Fair Trade Commission: "Up to 70% Reduction in Penalties for Voluntary Correction of Agency Act Violations"

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunju Lee] Businesses that violate the Agency Act can now receive a reduction of up to 70% on fines if they voluntarily correct their violations.

On the 6th, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will publicly notify the amendment drafts of the Enforcement Decree of the Agency Act (Act on the Fair Transactions in Agency Transactions) and the related fine notification until March 20th.

According to the amendment, the FTC plans to raise the maximum fine reduction for voluntary correction from the current 50% to 70% to encourage violators to voluntarily remedy damages. Previously, even if all conditions such as voluntary correction (up to 50%) and cooperation in investigation and deliberation (up to 20%) were met, the fine reduction was capped at 50%.

Additionally, to expedite case handling related to contracts, the authority to impose fines for failure to issue, sign, or retain contracts will be delegated from the FTC to metropolitan and provincial government heads such as special/metropolitan mayors and governors. This delegation aims to improve law enforcement efficiency by entrusting local governments with powers that can be exercised through simple fact verification.

The FTC stated, “Once this amendment is implemented, the FTC will be able to focus its capabilities on handling important cases, and it is expected to help promptly remedy damages to small business owners through the activation of voluntary correction.”