Fair Trade Commission Holds Platform Law Meeting with US Companies… Google and Apple Absent

Amid strong opposition from the industry to the proposed enactment of the "Platform Competition Promotion Act (Platform Act)," the Fair Trade Commission held a meeting with global companies to ease the controversy.

On the morning of the 25th, Yuk Seong-kwon, Secretary General of the Fair Trade Commission, visited the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AmCham) and emphasized that swift responses to unfair practices by dominant platform companies are essential to protect consumers, small and medium platforms, and startups.

Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jung is attending the 'Stop Deceptive Marketing!' Online Dark Pattern Eradication Policy Party-Government Council held at the National Assembly on the 21st. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

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At this meeting, Secretary General Yuk clarified the industry's concerns and misunderstandings about the Platform Act. Regarding the industry's claim that the Platform Act would destroy the industrial ecosystem, he explained, "The enactment of the law will improve the competitive environment and expand opportunities to enter and grow in the market based solely on ideas." He also made it clear that "if a platform is monopolistic, it will be subject to the Platform Act regulations regardless of whether the business is domestic or foreign."

This meeting was arranged upon AmCham's additional request following the explanatory session on the purpose of the Platform Act held on the 11th. Only four companies?Qualcomm, Match, Thunder, and Uniquest?attended the meeting. Major U.S. big tech companies such as Google, Apple, and Meta did not participate.

Secretary General Yuk also held an unscheduled press briefing at the Government Complex Sejong the day before, reiterating the necessity of the law by stating, "Under the current Fair Trade Act, there is a significant time lag between the occurrence of unfair practices and corrective measures, resulting in repeatedly closing the stable after the horse has bolted."

The Platform Act includes provisions to pre-designate dominant platform operators and prohibit four types of unfair practices: self-preferencing, tying sales, restricting multi-homing, and forcing most-favored-nation treatment. The Fair Trade Commission explained that because platform markets become monopolized much faster than traditional markets, once monopolies are established, restoring competitive order is virtually impossible.

However, domestic and international platform industries strongly oppose the enactment of the related law. They cite reasons such as conflict with the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's policy of self-regulation, potential reverse discrimination against domestic platform companies, concerns about trade friction, and the possibility of hindering the growth of the platform industry itself.

The Fair Trade Commission stated that it will review the industry's opinions presented at this meeting and prepare reasonable regulatory measures that can promote innovation and growth in the platform market. It added, "At every stage of the legislative process, we will provide legislative information to the platform industry regardless of domestic or foreign businesses and make greater efforts for on-site communication to gather diverse opinions."

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