The Fair Trade Commission issued corrective measures against Hankook Tire & Technology for unfairly intervening in the management of its dealerships. In particular, it was pointed out that the actions of limiting the procurement of consumables used by the dealerships to only those designated by the headquarters and forcing the entry of sales amount information were problematic.
On the 16th, the Fair Trade Commission stated that Hankook Tire & Technology abused its superior position in transactions, infringing on the management autonomy of the dealerships, and imposed corrective measures and notification orders for violations of the dealership law.
According to the Fair Trade Commission, Hankook Tire & Technology specified in the dealership contracts that consumables must be procured only from certain suppliers and limited the use of unscheduled suppliers to those pre-approved by the headquarters. The consumables include batteries, filters, wipers, and washer fluid, and the contract also included a provision that the supply of certain products could be suspended if the dealerships violated this clause.
This limitation applied to The Tire Shop (TTS), which accounts for about 20% of all Hankook Tire dealerships. These are non-exclusive dealerships that usually have the autonomy to choose their suppliers, but the Fair Trade Commission judged that their autonomy was compromised due to the headquarters designating suppliers.
Separately, Hankook Tire & Technology required all dealerships to input sales amount information into its computer system from September 2019 until November 2024. This system, developed in-house and provided to the dealerships as a "smart system," includes functions for product ordering, inventory management, and sales. However, it was pointed out that this system exposed the dealerships' sales amounts and margins, along with other business secrets, directly to the headquarters.
The Fair Trade Commission considered that such actions fell under Article 10 of the dealership law (prohibition of interference in management activities). This provision prohibits suppliers from unfairly using their transaction position to interfere with the management activities of dealerships.
In November 2024, after the commencement of the Fair Trade Commission's investigation, Hankook Tire & Technology voluntarily corrected its actions by entering into revised contracts with its dealerships. It is reported that the obligations to input sales information and the restrictions on consumables suppliers were removed, and the headquarters' access rights in the computer program were also eliminated.
The Fair Trade Commission imposed corrective measures on Hankook Tire & Technology to prevent the recurrence of similar legal violations and ordered the company to notify the dealerships of the violations.
A Fair Trade Commission official noted, "This measure is significant as it highlights a case where a supplier improperly intervened in the management of a dealership using its position as the headquarters, restoring dealership autonomy and establishing fair trading order," and stated that it plans to strictly enforce the law against such illegal acts in the future.