Fair Trade Commission: "Busan Dental Technicians Association Restricts Price Competition by Setting Fees... Plans to Report to Prosecutors"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to file charges against the Busan Dental Technicians Association with the prosecution. This decision was made on the grounds that the association's act of setting and distributing prices for dental prosthetics unfairly restricted free price competition among dental technicians.

On the 26th, the FTC announced that it had detected such conduct by the Busan Dental Technicians Association, imposed corrective orders (including future conduct prohibition orders and notification orders to member businesses), fined them 11 million KRW, and reported the case to the prosecution.

Dental prosthetics are artificial substitutes used to restore the function and appearance of teeth and surrounding tissues. Transactions occur when dental clinics request dental laboratories to produce prosthetics, and technicians manufacture and supply them accordingly.

According to the FTC, around May 2018, the Dental Technicians Association discussed setting prices for dental prosthetics in response to requests from member businesses expressing financial difficulties. In July of the same year, they formed a Prosthetics Fee Committee and prepared a price list for dental prosthetics in November.

Subsequently, at the regular general assembly in January 2019, the association finalized the prices for dental prosthetics and resolved to implement them starting March of the same year. The association distributed the price list to approximately 1,300 dental clinics and 400 dental laboratories in the Busan area and also checked whether the laboratories were negotiating prices with dental clinics based on the decided prices.

An FTC official stated, "By allowing dental technicians in the Busan area to autonomously determine prosthetics fees, we expect to establish competitive order in the dental prosthetics market and prevent similar illegal activities." The official added, "The FTC will continuously monitor acts that undermine competitive order, such as price-fixing by business associations, and will impose strict sanctions if violations are detected."

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