Vice Chairman Jo Hong-seon Meets Lina Khan, "Introducing Measures to Improve Competition Constraint Regulations"

US Competition Authorities Host 'Meeting of Competition Authority Heads'

Heads of major competition authorities worldwide gathered to discuss measures to respond to the economic crisis in the era of global high inflation.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced that Vice Chairman Cho Hong-seon will attend the 3rd Competition Authority Chiefs Meeting held on the 8th (local time) in Washington, jointly hosted by the U.S. competition authorities, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division.

At this meeting, participants will share best practices and experiences from various countries regarding whole-of-government cooperation measures to promote market competition, and discuss competition issues within the food supply chain amid the economic crisis caused by high inflation.

The meeting will be attended by Lina Khan, Chair of the FTC; Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ Antitrust Division; Olivier Guersent, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition; as well as heads of major competition authorities from Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil, India, Spain, and others.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

First, regarding whole-of-government cooperation measures to promote market competition, the United States will have ministers from relevant departments directly introduce successful cases of cooperation between competition authorities and federal regulatory agencies since President Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy.

Immediately following President Biden’s executive order, the 'White House Competition Council' was established, involving more than 12 departments, and policies to promote competition in various sectors such as transportation, healthcare, finance, telecommunications, and food have been formulated and implemented, including the announcement of revised merger guidelines.

Regarding competition issues within the food supply chain, discussions will focus on conduct and mergers that may potentially restrict competition within the food supply chain.

Our side will introduce achievements in swiftly approving mergers through collaboration with other ministries during merger reviews, and share successful cases of whole-of-government cooperation in improving regulations that restrict market competition.

Additionally, concerning competition issues in the food supply chain, it was announced that through market analyses in the bakery and alcoholic beverage sectors this year, regulations that hinder new entry or restrict business activities will be identified and improvement plans will be prepared.

Regarding cartel detection, as the main agency responsible for cartel response, the KFTC will present cases of detecting cartels in cooperation with the Public Procurement Service and public institutions conducting procurement, as well as the current status and achievements of the voluntary reporting system and whistleblower reward system operated to encourage reporting of cartel activities.

The meeting will also discuss measures to promote competition in the fields of algorithmic collusion investigations and artificial intelligence (AI). The KFTC plans to publish an ‘AI Policy Report’ at the end of the year, which will identify and conduct in-depth analysis of competition restrictions and consumer issues in the AI market.

Vice Chairman Cho will hold bilateral meetings with Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ Antitrust Division; Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Senior Commissioner of the FTC; and Alberto Baciega, Director of the European Commission’s Digital Platforms Directorate, respectively, on the occasion of this meeting. Each bilateral meeting will discuss the trends and response measures of the two countries regarding the themes of this Competition Authority Chiefs Meeting.

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