[Gwanga in] "Nakao Regulation is Our Authority"... Signs of Season 2 Competition for 'Onpleob' Among Ministries

Fair Trade Commission, Korea Communications Commission, and Ministry of Science and ICT's Behind-the-Scenes Speed Race on Big Tech Regulation
Will Inter-Agency 'Power Struggle' Surrounding the Previous Government's 'Onple Law' Recur?

There are signs of an emerging behind-the-scenes competition among government ministries to establish themselves as the main authority on platform regulation. Not only the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), but also the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission are accelerating efforts to avoid losing leadership over new big tech regulations. The ministries that clashed over the ‘On-Platform Act’ during the previous administration are expected to engage in inter-ministerial power struggles again under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

According to the KFTC and the Online Platform Monopoly Task Force (TF) on the 1st, the TF is expected to conclude its activities soon and announce the direction for regulating the abuse of monopoly power by big tech companies. The KFTC plans to disclose anti-monopoly regulatory proposals based on the TF’s opinions. The TF, established in January, consists of 17 experts in economics and law.

The TF had initially planned to release the regulatory proposals by July, but the schedule has recently been moved up. An expert familiar with the KFTC said, “The atmosphere is so urgent that there are talks of finishing by early June,” adding, “Both the ruling party and the Yongsan administration are paying close attention, and after confidential government-party consultations earlier this month, the KFTC is internally rushing.” He also added, “It seems they are conscious of other ministries like the Ministry of Science and ICT pushing platform regulations in secret.”

Opinions on the direction of platform regulation remain divided within the TF. A TF official said, “Among the participating experts, there are almost no shared views, and opinions vary greatly,” adding, “The final proposal will be made based on the KFTC’s judgment.” However, a pre-regulation approach that sets criteria for target platform companies in advance to reduce the KFTC’s burden of proof and speed up the process is reportedly favored. A KFTC official said, “We cannot specify the timing, but we will disclose the direction soon,” adding, “Nothing has been finalized yet.”

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission are also accelerating platform regulation efforts. There is a behind-the-scenes competition to establish themselves as the main authority with the power to regulate major big tech companies such as Naver and Kakao. An industry insider said, “Both ministries have formed TFs to outline regulations,” adding, “However, both ministries are understood to be focusing on regulations centered on ‘user protection.’” The Korea Communications Commission is reportedly working on supplementing the ‘Act on the Protection of Online Platform Users,’ originally proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hye-sook in 2021, while the Ministry of Science and ICT is discussing amending the Telecommunications Business Act rather than introducing new legislation.

As the three ministries push forward new platform regulatory proposals, their interest in each other’s movements is also high. In particular, the KFTC is sensitive to other ministries without experience in enforcing competition law eyeing regulatory authority. A KFTC official said, “Judging how big tech companies have restricted competition in the digital environment is a very difficult issue even for the KFTC, which has been trained for decades based on competition law,” adding, “It is impossible for ministries without understanding and experience in competition law to regulate this.”