Fair Trade Commission to Implement Organizational Restructuring Separating Policy and Investigation in April

Fair Trade Commission Plans to Implement Organizational Restructuring Enforcement Rules on the 17th of Next Month Following Personnel Changes

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized detailed plans for an organizational restructuring that separates the policy and investigation departments. The aim is to improve work efficiency by consolidating the previously scattered general affairs under the Policy Bureau and to enhance the independence of adjudication by creating personnel barriers between investigation and adjudication.

According to the FTC on the 10th, the restructuring plan will bifurcate the Secretariat into investigation and policy departments, with the Secretariat Chief responsible for policy functions and the Investigation Director in charge of investigation functions. The FTC will publicly announce the amendment to the "Enforcement Rules of the Organization of the Fair Trade Commission and Its Affiliated Agencies" (hereinafter referred to as the Enforcement Rules) from March 10 to 17. The FTC plans to complete the amendment by the end of March and implement the Enforcement Rules on April 17, considering personnel transfers.

Establishment of Investigation Director (Grade 1) overseeing Market Surveillance Bureau and Cartel Investigation Bureau... Placement of Competition Policy Bureau and Corporate Cooperation Policy Officer under Secretariat Chief

According to the restructuring plan, the existing nine bureaus under the Secretariat will be divided into four bureaus under the Secretariat Chief responsible for policy and four bureaus under the newly established Investigation Director (Grade 1). The number of bureaus is reduced from nine to eight, reorganized around departments that can generate synergy. Under the newly created Investigation Director are the Market Surveillance Bureau, Cartel Investigation Bureau, Corporate Group Surveillance Bureau, and Corporate Transaction Merger Review Bureau. The Market Surveillance Bureau has newly incorporated the Special Terms and Conditions Transaction Division and has taken over investigation tasks from the Consumer Policy Bureau. The Secretariat Chief, Jo,

explained that the Cartel Investigation Bureau has newly established the Service Cartel Investigation Division and incorporated the Economic Analysis Division. Jo said, "Although it would be reasonable to place it under the Investigation General Affairs Officer under the Investigation Director based on roles, during consultations with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, it was technically difficult to place a subordinate organization under another subordinate organization, so it was assigned to the Cartel Investigation Bureau, which has relatively fewer personnel." The Corporate Group Surveillance Bureau inherits the corporate group investigation functions from the former Corporate Group Bureau. The Corporate Transaction Merger Review Bureau combines investigations of unfair trade practices and corporate mergers.

Under the Secretariat Chief responsible for policy are the Planning and Coordination Officer, Competition Policy Bureau, Corporate Cooperation Policy Officer, and Consumer Policy Bureau. This arrangement consolidates previously scattered general affairs and policy divisions into the Competition Policy Bureau, Corporate Cooperation Policy Officer, and Consumer Policy Bureau. Under the Competition Policy Bureau are the Market Surveillance Policy Division, Market Structure Improvement Division, and Online Platform Policy Division. The Corporate Cooperation Policy Officer oversees the Corporate Group Merger Policy Division, Corporate Transaction Policy Division, Franchise Transaction Policy Division, and Distribution Agency Policy Division. Jo explained, "The Corporate Cooperation Policy Officer will handle policies related to unfair trade practices and corporate group mergers." The Consumer Policy Bureau sees little change except that its investigation tasks will move to the Market Surveillance Bureau.

"Movement to Adjudication Department Only Possible via Policy Department"... Raising Personnel Barriers

To enhance the independence of adjudication functions, the FTC has restructured the personnel system so that employees who handled investigations must pass through the policy department before moving to the adjudication department. This change narrows the scope of movement for investigation department staff. Jo said, "To strengthen the fairness and objectivity of FTC adjudications, we plan to prevent direct transfers from the Case Bureau to adjudication duties," adding, "We will also reinforce spatial separation between the investigation and adjudication departments to minimize contact."

Reflecting the need for communication between investigation and policy departments during work processes, the FTC plans to operate a "Policy-Investigation Task Force." Jo explained, "During case handling, there may be demands for institutional improvements in policies, and in such cases, the policy and investigation teams will collaborate organically to demonstrate expertise."

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