Fair Trade Commission Issues Warning for Fair Trade Act Violation
Prohibits Auction Sellers from Handling Fish at 250 Stores
The Seoul Noryangjin Fish Market Retail Store Association, which forced its members to collude not to prepare sashimi from fish bought wholesale by consumers at the auction, received a warning from the Fair Trade Commission.
On the 17th, Yonhap News reported that on the 5th, the Seoul office of the Fair Trade Commission issued a warning to the Noryangjin Fish Market A Association for violating the Fair Trade Act. The A Association is accused of prohibiting about 250 member stores from processing fish purchased by consumers at the auction between August and September, and forbidding them from dealing with auction sellers who sold retail to consumers.
Consumers visiting Noryangjin Fish Market generally select live fish at retail stores and have it prepared as sashimi on the spot, then eat it at nearby restaurants by paying a table setting fee. However, recently, it has been widely shared on social networking services (SNS) that buying live fish at the auction and then paying 2,000 to 5,000 won per kilogram to have it prepared as sashimi at retail stores within the market is cheaper. If one makes the effort to go to the market early in the morning, they can enjoy sashimi about 30 to 40% cheaper than buying at retail stores during the day. Also, using this method can avoid concerns about aggressive solicitation and overcharging by some retail stores.
The A Association viewed this method as making it difficult for its members to operate their businesses and decided to collude to refuse fish processing. The A Association obtained written pledges (performance guarantees) from its members stating, "Do not process live fish or other products sold by brokers or storage managers other than your own goods," and "Do not deal with brokers or storage managers who sell fish individually." The pledges even included a clause agreeing to accept administrative measures imposed by the association if violated.
The A Association implemented this measure from August 26, but the results were not good. Other retail stores belonging to different associations continued to prepare sashimi from auction fish. Consumers can distinguish each association by the color of their signboards. Eventually, opposition arose within the A Association itself, and the measure was effectively abandoned.
The Fair Trade Commission, which conducted the investigation, judged that the A Association’s actions violated the Fair Trade Act as a "prohibited act by business associations" that unfairly restricts members’ business content or activities. However, considering that the A Association voluntarily stopped such actions and acknowledged their wrongdoing, the case was not submitted to the commission and ended with a warning.
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