SME Industry Calls for Online Platform Distribution Regulation Laws Covering Direct Purchase and Brokerage Businesses

Korea Federation of SMEs, 'Discussion on Rational Regulation Measures for Online Platforms'

On the 21st, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz) announced that it held a discussion forum titled "Rational Regulatory Measures for Creating a Win-Win Online Platform Transaction Environment" at the Kbiz Win-Win Room. The forum was organized to discuss regulatory measures that enable online platforms and tenant small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to coexist harmoniously.

The first presenter, Wi Pyung-ryang, Director of the Economic and Social Research Institute, presented an analysis of the economic and social impacts of platforms, trends in disputes, cases of abuse of dominant position by platform operators, and directions for response. He argued that current laws have limitations in controlling market-dominant operators, and that in setting pre-guidelines for such operators, it is necessary to establish criteria that consider the characteristics of the Korean market in addition to basic quantitative and qualitative standards.

The second presenter, Kim Yoon-jung, Research Fellow at the Korea Legislation Research Institute, proposed the potential for economic growth through the Online Platform Act, key contents of regulatory bills on monopolistic platforms, and considerations for legislation. She emphasized the need to apply different scopes of prohibited acts depending on the level of platform monopoly power.

The panel discussion was chaired by Professor Lee Jung-hee of Chung-Ang University. From the government, Park Seol-min, Director of the Digital Economy Policy Division at the Korea Fair Trade Commission, attended. Representing the SME sector were Lee Young-joo, Chairman of the Korea Rice Cake and Mixed Powder Industry Cooperative; Son Sung-won, Director of the Small Business Policy Office at Kbiz; and Cha Nam-soo, Head of Policy and Public Relations at the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise. From the platform industry, Choi Sung-jin, CEO of Korea Startup Forum, and Jo Young-gi, Secretary General of the Korea Internet Corporations Association, participated.

Jung Yoon-mo, Executive Vice President of Kbiz, stated, “Many small and medium business owners face difficulties responding to excessive demands from platforms due to lack of bargaining power,” emphasizing that establishing legal regulations considering the characteristics of the online and digital markets to resolve the difficulties faced by tenant SMEs in platform market transactions is an important policy task for the SME sector.