Fair Trade Crackdown on School Uniform Collusion... Heavy Sanctions on "Abuse of Tariff Quotas" for Excessive Profits

Ministerial Task Force on Consumer Price Management
Investigation into Four School Uniform Manufacturers and Their Nationwide Outlets
Key Monitoring of Unfair Practices Involving Essential Food Items

As a measure to eradicate price collusion in the school uniform market—which has long been criticized as a financial burden on parents—the Korea Fair Trade Commission has launched a nationwide on-site investigation. The Ministry of Education will also conduct a comprehensive survey targeting 5,700 middle and high schools nationwide.

Joo Byungki, chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, attended and spoke at a ministerial task force meeting on the special management of consumer prices held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on February 26, 2026. Photo by Jo Yongjun

On February 26, at a meeting of the Ministerial Task Force for Special Management of Consumer Prices held at the Government Complex Sejong, Joo Byungki, chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, stated, "School uniforms, recently at the center of controversy due to their high prices, have been a product marked by habitual collusion." He added, "The Fair Trade Commission headquarters and five local offices have mobilized fully to quickly initiate a nationwide investigation of four school uniform manufacturers and about 40 distributors nationwide." Chairman Joo continued, "Through this investigation, subsequent actions, and the review next month of a bidding collusion case involving 27 companies and 136 schools in the Gwangju area, we will strictly sanction legal violations and eradicate chronic collusive practices."

Lee: "School uniform prices are too high"... Full survey at 5,700 middle and high schools, considering elimination of formal suit-style uniforms

Previously, President Lee Jaemyung pointed out, "Recently, the cost of purchasing school uniforms has reportedly reached nearly 600,000 won," and "When we asked for cheaper supply, some took undue profits using taxpayers' money," calling for strong countermeasures. Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yooncheol, who presided over the meeting, stated, "We will never tolerate or overlook expedient or illegal acts that undermine market trust, and we will work to improve them to the end." He also said, "No one will be allowed to profit from collusion or unfair practices involving essential consumer prices, such as food, that matter most to the public." During the meeting, separate measures were announced for "improving and strengthening the management of school uniform prices and private academy fees" and "inspecting and reforming the tariff quota system."

As part of its response to school uniform prices, the Ministry of Education plans to conduct a "comprehensive school uniform cost survey" at about 5,700 middle and high schools nationwide in cooperation with local education offices from February 27 to March 16, and to set price ceilings for each item, including casual uniforms. The ceiling price for school uniforms for the 2026 school year (344,530 won) remains unchanged from last year. However, when accounting for casual uniforms (about 160,000 won per set), sportswear (about 110,000 won per set), and extra shirts (around 50,000 won), an additional burden of about 300,000 won is expected.

There are also plans to replace expensive and uncomfortable formal suit-style uniforms with casual uniforms and sportswear. The support system, which has centered on in-kind support, will be diversified to include cash and voucher options.

For school-led bulk purchasing, which has mainly favored large brands, the system will now grant extra points in bids to small businesses and producer cooperatives, and provide joint brand consulting. The Fair Trade Commission will cooperate to strongly respond to unfair trade practices such as bid collusion, and a zero-tolerance policy will be applied, including referring violators for investigation. For private academy fees, special inspections will be carried out to prevent so-called "other expenses"—such as mock test fees and material costs—from being excessively charged in addition to tuition. To ensure effective sanctions, the cap on administrative fines will be raised substantially from the current 3 million won to 10 million won, and a new surcharge to recover unjust gains will be introduced.

Lee: "When asked to supply cheaply, they made excessive profits"... Designation and management of key items; sharp increase in fines

The Ministry of Economy and Finance will overhaul the tariff quota system. Since 2022, tariff quotas—which were actively used to stabilize prices under the Yoon Sukyeol administration—have supported over 1 trillion won annually for about 100 items each year.

The government will first designate and manage items with a high risk of unfair practices as "key items under intensive management." These include food products with long shelf lives such as frozen meats and food ingredients, items with a history of violations, and products involved in complex domestic distribution channels. Once designated, the 40-day mandatory removal period from bonded areas—currently applied only to livestock products—will also apply, and violations will result in additional customs duties. In cases where rapid supply is needed, a new standard for customs release orders will be introduced. If these rules are violated, the current administrative fine of 1 million won will be raised to 5 million won (provisionally). Additional penalties will include restricted future quota allocations for violations of removal and rapid distribution obligations, along with extra customs duties. An exclusive organization will be designated to manage the entire process of import, distribution, and sales of quota items in an integrated manner, with entities such as the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) being considered.

There are also plans to simplify the multi-layered distribution structure—where goods are supplied to consumers through importers, wholesalers, logistics centers, and retailers—by increasing the proportion of direct supply through large retail channels such as hypermarkets. The government will conduct focused customs investigations on importers that repeatedly delay removal from bonded areas or falsely report inflated import prices, and will launch intensive special investigations into companies engaged in malicious acts such as obtaining false recommendations for tariff quotas.

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