Chairperson Ju Biung-ghi of the Fair Trade Commission named the eradication of collusion in areas closely tied to people's livelihoods and in construction and public procurement as a core task for this year.
Chairperson Ju said in opening remarks at the National Policy Committee's parliamentary audit on the 14th that the commission will focus inspections on three areas—livelihood-related sectors, construction and intermediate goods, and public and procurement—to ease the burden on people. He defined this year's policy direction as implementing a fair economy for the recovery and sustainable growth of the livelihood economy.
Chairperson Ju said, "We will root out unfair practices such as technology theft and unfair payment that undermine the growth base of innovative small and venture businesses," adding, "We will tighten oversight of bad incentives, including self-dealing within corporate groups."
He then presented establishing order in the platform market as a separate pillar. He noted, "We will swiftly prepare rules that robustly protect store operators and consumers and allow all economic actors in the ecosystem to coexist." He added, "We will respond quickly to fouls by platform operators to prevent the harms of monopolies from spreading," and "We will strengthen platforms' accountability so consumers can engage in transaction with confidence, and pursue institutional improvements to prevent and remedy consumer harm."
He also emphasized measures to protect small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners. Chairperson Ju said, "We will reinforce the safety net to ensure stable payment of subcontracting fees and improve conditions for franchise owners to start up and close businesses," adding, "We will block unfair practices in which economically powerful players exploit power imbalances to infringe on the rights and interests of those in weaker positions."
On plans to improve consumer rights systems, he said, "We will invigorate the consumer dispute mediation system and class actions to guarantee active exercise of consumer rights," adding, "We will actively coordinate consumer policies across multiple ministries by breaking down silos between them."
Chairperson Ju reported that to achieve these policy goals, the commission will push to streamline the law enforcement system within the Fair Trade Commission and strengthen organizational capabilities. He explained, "We will build a law enforcement framework based on collaboration and division of roles, and on choice and concentration, while enhancing the expertise of personnel and the organization." He also noted, "While we will overhaul excessive economic criminal penalties, we will strengthen economic sanctions to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement."
Chairperson Ju unveiled a plan to use part of the penalty surcharge imposed by the commission as resources for victim relief. He said, "We will create a victim relief fund using the penalty surcharge collected by the commission and use it to help small and medium-sized enterprises and consumers who suffered harm."