[New Year's Address] Han Gijeong, Fair Trade Commission Chairman, "Strictly Regulate Big Tech Monopoly Abuse"

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunju Lee] Han Ki-jung, Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, stated on the 1st, "It is necessary to regulate the dysfunction caused by the abuse of monopoly power by big tech companies through strict law enforcement."

In his New Year's address, Chairman Han mentioned as his first task, "We will respect creativity and innovation in the digital market to the fullest amid the paradigm shift to the digital economy," but also said, "It is necessary to review with internal and external experts whether the current legal regulations are sufficient to resolve monopoly issues arising in new markets such as online platforms." This indicated the Fair Trade Commission's intention to strengthen law enforcement to curb big tech companies and to legislate new platform regulations as its first task of the year.

Chairman Han also expressed his willingness to improve regulations that restrict market competition. He said, "Like the case of improving regulations on dawn delivery, leading regulatory reform to expand market competition is an important mission that competition authorities should focus on." Previously, the Fair Trade Commission had pushed for regulatory improvements, viewing mandatory closure days for large supermarkets and restrictions on online delivery during late-night hours as regulations that harm consumer benefits and restrict competition.

As his second policy goal, he emphasized the market establishment of the 'Delivery Price Linkage System' (a system that reflects raw material price increases in delivery prices in transactions between primary contractors and subcontractors). Chairman Han said, "We will clearly present detailed standards regarding the linkage fund and contract matters through revisions to enforcement ordinances to ensure the delivery price linkage system is established in the market," adding, "We will strictly respond to illegal acts that exploit exceptions to nullify the linkage system." He further stated, "It is necessary to continuously expand voluntary linkage contracts to enhance the effectiveness of legislation."

He also stressed the rational operation of the large business group system. He said, "Unfair support and acts of private interest appropriation must be strictly investigated and sanctioned according to laws and principles," and added, "We need to specify the criteria for unfairness judgments and exceptions in legal application to improve the predictability of law enforcement." He continued, "Reflecting the increase in economic scale, we will raise the disclosure threshold for internal transactions and adjust excessive disclosure cycles."

Furthermore, to guarantee consumers' rational choices in the online space, he pledged strict law enforcement against SNS 'undisclosed advertisements' and 'manipulation of user reviews.' He said, "For deceptive practices not sufficiently regulated by current laws, it is necessary to prepare effective regulatory measures." He also added, "Following the launch of the new government, we will announce the 'Law Enforcement System Improvement Plan' that we have been preparing to enhance market trust in the Fair Trade Commission's law enforcement."