The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on the 30th it will not punish labor unions even if they violate the Fair Trade Act by colluding or interfering with the business of their affiliated union members. It also said it would not apply the Fair Trade Act when individual business operators such as insurance planners and delivery drivers, categorized as labor providers (workers in special types of employment), form organizations.
On this day, Ju Biung-ghi, chair of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), announced a "plan to reform systems to strengthen the bargaining power of the underdogs" at a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said, "Considering the need to substantively guarantee the three labor rights, which are constitutional basic rights, and recent court trends holding that the Fair Trade Act should not be applied to unions' collective actions, it is necessary to exclude the application of the Fair Trade Act to legitimate union acts."
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has until now treated unions as business associations and sanctioned acts such as collusion and interference with the business activities of affiliated union members. A representative case was when the Samsung Heavy Industries Geoje Shipyard chapter of the Cargo Solidarity's South Gyeongsang regional headquarters, composed of truck owners, established bylaws in 2023 to set the allocation ratios of cargo by carrier and sent an official letter to Samsung Heavy Industries saying, "Please maintain the existing allocation ratios in accordance with the bylaws," after which the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning. At the time, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) determined that such acts restricted other drivers' transactions and constituted "prohibited acts by a business association" under the Fair Trade Act.
However, in February, the Seoul High Court ordered the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to cancel its disposition in a "lawsuit to cancel the warning disposition" filed by the Samsung chapter against the commission. The court said, "Acts within the scope of the three labor rights should be regarded as exceptions to free competition," and "cannot be subject to the Fair Trade Act." Article 116 of the Fair Trade Act excludes from its application "legitimate acts by a business association under other laws and regulations." The panel held that union activities also fall within this exception.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) also said it would not apply the Fair Trade Act to legitimate collective actions by labor providers. Labor provider is a concept defined in the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, referring to a person who provides labor for another person's business and receives compensation in return. The law specifies 18 occupations. They include insurance planners, construction equipment operators, golf caddies, delivery drivers, and truck owners.