Fair Trade Commission: "Onpleob" Is the Government's Single Proposal... Joseonguk Draws a Line Amid Ministry Disagreements

Chairman Cho Volunteered for a Press Conference on the 9th

"The National Assembly Will Perceive the Weight of the Government Proposal Differently"
On Concerns of Overlapping Regulations in the On-Platform Act: "If There Were Any, It Would Not Have Passed the Regulatory Reform Committee"

Chairman Seongwook Cho (file photo)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Regarding the 'Act on the Fairness of Online Platform Intermediated Transactions (On-Platform Act),' Chairman Cho Sung-wook of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) directly drew a line amid criticisms that the Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Communications Commission are at odds. Chairman Cho emphasized that the KFTC's On-Platform Act proposal is a 'government proposal' that has undergone legislative notice, vice ministerial and Cabinet meetings.

On the afternoon of the 9th, Chairman Cho held a press conference at the Government Complex Sejong and said, "The On-Platform Act is a single and agreed-upon proposal prepared by the government," adding, "The National Assembly will perceive the weight of the (KFTC's) proposal differently."

The KFTC had previously issued a legislative notice for the On-Platform Act from September 28 to November 9 last year (40 days). Subsequently, through 12 rounds of consultations with related ministries and industries, it sequentially passed reviews by the Regulatory Reform Committee and the Ministry of Government Legislation. Last month, it passed the Cabinet meeting, received the President's approval, and was submitted to the National Assembly as a government proposal. The core of the act mandates platform operators and tenant businesses to compulsorily draft and provide contracts, and regulates acts such as coercing economic benefits, shifting losses, interfering in management activities, and retaliatory measures.

However, controversies have continued even after the KFTC submitted the On-Platform Act to the National Assembly. At a forum on the 'Online Platform User Protection Act' on the 5th, Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, stated, "The KCC will also do its best to prepare user-centered policies that benefit the public." While this was a fundamental stance considering inter-agency turf disputes, it subtly expressed support for the 'Online Platform User Protection Act' previously proposed by Assemblywoman Jeon Hye-sook of the Democratic Party. Assemblywoman Jeon's bill argues that since the KCC is the agency responsible for information and communication technology (ICT), platform regulation should be led by the KCC. In response, the KFTC maintains that the transactional relationship between platforms and tenant businesses falls under its jurisdiction. The gap remains unresolved.

Chairman Cho reiterated, "If you look at the Cabinet meeting minutes, they asked, 'Are there any objections? If not, we will proceed with the original proposal,' and it passed," emphasizing again, "The On-Platform Act is a single, agreed-upon government proposal."

Regarding concerns raised by the KCC about overlapping regulations, he firmly stated, "That is not the case." Chairman Cho questioned, "If it were overlapping regulation, could the On-Platform Act have survived the Regulatory Reform Committee and the Ministry of Government Legislation reviews?" He added, "There is no overlapping content between the existing platform-related laws held by other ministries and the newly proposed On-Platform Act by the KFTC."

Chairman Cho also expressed his intention to expedite the handling of platform-related cases. The KFTC has completed investigations and sent review reports on two cases, including allegations of Google obstructing the installation of competing operating systems (OS). Chairman Cho said, "We will hold the first review on at least one of the two cases in the first half of the year." In the case of Apple, which recently finalized a consent decree, the plenary review was held three times. For the Google case, the KFTC plans to begin a full-scale review to determine illegality within the first half of this year.

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