Commissioner Han Ki-jung's 2023 Fair Trade Policy Direction Lecture
[Asia Economy Reporter Eunju Lee] At his first lecture following the presidential briefing, Han Kijeong, Chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), once again outlined the policy direction of the Fair Trade Commission to enhance innovation in the digital platform economy. The issue of monopoly by big tech platform companies will be carefully reviewed in terms of the need and direction for amending the Fair Trade Act, while the power imbalance issues between dominant and subordinate parties will be addressed by maximizing support for self-regulation without requiring separate legislation.
On the 24th, Han Kijeong, Chairman of the KFTC, delivered his first lecture on the 2023 Fair Trade Policy Direction at a breakfast meeting jointly hosted by the Competition Law Center of Seoul National University, the ICR Center of Korea University, and the ICT Law and Economics Research Institute of Sogang University at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. On this day, Chairman Han explained specific policy directions such as creating a market environment that promotes innovative competition, strengthening a fair trading foundation for small and medium enterprises and small business owners, and the rational operation of the large business group system.
Chairman Han identified the ‘monopoly issue’ in the digital economy as a core task for the KFTC this year and explained that the process of reviewing the need to improve the current legal system is underway. He said, “As Korea’s economic center shifts to the digital economy, issues such as monopoly by big tech platforms and power imbalance problems are the most important issues,” adding, “The necessity and specific direction of amending the Fair Trade Act to improve monopoly issues are being discussed through an expert task force, and based on the discussion results, we will make judgments on the legal amendment issues and directions.”
However, regarding the power imbalance issues between platform operators and tenant businesses, he emphasized that measures will be prepared through regulation by self-regulation rather than separate legislation. He said, “The bill regulating power imbalance issues, known as the On-Platform Fairness Act (On-Platform Fair Trade Act), has been discussed through the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee,” and added, “However, the KFTC hopes that measures will be prepared through self-regulation rather than legislation.” He continued, “To avoid the need for separate legislation, the KFTC will steadily support discussions on self-regulation and strive to produce results soon.”
Furthermore, Chairman Han announced that he would consider improving the KFTC’s ‘External Contact Management Regulation.’ This regulation requires KFTC employees to report contacts with persons in charge of fair trade at large companies, aiming to eradicate collusion between companies and the commission. Following the organizational restructuring that separates policy and investigation departments, the intention is to strengthen channels through which the policy department can sufficiently gather external opinions.
He said, “Even I, as chairman, feel inconvenienced because it is difficult to hear from external parties due to this regulation,” and added, “I question how much refraining from external contact helps the work of the KFTC.” He further stated, “Considering the reality where the policy department’s need to gather and communicate external opinions from industry and experts is increasing, we will take this into account.” He also said, “Since the complete separation of policy and investigation departments is a path the KFTC has never taken before, I am aware that expectations and concerns coexist internally,” and added, “To ensure good feedback between departments, we will form and operate an internal investigation-policy consultative body to enhance operational synergy.”
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