Fair Trade Commission Investigation Manager Jo Hong-seon and Secretariat Chief Song Sang-min

Joh Hong-seon, Director of Investigation Management at the Fair Trade Commission (left), and Song Sang-min, Secretary General of the Fair Trade Commission

On the 14th, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) carried out an organizational restructuring to separate the policy and investigation divisions, appointing executives at the director-general level (Grade 1). Song Sang-min, Director of the Competition Policy Bureau (age 56), was appointed as Secretary-General, and Cho Hong-seon, former Secretary-General (age 55), was appointed as Investigation Management Officer.

The KFTC announced on the 12th that in the course of this organizational restructuring, Cho Hong-seon, former Secretary-General, was newly appointed as Investigation Management Officer, a newly established position, and Song Sang-min, former Director of the Competition Policy Bureau, was appointed as the new Secretary-General.

Cho Hong-seon, the new Investigation Management Officer, entered public service in 1994 after passing the 37th Administrative Examination. He has served as Secretary-General, Director of the Cartel Investigation Bureau, and Director of Distribution Policy. Song Sang-min, the new Secretary-General, also entered public service in 1994 after passing the 37th Administrative Examination and has served as Director of the Competition Policy Bureau and Director of the Market Surveillance Bureau.

While serving as Secretary-General, Cho Hong-seon led the organizational restructuring to separate policy and investigation functions and developed measures to improve the law enforcement system, including the refinement of case handling procedures and standards. As Director of the Cartel Investigation Bureau, he contributed to promoting competition across various industrial sectors and enhancing consumer welfare by improving cartel-related systems and handling various cartel cases in consumer goods, intermediate goods, and bidding sectors. As Director of Distribution Policy, he contributed to improving unfair practices in the franchise and distribution markets by detecting and correcting legal violations by major franchise and distribution businesses.

While serving as Director of the Competition Policy Bureau, Song Sang-min contributed to establishing the KFTC’s policy direction by setting core tasks and preparing work plans for the commission’s policies. As Director of the Market Surveillance Bureau, he contributed to policy development aimed at improving unfair practices across various industries by operating a dedicated ICT team to devise regulatory measures against monopolistic practices by big tech companies and preparing review guidelines to enhance predictability of law enforcement standards in the online platform sector.

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