On June 24, 2024, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) announced a proposed amendment to the Rules on the Operation of Hearings and Case Management Procedure (“Case Management Procedure Rules”). The amendment aims to address shortcomings and incorporate recent changes to the relevant laws and regulations. The amended rules are expected to not only expedite and streamline the KFTC’s case management process, but also ease the burden on businesses. Any opinions regarding the proposed amendment can be submitted until July 15, 2024.
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Expansion of Application of Summary Procedure
Summary procedure could previously only be utilized in cases where the maximum administrative fine was KRW 100 million. However, the proposed amendment would allow the summary procedure to be applied in cases where the maximum administrative fine amount is KRW 300 million. In these cases, if the respondent company accepts the case team’s findings and recommendations, the case team’s recommended fine will be finalized as is, with a potential 10% reduction for cooperation.
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Expansion of the Merger Cases Subject to Small Hearings
In the past, if any of the parties involved in a merger was a large company (with total assets or sales of at least KRW 2 trillion) and if the case team deemed the merger to be anti-competitive, the merger case would be decided by an en banc hearing involving all nine KFTC Commissioners, regardless of the transaction size. However, the proposed amendment would allow potentially anti-competitive mergers involving a large company, but with the transaction amount of below KRW 600 billion to be heard by a small hearing, involving three KFTC Commissioners.
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Unification of the Complaint Form
Previously, only certain complaint forms (requesting the KFTC to investigate a violation of law) could also be used as application for dispute resolution. The proposed amendment would allow the complainant to choose between a KFTC investigation and dispute resolution in the complaint form as long as the underlying law allows a dispute resolution mechanism to be used.
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Establishment of Deadline to Request Formal Review in Warning Cases
If the case team concludes a case with a warning because the violation is deemed to be minor, but if the respondent does not agree, it would have a concrete deadline of 30 days from the case team’s decision to request a hearing by the KFTC.
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Change in the Examiner
If a case is deemed sufficient significant for the Secretary General for Investigation to lead the investigation, the proposed amendment would allow the Secretary General for Investigation to be appointed as the examiner in the case (previously, the examiner was usually the director general responsible for the case).
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[Korean Version]
