[Jeongmuwi National Assembly Audit②] Controversy Over Octopus-Like Expansion... Platform Companies Under Scrutiny

Kakao Controversy Emerges as Key Issue in Political Affairs Committee Audit
Questions Expected on 'Merge Incident' and Financial Consumer Protection Act Debate

Yeouido National Assembly Building, Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The upcoming National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee audit scheduled for early next month is expected to focus significantly on platform companies, which have been at the center of controversy over the 'tilted playing field.' In particular, the session will serve as an opportunity to review the positions of related platform companies regarding the recently debated Financial Consumer Protection Act (FCPA) and to examine related issues amid their sprawling expansions.

According to political circles on the 21st, the Political Affairs Committee held a plenary meeting on the 16th and selected witnesses for the audit, including Kim Beom-su, Chairman of the Kakao Board, Kang Han-seung, CEO of Coupang, and Bae Bo-chan, CEO of Yanolja.

First, Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao, is expected to face a series of criticisms regarding the problem of encroaching on local small businesses based on his firm market dominance. In the Democratic Party, lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok, Song Jae-ho, and Oh Ki-hyung have requested his testimony, while in the People Power Party, lawmakers Yoon Joo-kyung and Yoon Chang-hyun have also applied to summon him as a witness.

The lawmakers have announced in advance that they will question Chairman Kim on issues including ▲improving unfair trade practices by large platform corporations ▲the sprawling business expansion and the resulting monopolistic market structure leading to increased user fees ▲consumer deception and policies to protect tenant businesses amid the growth of the online platform market ▲failure to report affiliates, mergers and acquisitions of competing affiliates, and disclosure of corporate group status ▲aggressive corporate mergers and acquisitions threatening local businesses, and the formation of structures that impose excessive commission fees. Additionally, inquiries related to the recently controversial Financial Consumer Protection Act are expected to follow. A Political Affairs Committee official stated, "Since the FCPA has recently sparked significant controversy, it is impossible that questions on it will be omitted."

Bae Bo-chan, CEO of Yanolja, is likely to face scrutiny over issues related to excessive advertising fee commissions. Kang Han-seung, CEO of Coupang, is expected to clarify his stance on domestic online platform regulations.

The Merge Point incident, which triggered a large-scale refund crisis, is also anticipated to attract intense attention. Lawmakers have pointed out that lax management and supervision of unregistered prepaid service providers like Merge Point have caused significant damage to consumers and small business owners. In this regard, Kwon Nam-hee, CEO of Merge Plus, will be summoned as a witness. Industry insiders expect that measures addressing the blind spots in financial authorities’ oversight of prepaid electronic payment service providers will be demanded. Furthermore, as victims are pursuing legal action, it is anticipated that there will be focused questioning regarding opinions and positions related to this matter.

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