On the 8th, it was reported that the Korea Fair Trade Commission detected allegations that Asung Daiso, which operates Asung Daiso Co., violated the Act on Fair Transactions in Large Retail Business by offloading inventory onto suppliers and launched an on-site inspection.
According to the industry that day, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) sent a Researcher to Asung Daiso's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to conduct an on-site inspection. The inspection period runs through the 11th, and it plans to extend it if additional data need to be secured.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) was said to be examining whether Asung Daiso returned goods received from suppliers without justifiable reason. It also looked into whether suppliers provided Asung Daiso with economic benefits such as money, goods, or services without justifiable reason. The Act on Fair Transactions in Large Retail Business prohibits large retailers such as Asung Daiso Co. from imposing unfair financial burdens on suppliers.
Asung Daiso was said to have complied with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s on-site inspection, unlike Coupang. On the last month, Coupang, like Asung Daiso, was placed among those surveyed for an on-site inspection on suspicion of violating the Act on Fair Transactions in Large Retail Business. However, Coupang refused the inspection, saying that under the Framework Act on Administrative Investigations, investigations related to the Act on Fair Transactions in Large Retail Business must be notified in writing seven days before initiation, and the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) did not follow that procedure.
Coupang filed a lawsuit asking the court to cancel the decision and disposition for the on-site inspection and applied for a stay of execution. In response, the court held a hearing on the 2nd. A conclusion has not yet been reached.