On December 27, 2023, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) announced a proposed amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Law (“FTL”) (the “Proposed Amendment”). This Proposed Amendment focuses on establishing underlying principles for determining the concept of “same person,” which plays a crucial role in determining the scope of a “large business group.” The public comment period ends on February 6, 2024.
 
The KFTC also announced that the Guidelines on the Determination Criteria and Verification Procedures for the Same Person (the “Guidelines”) were set to take effect on January 1, 2024 to support the implementation of the Proposed Amendment. The Guidelines provide detailed criteria for determining the same person and establish a procedure for business groups to raise objections against the KFTC’s designation.
 
According to the KFTC’s press release, these initiatives by the KFTC reflect the need for clearer and more reasonable standards in light of significant changes in the economic landscape. Factors such as an increase in business succession by second and third generations of the founder family, as well as the rise in the number of individuals with foreign nationalities, have necessitated a review of the existing designation criteria. In particular, there has been a need for more clarity in designation criteria concerning non-nationals, as overseas companies are increasingly establishing business entities in Korea.
 
Through these initiatives, the KFTC aims to provide more predictable and stable procedures for parties raising objections and to prevent the designation process from becoming a regulatory barrier that inhibits overseas investment.
 
We provide below the key details of the Proposed Amendment and the Guidelines (please refer to the attached file).
 
For the Proposed Amendment, the KFTC will gather feedback from interested parties and relevant ministries within the Government during the public comment period. Following this, the Proposed Amendment will go through the required legislative procedures, such as a review by the Ministry of Government Legislation. The KFTC aims to finalize the amendment process in the first half of 2024. As for the Guidelines, which are effective as of January 1, 2024, companies are encouraged to review their same person designation in accordance with the criteria and procedures outlined in the Guidelines and ensure that their practices are compliant with the new regulations.

[Korean Version]