Gyeonggi-do, 444 Franchise Business Disputes Mediated in the Last 5 Years

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province has mediated 444 franchise business disputes over the past five years, achieving a mediation success rate of 88%.

On the 13th, Gyeonggi Province announced that the Gyeonggi Province Franchise Business Transaction Dispute Mediation Committee, now in its sixth year since establishment, has handled a total of 444 dispute mediations over the past five years and achieved an 88% mediation success rate.

The provincial Franchise Business Transaction Dispute Mediation Committee was launched following the 2019 amendment to the Act on the Fairness of Franchise Business Transactions, which allowed local governments to mediate disputes arising between franchisors and franchisees.

Over the past five years, the Dispute Mediation Committee received 467 mediation requests and processed 444 cases. Excluding dismissed or withdrawn cases, 292 cases were handled, of which 257 were successfully mediated, resulting in an approximately 88% mediation success rate.

The number of dispute mediations handled annually shows an increasing trend: 74 cases in 2019, 84 in 2020, 83 in 2021, 108 in 2022, and 118 in 2023.

Gyeonggi Province noted that joint dispute mediation cases are particularly complex due to the conflicting interests of the parties involved, making mediation outcomes challenging; however, agreements were reached in 3 out of 8 such cases. Due to these achievements, Gyeonggi Province received a plaque of appreciation from the National Franchisee Association in December last year.

Reviewing the 444 disputes handled by Gyeonggi Province over the past five years, the most common issue was the burden of unfair compensation obligations, accounting for 105 cases (24%). This was followed by false or exaggerated information provision with 62 cases (14%), non-refund of franchise fees with 44 cases (10%), and violations of obligations such as providing disclosure documents with 43 cases (10%).

Lee Moon-gyo, Director of the Fair Economy Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "This year marks the sixth year since the launch of the Gyeonggi Province Franchise Business Transaction Dispute Mediation Committee. Based on the experience accumulated through mediating numerous disputes over the past five years, we will do our utmost to find the best possible agreements between disputing parties and achieve smooth and prompt mediation success this year as well."

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