United Future Party: "Fair Trade Bill Is Not Economic Democratization... Will Review from Efficiency Perspective"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Regarding the amendment to the Fair Trade Act, one of the 'Fair Economy 3 Laws' promoted by the government, the United Future Party expressed a stance of "considering it from an efficiency perspective rather than opposing it by reflecting the business community's position."

This statement draws attention as it differs from the expectation that the United Future Party would oppose the amendment to the Fair Trade Act, which the business community has continuously opposed, by taking the same stance. It also aligns with the United Future Party's strategy of expanding the centrist base by emphasizing 'pragmatism.'

Seong Il-jong, the United Future Party's floor leader on the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 1st, "The amendment to the Fair Trade Act is not about economic democratization," adding, "It is a matter of whether some cartel cases will be handed over from the Fair Trade Commission to the prosecution, so it should be viewed from the perspective of state operation and efficiency."

The Fair Trade Act and the Financial Group Integrated Supervision Act, among the Fair Economy 3 Laws approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 25th of last month, fall under the jurisdiction of the Political Affairs Committee. The core of the full amendment to the Fair Trade Act is to abolish the Fair Trade Commission's exclusive right to prosecute in cases of price or bid rigging, supply restrictions, and other socially condemned incidents, allowing the prosecution to investigate. It also includes provisions allowing victims of unfair trade to directly request prohibition and prevention of such acts in court, doubling fines, and strengthening regulations against large business groups' private interest appropriation.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) submitted a request on the 31st of last month to the Political Affairs Committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Commercial Act) to reflect the business community's opinions. The FKI argued that "if the exclusive right to prosecute is abolished, anyone can directly accuse companies without going through the Fair Trade Commission, leading to indiscriminate accusations by competing businesses and overlapping investigations by the Fair Trade Commission and prosecution, causing significant confusion."

In response, Representative Seong said, "Just because the business community opposes it does not mean (the United Future Party's position) is the same. We need to consider it rather than immediately taking a stance of support or opposition." He added, "Since the prosecution does not have as much expertise as the Fair Trade Commission, it will ultimately need to receive dispatched Fair Trade Commission staff. This should also be taken into account. It should be viewed from an efficiency perspective."

This means that instead of setting a blanket stance of support or opposition to the Fair Economy 3 Laws, the party will evaluate each individual bill from an efficiency standpoint. The United Future Party included economic democratization, protection of small business owners and self-employed workers, along with basic income, in its new party platform and policies announced in mid-last month.

The Financial Group Integrated Supervision Act aims to manage risks at the group level in addition to existing sectoral supervision of financial companies. Regarding this, Representative Seong said, "While individual supervision and inspections are being conducted, adding integrated supervision could increase the burden, which is a concerning point," and added, "We also need to examine the philosophical issues of the law, such as whether it aligns with the free market economy as stated in the Constitution."

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