On July 6, 2023, the President’s Office announced the appointment of Secretary General for Investigation Hong Seon Jo as the new Vice Chairperson of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) for a three-year term starting on July 7, 2023.
 
Mr. Jo holds an LL.B. from the Korea University College of Law. He joined public service in 1994 and has served at the KFTC in various positions, including Director of the Key Industry Competition Division, Director of the Market Survey Division, Director of the Adhesion Contract Division, Director of the Cartel Investigation Division, Director for Audit and Inspection, Spokesperson, Head of the KFTC’s Seoul Regional Office, Distribution Policy Officer, Director General of the Cartel Investigation Bureau, Secretary General, and most recently, the first Secretary General for Investigation. In 2013, he was seconded for a year to the Office of the President, and in 2019, he completed a course on national security at the Korea National Defense University as part of the KFTC’s external training program.
 
Previously, as the Secretary General, Mr. Jo led the reorganization of the KFTC’s organizational structure into separate investigation and policy functions and prepared plans to improve the KFTC’s law enforcement system, including updating its case handling procedures and standards. As the Director General of the Cartel Investigation Bureau, Mr. Jo investigated various cartel cases involving consumer goods, intermediary goods, and competitive bidding. As the Distribution Policy Officer, Mr. Jo’s team investigated unfair trade practices in franchise and retail markets.