The Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) appointed, effective on October 31, 2025, Ms. Sunmi Lee, the current Head of the KFTC’s Seoul Regional Office, as one of three Standing Commissioners of the KFTC for a term of three years. She will be the first woman to serve as a KFTC Standing Commissioner.

Ms. Lee holds a B.A. in biology education from Seoul National University, an LL.B. from Korea National Open University, and an M.A. in business administration from Syracuse University. Ms. Lee joined public service in 1997 and served in various capacities at the KFTC, including Director of the Bid-Rigging Investigation Division, Director of the Franchise Transactions Division, Director General for Planning & Coordination, and since January 2024, Head of the KFTC’s Seoul Regional Office. In June 2010, she was seconded to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as part of the KFTC’s external training program and in October 2012, took three years off to work at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In announcing her appointment, the KFTC noted that Ms. Lee, as Head of the KFTC’s Seoul Regional Office, has contributed to the handling of numerous complaints alleging violation of law, consumer protection cases and protection of economically weaker parties (so-called gab-eul relationship) cases.
 
Within the KFTC, Ms. Lee is highly respected among her peers as a competent manager who proactively communicates with the members of her team and works on achieving the most reasonable results. As a Standing Commissioner, Ms. Lee is expected to help further enhance the quality of the KFTC’s decisions and regulatory system based on her extensive experience and expertise in the practice and theory of competition law, which she has gained through her career at the KFTC.