Chairperson Ju Biung-ghi said at the Cabinet meeting on the 31st that the government will push to fully abolish the exclusive right to file criminal complaints. The exclusive right to file criminal complaints is the authority under which prosecutors can investigate and indict only when the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) files a complaint for violations of six laws under the FTC's jurisdiction, including the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act and the Fair Transactions in Subcontracting Act, such as collusion and unfair support to affiliates. Since the enactment of the Fair Trade Act in 1980, the FTC has held the exclusive right to file criminal complaints.
The Chairperson said that the government will seek to amend relevant laws so that indictments are possible without an FTC complaint when more than 300 members of the public or more than 30 business operators are involved. If this happens, ordinary citizens or corporations will be able to file complaints about Fair Trade Act violations directly with investigative authorities, and those authorities will be able to investigate and bring cases to trial.
Ju also said that 50 central administrative agencies and 234 local governments will be allowed to request the FTC to file complaints. The complaint request system allows the prosecution, the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Public Procurement Service to have the FTC file specific cases so that the FTC cannot go easy on particular corporations. Because the FTC must file a complaint upon request, it leads to an investigation.
President Lee Jae-myung, after receiving the briefing on the agenda, proposed, Let's also consider giving local governments the authority to investigate fair trade cases. Lee said, If local governments have evidence (of Fair Trade Act violations, etc.), they should be allowed to file complaints; why does only the FTC monopolize that authority? He added, Determinations on allegations can be made by investigative agencies, judicial bodies, and the Public Prosecution Service.
Lee said, Under the current system, the FTC has the authority to decide whether there are allegations or not and has the full authority to cover up cases, adding, That creates the power to look the other way, and that's why the prosecution is also a problem. He went on, Because it monopolizes, there is room to abuse power, and people and administrations that abuse it have emerged.