Coupang, Baemin, Yanolja... Unable to Announce Win-Win Growth Index "Because of This Law"

Dongbanwi to Promote Pilot Evaluation of Online Platforms
Onple Act Must Be Passed to Announce Win-Win Growth Index
Stalled Due to Opposition Arguments... "Must Prevent Small Business Damage"

The Win-Win Growth Committee has announced its intention to evaluate the win-win growth activities of online platform companies, but it has been revealed that there is currently no way to publicly disclose the evaluation results. It is virtually impossible until the government-submitted "Fair Trade Act on Online Platform Brokerage Transactions" passes the National Assembly.

The Win-Win Growth Committee, an affiliate of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, announces the win-win growth index evaluation results for about 200 large and medium-sized enterprises every year to promote coexistence and cooperation between large and small and medium enterprises. The evaluation of the previous year's performance is conducted from January to May each year, and the results are announced to the media around June to September. Companies are classified into five grades?Excellent, Good, Fair, Average, and Poor?based on their efforts to coexist with small and medium-sized partner companies. The win-win growth index is used as a measure to gauge a company's external image and credibility.

The problem is that online platform companies, which have been at the center of "gapjil" (abuse of power) controversies, have been excluded from the win-win growth index evaluation. Chairman Oh Young-gyo of the Win-Win Growth Committee seemed aware of this and announced at a press briefing in December last year that they are preparing evaluation indicators for online platform companies. At that time, Chairman Oh said, "We are preparing how to lead online platforms well and plan to respond proactively." As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation, the number of small and medium-sized merchants doing business with large platform companies increased, and issues of unfair trade have been continuously raised. The committee aims to proactively establish a win-win cooperation model and foster a win-win growth atmosphere before social conflicts erupt. [Related article=Win-Win Growth Committee to examine online platform 'win-win cooperation'... "To prevent social conflicts"]

Chairman Oh recently told Asia Economy, "We will first create a pilot evaluation system targeting open markets and then decide how to apply it to other industries such as delivery and accommodation." They plan to pilot evaluate open markets operated by Naver Smart Store and KakaoTalk Store, as well as Coupang, 11st, Gmarket, Tmon, and Wemakeprice, and then expand the scope to delivery services like Baedal Minjok and accommodation services like Yanolja and Yogi-yo-ttae. This reflects the opinions of small and medium-sized merchants who say that the online platform industry has long been left in a regulatory blind spot, causing increased damage to tenant companies.

Oh Young-gyo, Chairman of the Win-Win Growth Committee (center), is delivering a greeting at the 74th main meeting of the Win-Win Growth Committee held in Yeouido, Seoul, last March.

However, there is currently no legal basis to publicly disclose the evaluation results for these companies. The win-win growth index is a combined result of evaluations conducted separately by the Win-Win Growth Committee and the Fair Trade Commission. It is calculated and announced by adding the Win-Win Growth Committee's "Comprehensive Win-Win Growth Evaluation (50%)" and the Fair Trade Commission's "Fair Trade Agreement Implementation Evaluation (50%)." In other words, since the Fair Trade Commission has not signed fair trade agreements with online platform companies, the win-win growth index cannot be calculated for them. The Fair Trade Commission only signs agreements in areas such as subcontracting, large-scale distribution, franchise business, and agency transactions. Because of this, the Win-Win Growth Committee's attempt to pilot evaluate online platforms is inevitably criticized as "half-baked." A Ministry of SMEs and Startups official said, "It is true that it is difficult to publicly announce the win-win growth index as a result, but although there may be critical views, the significance lies in the Win-Win Growth Committee independently conducting the pilot evaluation."

The legal basis for the Fair Trade Commission to sign agreements with online platform companies lies in the "Fair Trade Act on Online Platform Brokerage Transactions," which the government submitted to the National Assembly in January 2021. The bill includes provisions allowing the Fair Trade Commission to recommend the conclusion of agreements in which online platform intermediaries and user businesses pledge mutual support and joint cooperation. The Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency, an affiliate of the Fair Trade Commission and the evaluation agency, also stated, "If the On-Platform Act passes, it will be possible to evaluate whether fair trade and win-win cooperation are being implemented through agreements between platform companies and user businesses." However, this bill has not progressed due to opposition arguments that it imposes excessive regulation on platform companies. Opponents argue that there is no law to regulate platform companies, resulting in not only unfair trade but also monopoly damages.

A representative of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise Associations said, "While the bill's review has stalled, platform companies have grown into giant corporations," and added, "There is a need for institutional measures to minimize the damage to small business owners who use platforms for their businesses."

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