Government Strengthens Platform Self-Regulation... Reviewing Amendment of 'Jeontongsin Business Act'

Ministry of Economy and Finance Holds the '2nd Pan-Government Platform Policy Council'

Vice Minister Bang Gi-seon Chairs the 2nd Pan-Government Platform Policy Council
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Vice Minister Bang Gi-seon of the Ministry of Economy and Finance is presiding over the 2nd Pan-Government Platform Policy Council held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 23rd. 2022.12.23 [Provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Reproduction and DB prohibited]
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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] The government is considering revising the 'Telecommunications Business Act' to strengthen platform self-regulation. It also reaffirmed its stance to respond strictly to the abuse of monopoly power by dominant platform market operators.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that it held the '2nd Pan-Government Platform Policy Council' at the Government Seoul Office, chaired by Deputy Minister Bang Giseon. Representatives from related ministries including the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Fair Trade Commission attended the meeting to discuss support measures for platform self-regulatory organizations and directions for platform policy implementation.

The council decided to first consider revising the 'Telecommunications Business Act' to establish a legal basis for the establishment and support of platform self-regulatory organizations. The platform self-regulatory organization, which includes stakeholders from both public and private sectors and experts, launched in August this year and is currently conducting discussions in four subcommittees: Gap-Eul (dominant-subordinate relations), consumers/users, data/artificial intelligence (AI), and innovation sharing/governance. The government plans to prepare a revision bill for the Telecommunications Business Act by early next year after consultations with related ministries and gathering opinions from the private sector.

To advance discussions within the platform self-regulatory organization, the platform surveys currently conducted by government ministries will be systematized further. The government plans to increase the utilization of survey results by sharing them with the platform self-regulatory organization. Additionally, it will develop measures to provide incentives to companies participating in the platform self-regulatory organization by utilizing existing systems such as the Compliance Program (CP) system and user protection performance evaluations. Incentives will also be strengthened, including the legalization of the CP system.

The council also reaffirmed its firm stance on strict responses to monopolies in the platform market. Accordingly, the government intends to enhance monitoring systems by supplementing enforcement standards under the Fair Trade Act and other surveillance frameworks, considering the characteristics of platforms. Participants in the council reached a consensus that platform policies should be promoted based on the principle of private-led self-regulation and that policy approaches should vary according to the types of conflicts in the platform market.

The government plans to announce a comprehensive plan soon to ensure fairness in the platform market. Deputy Minister Bang said, “Since the first platform policy council in July, a close cooperative system among related ministries has been established, enabling the smooth implementation of major policies,” and added, “We will further strengthen platform policies through organic cooperation and response among related ministries.”

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