The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has identified 613 companies suspected of violating the Win-Win Cooperation Act, including non-payment of delivery fees. The ministry announced the results of the '2023 regular survey on entrusted and commissioned transactions' conducted since December of last year, targeting 3,000 commissioning companies and 12,000 entrusted companies on the 31st.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups implements a regular survey annually to correct unfair trading practices occurring during the entrusted and commissioned transaction process in accordance with Article 27 of the Act on Promotion of Win-Win Cooperation between Large and Small Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the Win-Win Cooperation Act).
Through this regular survey, 613 companies suspected of violating the Win-Win Cooperation Act were identified, and 591 commissioning companies paid a total of 8.9 billion won to entrusted companies for unpaid delivery fees through administrative guidance from the local SMEs and Startups Agency.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups demanded administrative measures, including improvement requests, from 22 commissioned companies that violated the Win-Win Cooperation Act related to unpaid amounts, including delivery fees, and ensured that 11 of these companies paid an additional 2.3 billion won to entrusted companies as part of the compliance measures.
The names of 11 corporations that did not respond to the final improvement request were made public on the 31st, including the violations of the Win-Win Cooperation Act, and the Fair Trade Commission was asked to take measures regarding violations of the Subcontracting Act.
The 11 corporations include Busan Coupling, ST Chartering Korea, Earth Construction, Geomyeong A&C, Paru, Hanmi Plant, Honam Industries, Dowon Lake, Geumgwang Construction, Ilshin Precision, and Uram General Construction.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups also imposed administrative measures, including improvement requests, on 22 companies that failed to issue written documentation (contracts, receipt of goods), and fines were imposed on 21 companies for not issuing the contracts.
Won Young-jun, head of the Small Business Policy Office at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, noted, "Through the regular survey, we will do our best to establish a foundation for a fair trading culture where small and medium-sized enterprises can receive timely and fair payment beyond short-term damage relief," adding that "we plan to strengthen continuous on-site monitoring through the regular survey on entrusted and commissioned transactions for 2024, which began this month."