Fair Trade Commission Chairman: "Controversy Over SK Chey Tae-won's Favoritism Is Not True"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Han Ki-jung, Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, refuted on the 20th the controversy over the Fair Trade Commission allegedly favoring SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, stating that it is "not true."

On the same day, during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, Chairman Han responded to a question from Kim Sung-joo of the Democratic Party, who asked, "There are talks that the Fair Trade Commission is favoring Chairman Chey because he is an alumnus of Chung-Ang High School with President Yoon Seok-yeol."

Earlier, the Fair Trade Commission issued a warning for Chairman Chey Tae-won regarding the omission and submission of data related to four companies, including 'Kin & Partners,' during the designation process of large business groups, but decided not to file a criminal complaint.

When Representative Kim asked, "Chairman Lee Hae-jin of Naver was reported to the prosecution in 2020 for a similar case, so why was there only a warning this time without a complaint?" Chairman Han explained, "Chairman Chey and his affiliates do not hold any shares in Kin & Partners and have never been involved in the company's operations." He added, "Naver was also cleared with a non-prosecution disposition."

Regarding the controversy over Korean Air's mileage restructuring, Chairman Han emphasized, "We plan to review the fairness issues of the terms and conditions internally by April." In response to a question from Democratic Party Representative Lee Yong-woo about the possibility of a monopoly with the upcoming domestic introduction of 'Apple Pay,' he replied, "We are monitoring the impact on the domestic market."