Republic of Korea: Announced Amendment of the Fair Trade Act

On 9 September 2024, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced a legislative initiative to amend the Fair Trade Act. The proposed amendments to the "Fair Trade Act" aim to regulate dominant platforms with significant market influence by targeting post hoc violations rather than prior designation. Post hoc identification criteria will be stricter, focusing on platforms with solidified monopoly power, such as those with over 60% market share and 10 million users or a combined 85% market share among three or fewer platforms. The regulations will cover brokerage, search, video, SNS, operating systems, and advertising services, prohibiting anti-competitive behaviours like self-preferencing, tying, multi-homing restrictions, and most-favoured-nation clauses. Enforcement will include increased fines from 6% to 8% of related sales and an interim suspension order system. The KFTC will consult with the National Assembly to introduce bills related to the "Fair Trade Act" amendment, as the consultations with related ministries have already been completed.