Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Fair Trade Investigation Division Adds 4 Prosecutors and Expands by 1 Team... Starting Corporate Investigations?

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-dong, Seoul. / Photo by Choi Seok-jin

[Asia Economy Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist Reporter] The Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which investigates corporate violations of the Fair Trade Act, will be expanded and reorganized.

According to the prosecution on the 18th, starting from the 21st, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office will reorganize the Fair Trade Investigation Division, currently composed of two teams?the Fair Trade Investigation Team and the Unfair Support Investigation Team?into three teams: Fair Trade Investigation Team 1, Fair Trade Investigation Team 2, and the Unfair Support Investigation Team.

To this end, a total of four prosecutors, including one deputy chief prosecutor and three ordinary prosecutors, will be seconded from departments under the First Deputy Chief Prosecutor and Third Deputy Chief Prosecutor to the Fair Trade Investigation Division. Except for the chief prosecutor, each team will have four prosecutors led by a deputy chief prosecutor as the team leader.

A prosecution official stated, "To respond swiftly and efficiently to the increasing number of fair trade cases, four prosecutors with expertise and capability will be additionally assigned to the Fair Trade Investigation Division."

Including two prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Investigation Division 2, who were deployed in mid-last month to support the Fair Trade Investigation Division, the total number of personnel will increase from the existing nine to fifteen.

Some speculate that ahead of the new government's inauguration, the prosecution, which had been passive in investigations so far, may be gearing up to investigate corporate corruption.

President-elect Yoon Seok-youl, who showed interest in investigations in the fair trade sector by separating the Fair Trade and Tax Investigation Division into the Fair Trade Investigation Division and the Tax Crime Investigation Division during his tenure as head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, emphasized strict law enforcement against acts that undermine fair market rules, such as large conglomerates' 'preferential subcontracting,' during the presidential election campaign.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Fair Trade Investigation Division is currently investigating allegations of unfair support related to Samsung Group's Samsung Welstory and allegations of obstructing the sale of generic drugs by Daewoong Pharmaceutical against competitors.

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