강윤승
| 2026-09-21 16:00:01
By Kang Yoon-seung
SEJONG, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- The chief of South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Monday his agency will seek ways to prevent companies from dodging investigations by seeking court injunctions, citing its stalled probe into U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. and Hanwha Group.
Ju Biung-ghi, head of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), made the remarks during a press conference marking his first anniversary in office, saying it was "regrettable" that a court had granted requests by Coupang and Hanwha to suspend the FTC's on-site inspections and document submission orders.
"The FTC's on-site inspections are conducted with the consent of the parties under investigation and follow procedures completely different from searches and seizures by police officers and prosecutors," Ju said.
"It was regrettable that the FTC's investigation was effectively disrupted," Ju said, noting the probe was intended to protect hundreds of thousands of small business owners doing business with Coupang.
"When determining whether an investigation infringes upon a company's right to defend itself, I believe we must compare it against the public interest protected by law," Ju said.
Last month, Coupang refused to cooperate with the watchdog's on-site probe into allegations that the company had shifted the costs of discounts onto its suppliers.
Coupang declined to cooperate with the investigation, claiming it had not received advance notice of the inspection as required under the Framework Act on Administrative Investigations.
A local court temporarily suspended the FTC's decision to conduct the on-site inspection until Sept. 23.
Earlier this month, the court also suspended the FTC's order requiring Hanwha to submit documents over alleged violations in intragroup transactions until Jan. 31 next year.
"The FTC is the last line of defense for the rights of small business owners doing business with major retailers," Ju said, noting there would be no way to protect their rights if investigations were disrupted.
"We plan to review various internal rules and other regulations governing investigations," Ju said. "We will consider revisions to close loopholes allowing companies to evade investigations in this manner."
Touching on his recent trip to the United States, Ju said he held meetings with relevant U.S. officials and discussed general issues rather than specific cases, without providing details.
In early July, a U.S. House committee released a report accusing South Korea of mounting "discriminatory attacks" against e-commerce giant Coupang and other American companies, claiming the Asian country's treatment of them violated last year's bilateral trade deal.
During the press conference, Ju pledged to continue efforts to root out unfair practices and tackle price fixing for the remainder of 2026.
"We need to fundamentally revamp policies and change the rules of the game so that the costs of breaking the law outweigh the benefits," Ju said.
To this end, Ju said the FTC is reviewing ways to restrict market participation by businesses that repeatedly engage in price fixing.
"Relevant ministries are coordinating measures for 20 major industries where collusion has repeatedly occurred, including the safety, waste disposal and transportation industries, and have reached a consensus on adopting the policy," Ju said.
The chairman added that the FTC will examine competition in the defense industry and seek ways to address the market dominance of a small number of designated suppliers of defense materials.
"We plan to strengthen reviews of whether certain items need to retain their designation as defense materials. We are discussing measures with relevant ministries to facilitate the entry of new companies," Ju said.
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