Han Ki-jung "No Change in Large Corporation Policies... Need to Ease the Burden"

Han Ki-jung "Holding company responsibilities continue... an important policy tool"
"Platforms will first self-regulate... will strive for proper establishment"

Han Ki-jung, the newly appointed Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, giving a greeting
(Sejong=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Joo-hyung = Han Ki-jung, the newly appointed Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, is giving a greeting on the morning of the 19th at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City before a meeting with the press corps. 2022.9.19
kjhpress@yna.co.kr
(End)

＜Copyright(c) Yonhap News Agency, unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited＞

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] Han Kijeong, the first chairman of the Fair Trade Commission under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, announced that he will maintain the policy direction for large business groups, including holding companies. This statement clarifies that the recent downsizing of the Corporate Group Division, which was newly established during the Moon Jae-in administration, is unrelated to the policy direction for large business groups. However, Chairman Han expressed his intention to ease some regulations, such as duplicate disclosures, to reduce the burden on large corporations.

Chairman Han made these remarks at a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong. He said, "The Holding Company Division was abolished after going through an evaluation process of the newly established organization," adding, "There will be no significant changes to the policy direction for large business groups, including holding companies." He further stated, "The tasks related to holding companies will continue," emphasizing, "Holding companies are regarded as an important policy tool for improving ownership and governance structures."

Chairman Han’s emphasis on maintaining the policy direction for large business groups stems from concerns over the downsizing of the Corporate Group Division. Earlier this month, the Fair Trade Commission announced a draft amendment to abolish the Holding Company Division within the Corporate Group Division. The Corporate Group Division, responsible for establishing and managing policies for large business groups and conducting investigations into conglomerates, was established in early 2017 during the Moon Jae-in administration. Given that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has emphasized 'regulatory reform,' there was a prevailing view that the functions of the Corporate Group Division, created under the previous administration’s policy direction, would likely be broadly reduced.

Han Ki-jung, the new Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, answering questions
(Sejong=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Joo-hyung = Han Ki-jung, the new Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, is answering questions at a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on the morning of the 19th. 2022.9.19
kjhpress@yna.co.kr
(End)

＜Copyright(c) Yonhap News Agency, unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited＞

Chairman Han stressed that while maintaining policies for large corporations, regulatory improvements should also be pursued simultaneously. He said, "If there are unclear areas due to changes in the economic situation, it is necessary to reduce the burden on companies," adding, "We are specifically reviewing overlapping aspects related to disclosures." He continued, "Considering the scale of the Korean economy, there are unreasonable or unclear regulations that reduce predictability from the perspective of large corporations," and stated, "Consistently identifying such regulations during my term can be seen as regulatory easing and improvement."

He also mentioned platform self-regulation. Chairman Han said, "Conflicts between platforms and suppliers are currently being addressed by first promoting self-regulation," adding, "The Fair Trade Commission will spare no effort to support and ensure that self-regulation is established." This is interpreted as an intention to govern the platform economy through self-regulation instead of enacting the 'Online Platform Fairness Act' promoted by the previous administration.

He also hinted at organizational restructuring to separate the investigation and adjudication functions of the Fair Trade Commission. Chairman Han said, "The separation of adjudication functions and the secretariat is a matter related to organizational restructuring," adding, "The Fair Trade Commission has been steadily reforming the system to separate functions." He further noted, "It is certainly an issue that requires continuous consideration."

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