seoul on Monday. [AMCHAM]

Korea's antitrust regulators are focusing on tech-sector abuses as the volume of digital transactions increases.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has a wide range of enterprises in its sights, including the makers of semiconductors, app markets, mobility companies and e-commerce services.

It will “respond with systemic efforts, including effective regulatory systems, via stronger international cooperation,” in response to the monopoly of global big tech firms, FTC Chairman Han Ki-jeong said at a conference held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in central Seoul on Monday.

Han said the pandemic has accelerated the transition to the digital economy and stressed the need to respond to the digital economy and promote market fairness.

The creation of a market environment that facilitates innovative competition will be a key task for the FTC this year, Han added.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (Amcham) hosted the event.

“Amcham’s key initiative is to establish Korea as a regional innovation hub in the Asia Pacific,” Amcham Chairman & CEO James Kim said at the event. “To unlock Korea’s true potential, it is critical that the business environment is fair and transparent for both domestic and foreign businesses and regulations are consistent with global standards.”

The FTC will develop specific criteria to identify greenwashing, monitor unfair terms and conditions and unfair practices in industries, including subscription services, live commerce, travel and hospitality. The goal is to prevent digital consumer fraud, protect consumer in consumer-to-consumer transactions and ease the requirements for issuing preliminary injunctions.

The antitrust regulator further plans to enact laws aimed at guaranteeing fair competition for small and medium-sized enterprises.

They include a law that reflects increases in raw material costs into supply prices, closely monitoring unfair subcontracting practices in services and reducing costs shifted to franchisees and small suppliers.

Internally, the FTC is focusing on organizational reform.

The agency recently announced plans to separate its investigation and policy bureaus, with the goal to strengthen the independence and fairness of trial decisions, it said.

The reform is scheduled to be complete on April 14.

The FTC will “continue to uphold the principles of the market economy this year as well as support the private sector to unleash its full potential,” Han said.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]