Fair Trade Commission to Promote Organizational Restructuring in Line with President Yoon's Directive... "Considering Separation of Investigation and Adjudication"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is pushing forward with an organizational restructuring in line with the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's national agenda. The KFTC also plans to revise its law enforcement system, including strengthening the procedural rights of those under investigation during the enforcement of the Fair Trade Act.

The KFTC recently announced on the 5th that it has formed an internal "Organizational Advancement Task Force" and is preparing plans for organizational restructuring. The KFTC's move to restructure follows directives from President Yoon Seok-yeol. Earlier, in August, President Yoon instructed the KFTC during a work briefing to prepare a plan for organizational restructuring to specialize various functions such as investigation, policy, and adjudication.

The KFTC plans to finalize the restructuring plan after reviewing opinions from external experts in academia and cases from advanced countries' competition authorities. According to the KFTC, the European Union (EU), Japan, and Singapore separate the investigation and policy functions of their competition authorities. Meanwhile, countries like the United Kingdom and Belgium have a single agency responsible for both investigation and adjudication functions but operate these two functions separately to ensure fairness in rulings. A KFTC official explained, "Separating investigation and policy functions makes it easier to strictly manage and supervise the entire process of case handling," adding, "Integrating policy functions such as competition promotion and consumer protection can also create synergy among related policies."

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 before a meeting with the press corps at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on the morning of the 19th of last month. 2022.9.19
kjhpress@yna.co.kr
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Following President Yoon's directive, the KFTC has also decided to prepare improvements to the law enforcement system. The KFTC has formed an internal task force led by the Secretary-General to discuss ways to improve the law enforcement system. Through these improvements, the KFTC plans to strengthen procedural rights during the investigation phase by introducing an objection procedure and revise standards for handling cases related to online platforms. The commission will strictly manage case processing deadlines and enhance the preservation and management of case records.

The KFTC plans to gather internal opinions and prepare detailed improvement plans by the end of this month. Subsequently, after holding expert meetings, it will finalize and announce the law enforcement system improvements within the year and will begin full-scale revisions of related regulations, such as case procedure rules, starting next year.

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