[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Cho Sung-wook, Chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, announced that companies sharing losses with dealerships struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic will receive incentives under the Fair Trade Agreement in the dealership sector.
On the 28th, Chairman Cho visited Maeil Dairies in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and emphasized, "Although efforts for mutual growth may seem to incur some short-term losses, in the long run, they strengthen partnerships with dealerships and build consumer trust, creating a win-win effect."
Kim Sun-hee, CEO of Maeil Dairies, explained that as COVID-19 spread, sales at dealerships related to dining out, rest areas, catering, and home delivery sharply declined due to reduced outings, school delays, and avoidance of outside visitors.
CEO Kim described overcoming the crisis together by implementing measures nationwide such as ▲ quadrupling promotional support funds for dairy products ▲ providing masks and hand sanitizers ▲ supporting fuel costs.
For dealerships in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, they provided return support, deferred payment of product fees, and waived late fees. They also supported local communities and vulnerable groups with food and other supplies worth a total of 960 million KRW. Plans were made to introduce a 9 billion KRW mutual growth fund in the future.
Earlier this year, Maeil Dairies actively signed the Fair Trade Agreement in the dealership sector and fully adopted the revised standard dealership contract. This was a decision to voluntarily comply with the law and establish fair trading practices.
Chairman Cho stated that going forward, the Fair Trade Commission will actively reflect details such as loss sharing and financial support for dealerships struggling due to COVID-19 in the evaluation of the Fair Trade Agreement implementation in the dealership sector.
Incentives such as exemption from ex officio investigations and awarding the Chairman’s commendation will also be provided.
He also revealed that they are considering establishing fair risk-sharing standards in the standard dealership contract to reduce disputes and confusion during crisis situations.
Chairman Cho said that if disputes related to COVID-19 arise, they will prioritize handling them together with the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency and local governments to which dispute mediation duties have been transferred.
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