Ruling Party and Government: "Onple Law to Be Reviewed Based on Fair Trade Commission's Proposal"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The Democratic Party of Korea and the government decided on the 16th to deliberate the Online Platform Fairness Act (Online Platform Act) based on the proposal submitted by the Fair Trade Commission. This decision aims to resolve the legislative conflicts between ministries and concerns about overregulation, as multiple versions of the Online Platform Act have been introduced in the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee and the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee.

At a meeting held that day, the ruling party’s secretary of the Political Affairs Committee, Representative Kim Byung-wook of the Democratic Party, confirmed that "the regulatory proposal related to online platforms is solely the one proposed by the Fair Trade Commission." The bill submitted by the Fair Trade Commission is designed to ensure fair trade between online platforms and tenant businesses, including provisions to impose fines of up to 1 billion KRW for unfair practices such as abuse of power against tenant businesses.

Currently, Representative Jeon Hye-sook of the Democratic Party has submitted the “Online Platform User Protection Act” to the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee, which expands the scope to include not only online platforms and tenant businesses but also consumers. Additionally, bills introduced by Representatives Kim Byung-wook, Min Hyung-bae, and Song Gap-seok are pending in the Political Affairs Committee.

Representative Kim stated, "Today, the ruling party and government reached an agreement, and now we will internally discuss and prepare a plan to consolidate into a single proposal." He also mentioned that discussions on consumer protection related to online platform transactions will focus on the government’s proposed amendments to the Electronic Commerce Act.

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