Joseonguk Fair Trade Commission Chairman Discusses 'Establishing Digital Economy Transaction Order' at International Video Conference Among Competition Authorities

Jongwook Cho, Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission. (File photo)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced on the 28th that Chairman Cho Sung-wook attended an international meeting of competition authorities held via video conference on the afternoon of the 27th and presented the policies currently being promoted by the KFTC in the online platform sector.

This meeting was held to discuss ways to establish transaction order in the digital economy and was proposed by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Eleven countries participated, including the United States, the European Union (EU), France, Italy, Canada, Australia, and South Korea.

The UK side emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation among competition authorities in law enforcement regarding the digital market, particularly stressing the importance of sharing information on law enforcement cases targeting major platform companies in each country.

In response, Chairman Cho expressed agreement with the UK's presentation and introduced the enactment of the "Act on the Fairness of Online Platform Intermediated Transactions" and the revision of the "Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, etc." He also announced plans to establish the "Guidelines for Reviewing Unilateral Acts in the Online Platform Sector" to effectively monitor anti-competitive conduct by online platform operators with significant market dominance.

A KFTC official stated, "Through this meeting, it was confirmed that competition authorities from each country recognize the establishment of a fair transaction order in the online platform sector, which is central to the digital economy, as the most important issue. They are devising various measures such as enacting and revising laws and regulations and strengthening law enforcement to respond to competition issues within the digital market and protect consumers." The official added, "We will make our best efforts to legislate the Online Platform Act and the Electronic Commerce Act so as not to fall behind this international trend."

Meanwhile, the KFTC plans to hold an International Competition Forum in Seoul this November to discuss competition issues and consumer protection measures arising in the digital economy sector.

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