The Korea Fair Trade Commission said it ordered corrective measures and imposed a 418 million won penalty surcharge on LF Corp. Networks, the operator of the multifaceted shopping mall LF Square, for violating the Large-scale Retail Business Act.
According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on the 11th, LF Corp. Networks conducted 29 joint sales promotion events with suppliers from Dec. 2022 to Dec. 2024. However, it issued incomplete written agreements that did not specify the promoted products or the period and were not signed by the suppliers. The entire 58.61 million won sales promotion expense was borne by the suppliers. The FTC therefore applied alleged violations of Article 11(1) and (2) of the Large-scale Retail Business Act, which prohibits shifting sales promotion expenses.
LF Corp. Networks also demanded from 47 suppliers, from Jul. 2022 to Oct. 2025, information on the suppliers' products, sales, and distribution commissions sold at department stores near LF Square. The FTC applied alleged violations of Article 14(1) of the Large-scale Retail Business Act, which bans large-scale retailers from demanding management information from suppliers.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said, "This action raised awareness among large-scale retailers that do not view it as a serious legal violation to impose sales promotion expenses on suppliers and demand management information without entering into lawful agreements."