Korean Competition Law: First Step towards Globalization

Abstract

Over recent years, there have been numerous debates among various members from the Korean legal

community in discussing whether the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act(MRFTA) currently

effective in Korea, as it pertains to regulating the unfair trade practices of business enterprises (the

Competition Statute), contains sufficient mechanisms to provide adequate remedies to injured

parties in Competition Statute violation cases. Despite all efforts exerted by the Fair Trade

Commission(FTC) in enforcing the Competition Statute, there seems to be an obvious limit as to

what it can do, which appears to be caused by the following three main factors: (i) a general

perception that governmental regulatory efforts should be contained; (ii) a general perception that

corrective orders are overly intrusive; and (iii) cultural indifference in resorting to legal remedies.

There are measures that may be taken to overcome such barriers which limit both the regulatory body

and injured parties, which include such measures as introducing treble damage compensation,

lowering the barrier of commencing a legal action, allowing injunctive orders, and introducing a

Parens Patriae action or Consent Decree system.

Over recent years, there have been numerous debates among various individuals from the Korean legal

community in relation to the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (MRFTA). Among the

various issues that come up in such debates, one pertains to the effectiveness of a part of the MRFTA

which is related to regulating the unfair trade practices of business enterprises (the Competition

Statute or Statute). In particular, discussions arise in terms of whether the current Statute contains

sufficient mechanisms to provide adequate remedies to injured parties in Competition Statute violation

cases. In that regard, this article will review some of the issues that arise in such discussions. In doing

so, this article has been divided into three main sections. The first section will illustrate the types of

remedies the Statute currently affords to injured parties. Thereafter, the second section will provide a

brief discussion on certain factors that limit the FTCs efforts in providing appropriate remedies to

injured parties. The last section will provide a discussion on potential measures that may be taken to

improve the remedial measures in future cases.