Fair Trade Commission Appoints First Female Regional Office Director

Secretary Pigaerim promoted to Busan Office Chief... Handles reported cases exclusively
Joint government-party-office measures directly address franchisee business condition improvements
Establishes requirements and procedures for COVID-19 'Good Franchise' financial support plan

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 3rd that, for the first time since its establishment in 1981, it will promote and appoint a female public official as the head of a regional Fair Trade Office.

The FTC plans to appoint Secretary Pi Gyerim as the head of the Busan Office effective from the 6th.

Secretary Pi, a pass from the 48th Administrative Examination, began her public service career in 2005. Since 2010, she has worked in the FTC's Consumer Policy Bureau, Adjudication Office, Cartel Investigation Bureau, and Distribution Policy Office.

Since late 2018, she has served as the chief secretary of the Distribution Policy Office, handling policies and cases related to franchise, distribution, and agency transaction issues.

In particular, she directly managed the franchisee business condition improvement measures (joint efforts by the ruling party, government, and administration) and the establishment of local government franchise and agency dispute mediation councils.

Regarding the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), she also established the requirements and procedures for policy financial support under the so-called 'Good Franchise' initiative.

This laid the foundation for 5,175 franchisors and 250,000 franchisees nationwide to overcome difficulties as soon as possible.

Based on her experience accumulated at the Busan Office, Secretary Pi has handled reported cases promptly and fairly. The FTC expects her to contribute to the spread and development of a fair trade culture in the Busan and Gyeongnam regions.

According to the FTC, the Busan Office is the largest among the regional offices at the manager level (Busan, Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon). It handles about 500 fair trade and consumer-related reported cases annually.

With Secretary Pi's promotion, the number of female public officials at the manager level in the FTC has reached 18, accounting for 24% of the total 75 managers.

Among the nine manager-level promotions implemented since Chairman Jo Seongwook's inauguration last September, five were female public officials.

An FTC official said, "This personnel appointment is significant in that a female public official was assigned as the head of the agency responsible for handling reported cases at the forefront of fair trade work, expanding the scope of female executives' duties."