Fair Trade Commission Chair Joo Byunggi: "Abolishing 46-Year Exclusive Complaint Right... Tripling Fines"

On April 15, Joo Byunggi, Chairperson of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, announced, "We will introduce a direct complaint system to ease the Commission's exclusive right to file criminal complaints."

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In an interview with CBS Radio's "Park Sungtae's News Show" on the same day, Chairperson Joo stated, "If more than 300 citizens or more than 30 business operators agree, it will be possible to file a criminal complaint directly with investigative authorities and proceed to prosecution without going through the Fair Trade Commission." The exclusive right to file complaints is a system under which prosecutors can indict only if the Fair Trade Commission files a complaint-a practice that has been in place for 46 years since its introduction in 1980 and has been criticized for allowing the Commission to monopolize the complaint process.

Chairperson Joo explained, "There have been criticisms that the Fair Trade Commission has exercised its right to file complaints too passively," adding, "Currently, investigative authorities investigate cases and, if they request a mandatory complaint, the Fair Trade Commission then files the complaint, which is an indirect process. Going forward, we will allow prosecution to proceed directly without the need for such a request."

Chairperson Joo also emphasized that, to enhance the effectiveness of economic sanctions that have been criticized as too lenient, the upper limit for fines will be significantly raised. He stated, "The profit margin that can be gained by abusing a dominant market position can reach up to 20-30%, but the current fine is only 6% of related sales, making it profitable to break the law." He added, "In this amendment, we have increased the upper limit to 20% of related sales, more than three times the current level."

Chairperson Joo cited the recent "sugar price-fixing" case as an example, stating, "In a case involving related sales of over 3 trillion won, a fine of about 400 billion won was imposed." He continued, "In the past, similar cases could have been dealt with fines of around 40 billion won, but we are now conducting strict reviews to ensure effective sanctions."

Regarding the chronic issue of fines being reduced during litigation, Chairperson Joo said, "The Fair Trade Commission's win rate is quite high at around 95%, but it is important to establish legal restrictions to prevent reductions during lawsuits." He added, "We will review all excessive reduction rules in enforcement decrees and notifications."

Regarding suspicions of "fuel price collusion" that have arisen amid recent oil price increases due to instability in the Middle East, Chairperson Joo reaffirmed a strong investigative stance. He said, "We have completed on-site inspections in regions such as Busan, North Gyeongsang Province, and Jeju, where price fluctuations at nearby gas stations are similar or significantly higher than in other regions." He warned, "As soon as the investigation is concluded, corrective orders or fines will be imposed."

Finally, Chairperson Joo stated, "Korean companies must now compete side by side with companies from advanced economies, and the Fair Trade Act must also be operated in line with international standards."

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