[Asia Exclusive] Jo Seong-wook: "Not an Economic Prosecutor but a Gardener"... Efforts to Change Perceptions of the Fair Trade Commission

Encouraging Voluntary Change, Not Surveillance or Sanctions
"Various Economic Actors, Autonomous and Fair Competition... Keeping in Mind an Ecosystem Where We Live Together"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Chairman Cho Sung-wook of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) never misses the opportunity to say, "The Fair Trade Commission is not an economic prosecutor but a gardener." While the term "economic prosecutor" that has long described the KFTC emphasizes surveillance and sanctions, the gardener metaphor highlights the core of inducing voluntary behavioral change.

A gardener is someone who tends to flower beds or trees in a garden. Chairman Cho explained, "In the gardener metaphor, the 'garden' refers to our market economy, keeping in mind an ecosystem where various economic actors, including large and small companies and consumers, live together." In this market economy garden, the goal is to help companies thrive through free innovation and fair competition, and to ensure that the fruits of growth are evenly distributed among members, thereby creating a virtuous cycle that forms the foundation for sustainable growth.

The role of the gardener as presented by Chairman Cho is as follows. First, just as a gardener helps young trees not to wither under the shade of large trees, the KFTC aims to curb the abuse of economic power by large corporations and protect economically vulnerable groups such as small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-business owners, so that a culture of coexistence can take root in our economy.

Additionally, the gardener’s role includes protecting consumer rights to ensure that our economy has a strong foundation capable of surviving crises such as typhoons and droughts, by fostering an environment where continuous innovation and competition can take place, ultimately leading to benefits that contribute to the lives of our citizens.

At a press conference held in September to mark his first anniversary in office, Chairman Cho again emphasized the "gardener theory." He said, "We view our economy as a single garden, and the role of the Fair Trade Commission is to establish order within this market (garden) and prevent the harms of monopolies and oligopolies." He explained, "Ultimately, it is about protecting competition, the flower of the garden, promoting market entry of new businesses, achieving a fair economy, and fostering innovation, which in turn returns benefits to market participants in the form of 'enhanced consumer rights.'"

Furthermore, another role of the gardener is to change the corporate culture. Upon taking office last year, Chairman Cho emphasized the need to "solve structural problems in our economy and improve its constitution." Specifically, he pledged to work on alleviating structural issues that cause unfair practices in the relationship between large and small companies. He promised to expand the industries adopting standard contracts that contain basic provisions for fair trade and mutual growth to encourage voluntary legal compliance by companies.

In fact, starting with the subcontracting sector in December of the same year, the KFTC has established and revised standard contracts and terms for sectors including ▲pharmaceuticals, automobile sales, and automobile parts ▲complex shopping malls, outlets, and duty-free shops ▲chicken, pizza, coffee, and other dining industries ▲furniture, book publishing, and boiler sectors, as well as ▲parcel delivery and ▲international moving cargo. The KFTC plans to additionally establish standard dealership contracts for home appliances, petroleum distribution, and medical device industries within this year.

Regarding concerns that "if the KFTC focuses only on its role as a gardener, its regulatory edge might become dull," Chairman Cho drew a clear line. He stated, "(The decision not to indict Hanwha S&C, a Hanwha affiliate, for preferential treatment of orders, and the non-prosecution of the head of the Mirae Asset Group) demonstrates that the KFTC’s adjudicative and investigative functions are conducted independently and impartially," emphasizing, "This is not a case of the KFTC’s law enforcement becoming dull but rather an example of applying the law sharply."

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