Korea Federation of SMEs Holds Distribution Service Industry Committee Meeting... "Legislative Regulation Needed for Online Platforms"

Addressing the Introduction of T-Commerce Exclusively for SMEs

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business held the '2024 1st Distribution Service Industry Committee Meeting' on the 24th at the International Logistics Center conference room in Yeongjongdo, Incheon. The Distribution Service Industry Committee was launched in June last year with the aim of enhancing the competitiveness of the small and medium distribution service sector by identifying on-site difficulties related to the distribution service industry. Kim Jaemyeon, chairman of the Korea Super Chain Distribution Business Cooperative, serves as the committee chairman.

At the meeting, discussions were held on the actual conditions of online platform distribution transactions, legislative measures for fair online platform practices, and the introduction of T-commerce exclusively for small and medium enterprises. The attending committee members agreed that although dependence on online platforms has deepened to the extent that business is impossible without using them, tenant companies are placed in an unfair trading environment where they have no choice but to unilaterally comply with the platform's demands due to the asymmetry of bargaining power. They concurred on the need for legislative regulation to resolve this issue.

Chairman Kim Jaemyeon stated, “There are limits to correcting the tilted playing field of the online platform market through self-regulation alone,” and added, “We plan to actively advocate for effective legal regulations that reflect the opinions of the distribution service industry.” He also emphasized, “Furthermore, since creating an environment where small and medium merchants can sustain themselves by resolving sales channel difficulties is important, the government’s active efforts to introduce T-commerce exclusively for small and medium enterprises are necessary.”