The Korea Fair Trade Commission has launched on-site inspections into suspected violations of the Fair Transactions in Franchise Business Act by E-MART 24, CU, 7-Eleven, and GS25, according to reports on the 20th.
According to the industry and others that day, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has dispatched Researchers to the four convenience store headquarters to look into suspected violations of the Fair Transactions in Franchise Business Act. The Fair Transactions in Franchise Business Act prohibits headquarters from using their transactional status to unfairly disadvantage franchisees.
Previously, last year the four convenience store companies were flagged by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) after excessively imposing damages on suppliers that failed to deliver products on time. At the time, the four convenience store companies said they would correct the problematic conduct and applied for a consent decision, saying they would provide 8.3 billion won to pursue co-prosperity with suppliers.
A consent decision is a system under which the determination of a legal violation is not finalized on the condition of voluntary correction by corporations. At the time, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) accepted the consent decision and did not impose sanctions such as a penalty surcharge on the four convenience store companies.