When Investigated by the Fair Trade Commission, 'Purpose, Period, and Subject' Must Be Notified via Official Letter

'Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Fair Trade Act' Passed at the Cabinet Meeting
Expansion of Dispute Mediation Targets to 'All Unfair Practices Except for Unfair Support Acts'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] From now on, when the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) conducts an investigation, it must issue an investigation notice to the investigated business entity specifying the purpose, period, and target of the investigation. Additionally, to enable victims of unfair trade practices to receive relief promptly, the scope of dispute mediation will be expanded to cover all unfair trade practices except for unfair support acts.

On the 13th, the FTC announced that the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act containing these provisions passed the Cabinet meeting today.

The amended Fair Trade Act mandates that when the FTC conducts an investigation, it must issue an investigation notice to the investigated business entity and provide a custody record when obtaining materials from the business operator during the investigation process. The Act delegates the specification of the items to be recorded in these documents to the Enforcement Decree.

Accordingly, the revised Enforcement Decree stipulates that the investigation notice must include the purpose, period, and target of the investigation, and the custody record must specify the case name, names and quantities of materials or objects, and the submission date of the materials or objects. This will take effect from the 20th of next month.

The scope of dispute mediation is also expanded. The current Enforcement Decree excludes five types of unfair trade practices from dispute mediation: ▲joint refusal to deal ▲discrimination in favor of affiliated companies ▲collective discrimination ▲unfair low-price sales ▲unfair support acts. Through this amendment, all unfair trade practices except for unfair support acts are immediately included as targets for dispute mediation.

The start date for the statute of limitations on sanctions for joint acts has also been specified. For reported cases of unfair joint acts, the investigation start date will be the 'date the report is received,' and for ex officio cases, it will be the 'earliest date among the dates when the sanction or investigation was conducted.'

Additionally, the amended Enforcement Decree designates the parties involved (business operators subject to FTC sanctions), reporters, and those who have filed damages lawsuits against the parties as persons entitled to request access to and copying of materials. Furthermore, to facilitate the detection of disguised affiliates within large business groups, reporting of acts omitting domestic affiliates has been added as a subject eligible for reward payments.

An FTC official stated, "Through this amendment to the Enforcement Decree, the defense rights of companies subject to FTC investigations will be strengthened, trust in FTC investigations will be enhanced, and with the expansion of dispute mediation targets, victims of unfair trade practices will be able to receive relief more promptly. We also expect that by providing rewards for reports on the omission of affiliates within large business groups, monitoring of disguised affiliates in large business groups will be strengthened."