Republic of Korea: Fair Trade Commission issued notice on detailed standards for imposing surcharges

On 28 April 2026, the Fair Trade Commission adopted the amended notice on detailed standards for imposing surcharges. The amended notice raises the imposition standard rate floors for all violation types under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. For unlawful concerted action, the imposition standard rate floor rises from 0.5% to 10% for minor violations, from 3% to 15% for serious violations, and from 10.5% to 18% for very serious violations. For unlawful subsidy provision and unfair provision of benefits to related parties, the floor rises from 20% to 100% and the ceiling from 160% to 300%. The amended Notice raises the maximum surcharge aggravation rate for repeat violations from 80% to 100% and sets aggravation of up to 50% for a single prior violation within 5 years. For repeat collusion offences, a prior surcharge payment order within 10 years triggers aggravation of up to 100%. The amended Notice reduces the cooperation discount from a combined 20% to 10%, reduces the voluntary correction discount from 30% to 10%, and deletes the minor negligence discount of 10%. The amended Notice does not apply to violations that concluded before 30 April 2026.