Daegum Signs MOU with U.S. Federal Prosecutors on 'Antitrust Criminal Enforcement'... Effective Immediately

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is signing the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cartel Criminal Enforcement Cooperation" between the Korean prosecution and the U.S. federal prosecution at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on the morning of the 18th. Photo by Supreme Prosecutors' Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Federal Prosecutors and international cartels for strict and efficient criminal enforcement against transnational serious unfair trade offenders.

On the morning of the 18th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held a signing ceremony for the 'Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Criminal Enforcement of Cartels' between the Korean prosecution and the U.S. Federal Prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul.

This agreement is the first international MOU that the Korean prosecution has signed with foreign criminal justice agencies in the antitrust field. It was made possible by a bilateral meeting held in Washington, U.S., in December 2018 between Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who was then the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and Makan Delrahim, head of the U.S. Federal Prosecutors' Antitrust Division.

The signing ceremony was originally scheduled to take place in Washington, U.S., in May, but considering the COVID-19 pandemic, it was conducted via an online video conference with participants connecting from each country.

Through this agreement, cooperation in criminal enforcement, information sharing, personnel exchanges, and technical cooperation between the two countries' prosecution offices will be strengthened regarding unfair trade offenses such as export-import price-fixing and market division among large multinational corporations, which can cause enormous damage to consumers in each country.

The agreement took effect immediately upon signing by representatives of both sides. As a follow-up to the MOU, both parties agreed to promote high-level talks and joint workshops between the two agencies as soon as possible.

A Supreme Prosecutors' Office official stated, "Taking this MOU as an opportunity, the prosecution will continue to strengthen cooperation with major judicial competition authorities to protect the legitimate rights and interests of domestic and foreign consumers from unfair trade practices by large multinational corporations and to establish a sound market economic order."

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol (left) and Makan Delrahim, head of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, pose holding the "Memorandum of Understanding on Criminal Enforcement Cooperation for Cartels" between the Korean prosecution and the U.S. Department of Justice, signed on the morning of the 18th. Photo by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office

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