1.

The Amendment
 

(1)

Shortened timelines for providing opinions on examiner’s reports

The consent decree system allows companies under the KFTC investigation to voluntarily propose corrective measures to restore competition and remedy any potential consumer harm. The consent decree procedure largely consists of the following steps:
 

(i) The applicant files an application to request the initiation of the consent decree process,

(ii) The case handler issues an examiner’s report on the determination of whether to begin the consent decree procedure,

(iii) The KFTC Commissioners deliberate and decide whether to proceed with the consent decree process,

(iv) The KFTC collects opinion from the stakeholders,

(v) A second examiner’s report, containing the final proposed remedies (consent decree) is issued, and

(vi) The KFTC Commissioners deliberate and decide whether the proposed remedies are approved.

The Consent Decree Rules are silent on the deadlines for applicants to submit opinions on the examiner’s reports during the opening and final stages of the consent decree process (steps (ii) and (v) above). In practice, the KFTC has applied the timetables used in standard cases: four weeks for cases involving full plenary sessions and three weeks for those reviewed in sub-committee sessions.

The Amendment shortens the deadlines for submitting opinions down from four and three weeks to two weeks. According to the KFTC, this change considers the voluntary nature of consent decrees and is designed to streamline the processes and enhance efficiency.
 

(2)

Updated review timelines for the KFTC Commissioners’ deliberation

The Consent Decree Rules require that the deliberation on whether to initiate the consent decree process (step (iii) above) be held within 14 days from the issuance of the examiner’s report – a short deadline that is regarded difficult to meet in practice. Moreover, the Consent Decree Rules provide no guidance on the timeline for deliberating on the final consent decree proposals (step (vi) above). According to the KFTC, the brief initial 14-day deliberation period and the absence of guidance on the final deliberation process leave room for potential delays and procedural uncertainty.

The Amendment seeks to address this by requiring that both of the KFTC Commissioners’ deliberations on whether to open the consent decree procedure and whether to approve the final consent decree proposal take place within 30 days from the applicant’s submission of opinions at each stage.
 

(3)

Legal basis for applicants to request written deliberation

The Consent Decree Rules do not provide a basis that allows the consent decree deliberations to be conducted in writing. The Amendment allows applicants to request written deliberations, which can take place upon approval of the KFTC Chair.
 

(4)

Updates to other provisions deemed impractical and necessitating clarification

The Amendment proposes additional updates to address inconsistencies with current practice:
 

2.

Impications

The Amendment is expected to enhance the overall efficiency and predictability of the consent decree process. As the consent decree process is expected to proceed in a shorter timeframe with greater efficiency, there will be an increasing need for expertise to effectively integrate and balance the views of the relevant stakeholders (including the KFTC), while efficiently managing each critical stage of the process, from the initial decision to commence the consent decree process, collection of opinions from stakeholders, to the final approval of the consent decree.