Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Central Bar Association Sign 'Legal Support Agreement for Unfair Trade'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province signed a legal support business agreement with the Gyeonggi Central Bar Association on the 24th to prevent unfair trade and provide damage relief across all business areas including franchise business, agency, large-scale distribution, and subcontracting.

According to the agreement between the two organizations, they will collaborate on ▲operating legal consultations and advisory support for unfair trade ▲supporting damage relief for small and medium-sized merchants ▲promoting improvement and prevention of unfair trade practices ▲activating fair trade and mutual development.

The province evaluated that this agreement is meaningful in enhancing the convenience and professionalism of legal support for residents.

While inquiries related to unfair trade damage within the province are increasing, the specialized personnel at the provincial Fair Trade Support Center are limited, indicating a need for supplementation.

According to the province, as of last month, the number of legal consultations at the Fair Trade Support Center reached about 340 cases, far exceeding the total of about 300 cases for the entire last year.

The province sees this agreement as also having the effect of expanding the areas of transactions eligible for legal support beyond ongoing franchise and agency unfair trade legal consultations and dispute mediation to include large-scale distribution and subcontracting.

Lee Yong-su, Director of the Fair Trade Bureau of the province, emphasized, "This agreement can greatly contribute to improving the efficiency of unfair damage consultations and dispute mediation within the province and increasing resident satisfaction. We will strive harder to create a fair Gyeonggi Province."

Lee Jung-ho, President of the Gyeonggi Central Bar Association, said, "Establishing a fair market competition order is difficult to achieve through the efforts of a single organization alone. We will actively cooperate with Gyeonggi Province to provide relief for unfair damages suffered by local residents who have been wronged and treated unjustly."

Since 2015, the province has been promoting various projects to establish a fair trade order, including dispute mediation and legal consultations in franchise and agency transaction fields, relief for various unfair cases, and fact-finding surveys for system improvement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.