Seongwook Cho Repeatedly Emphasizes the Need for Platform Fairness Act... "Concerns Over Side Effects Spreading"

Fair Trade Commission Chair Delivers Lecture on 'Fair Trade Policy Directions for the Second Half of the Year' at ECCK Breakfast Meeting
"Promoting Fair Trade Between Online Platforms and Tenants and Strengthening Consumer Rights"

Chairman Jo Sung-wook of the Korea Fair Trade Commission is looking through a book received from Dirk Lukat, President of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea, at the "Korea Fair Trade Commission, European Chamber of Commerce in Korea Invitation Lecture" held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Chairman Cho Seong-wook of the Fair Trade Commission emphasized on the 10th that he will promote fair trade between online platforms and tenant companies and strengthen consumer rights.

On the same day, Chairman Cho gave a lecture on the direction of fair trade policy for the second half of the year at a breakfast meeting of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, stating, "Concerns about the side effects of platforms are increasing." The intention is to resolve the new gap issues led by large platforms such as Naver and Kakao through legislation such as the Online Platform Fairness Act and the Electronic Commerce Act.

Chairman Cho pointed out, "Platforms provide tenant companies with new market access opportunities, but concerns about unfair practices also persist, and although they offer consumers more choices, cases of consumer damage are also increasing."

Accordingly, he announced plans to establish a digital advertising division within the ICT dedicated team at the Fair Trade Commission and expand the in-app payment investigation team in the app market division to intensively monitor competition-restricting acts in the platform sector. He also explained that guidelines for reviewing unilateral acts in the online platform sector will be established to prevent legal violations.

Furthermore, he reiterated the necessity of enacting the Online Platform Fairness Act and revising the Electronic Commerce Act to strengthen consumer rights, both currently pending in the National Assembly. These two bills aim to promote fair trade between platforms and tenant companies, and between platforms and consumers, respectively.

The Online Platform Fairness Act focuses on imposing obligations such as issuing contracts on about 30 domestic and foreign 'giant platforms' mediating transactions between tenant companies and consumers in Korea, with penalties of up to 1 billion KRW for unfair practices. The revised Electronic Commerce Act includes provisions that hold platforms accountable if they cause consumer damage through intentional or negligent acts and require proper disclosure of information regarding search results, exposure rankings, and personalized advertisements.

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