Motorbikes for food delivery are parked outside an outlet of food delivery app in Seoul on June 2, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust regulator said it plans to propose a new bill to prevent online platforms such as open markets and delivery apps from committing so-called “gapjil” or abuse of power to the companies that sell their products or services on these sites.
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is also planning to come up with measures to prevent the monopoly of online platforms as well as to protect consumers through a revision of unfair terms of agreement.
The FTC announced on Thursday that it reported measures to eradicate unfair practices in the online platform market and to realize fair digital economy at the Sixth Anti-Corruption Policy Consultative Council Meeting held on Monday.
The FTC is aiming to enact a specific law to deal with online platforms’ mediation transactions with the companies that sell products or services via these sites, within the first half of next year.
Given that the current fair transaction law lacks rules on certain issues such as dispute prevention procedures and the issuance and formation of contracts, the FTC intends to establish a special law targeting online platforms.
The FTC will set up a special task force team to devise the content of the law in detail.
During the process of formulating the law, the FTC will fully accommodate the opinions of online platforms and the companies that sell products or services on these sites.
The FTC plans to devise the law in a way that helps establish a mutually-beneficial relationship without discouraging online platforms’ initiatives in innovation and market entry.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
