Fair Trade Commission Investigates Medical Association Report... "Case Closed If No Illegal Evidence Found"

Cannot Close Case Solely by Withdrawing Report to Ministry of Health and Welfare

On the afternoon of the 4th, residents opposing the agreement between the government and the Korean Medical Association held a sit-in protest in the lobby on the first floor of the Namsan Square Building in Jung-gu, Seoul, where the Korea Health Promotion Institute is located.

The residents are strongly opposing the agreement in which the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Medical Association drafted a memorandum to stop the collective strike and form a medical-government consultative body to discuss medical policies such as the expansion of medical school quotas. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has confirmed that it is continuing to investigate whether the Korean Medical Association (KMA) violated the law, despite the Ministry of Health and Welfare recently withdrawing its complaint that the medical community's collective strike was illegal.

On the 8th, a KFTC official stated, "Since the complaint withdrawal was received after the on-site investigation at the KMA, the case itself is still under review," adding, "The case cannot be closed solely because the complaint was withdrawn."

He said, "We will carefully review the evidence and the circumstances surrounding the Ministry of Health and Welfare's withdrawal of the complaint to prudently decide the direction of case handling," and added, "If there is no evidence to acknowledge the allegations, the case will be closed."

Earlier, from the 26th to the 28th of last month, the KFTC conducted an on-site investigation at the temporary KMA office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

The investigation aimed to determine whether the KMA violated the Fair Trade Act provision that "business associations must not unfairly restrict the activities of each business operator belonging to the association."

Although the Ministry of Health and Welfare withdrew its complaint against the KMA on the 4th, the KFTC explained that since the investigation had already begun, the case could not be immediately closed.

According to the KFTC's case handling rules, if review procedures such as on-site investigations have not been conducted, a case can be closed by withdrawal alone; however, once procedures have started, this is not possible.

The KFTC is reviewing whether the KMA has violated the Fair Trade Act and whether there is sufficient evidence to support the allegations based on the results of the on-site investigation.

A KFTC official said, "If evidence of legal violations is found, administrative measures such as corrective orders and fines can be imposed, but if no evidence is found, the case can be closed."

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