Fair Trade Commission Deliberations Move from Paper to Clicks... Accelerating Adoption of Electronic Deliberation System

Enforcement Decree Revision Proposed for Electronic Delivery and Submission of Documents
All File Formats, Including Audio and Video, to Be Accepted

The Fair Trade Commission will usher in the “digital hearing era” starting next year, as deliberations will be conducted through an electronic system rather than on paper.

Photo of the Fair Trade Commission building. The Asia Business Daily DB.

The Fair Trade Commission announced that it has prepared a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, which specifies the rules for electronic delivery and submission of documents and materials necessary for deliberations. The proposed amendment will be open for public comment for 40 days starting March 24.

This amendment follows the revision of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act in February 2024, which is scheduled to take effect in February 2027. It aims to specify the details delegated by law and to provide the legal basis for establishing subordinate notifications.

According to the amendment, access to the “electronic deliberation system” will be limited to interested parties, such as the parties to a case and complainants, as well as those approved by the Fair Trade Commission. The range of materials that can be submitted includes all evidence necessary for deliberation, regardless of file format—including audio and video files—ensuring a greater diversity of supporting materials.

The method of document delivery will also be modernized. After the Commission uploads documents to the system, notification will be sent to the party’s email address or mobile phone number. The notification is considered effective at the time the email or text message is sent.

Safeguards have been established to prevent disadvantages caused by system malfunctions. If system errors prevent users from accessing documents for more than one hour in a day, that day will be excluded from the deemed delivery period (the period of one to two weeks after notification during which, if unconfirmed, delivery is presumed to have occurred). However, previously announced maintenance work will not be counted as part of the exclusion period.

The Fair Trade Commission stated, “We are currently working to have the system fully operational by February next year. Once the electronic deliberation system is established, the efficiency of deliberations will be greatly improved, and companies will benefit from not having to visit the Commission in person to submit materials.”

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