Region: South Korea

Korea’s competition watchdog has ordered a domestic pharmaceutical company to stop setting minimum resale prices for pet food and medicines, following a trend of remedying the conduct without issuing fines.

09 May 2023

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has cleared Hanwha Group’s €1.3 billion acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering after the merging parties promised not to discriminate against rivals when supplying ship parts to the defence industry.

27 April 2023

The public prosecutor in Seoul has accused eight companies and 14 individuals of rigging bids on furniture manufacturing projects, marking the first time it has issued indictments without a prior accusation from Korea’s Fair Trade Commission.

20 April 2023

Korea’s top court has confirmed a €713.7 million abuse of dominance fine imposed on Qualcomm for violating a commitment to license its standard essential patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

13 April 2023

Large technology companies must ensure they do not discriminate against Korean consumers when implementing measures to comply with the EU’s Digital Market Act, the chair of the country’s antitrust watchdog has said.

21 March 2023

Korea’s competition watchdog has sanctioned 11 vinyl film producers for colluding to fix the price of plastic sheeting used in greenhouses by farmers and agricultural businesses.

16 March 2023

Featured in Asia-Pacific Antitrust Review 2023

Evolving regulation in South Korea’s merger control regime, protection of examinees’ rights and the online platform sector coincide with enhanced cartel enforcement.

10 March 2023

Korea’s competition authority has sanctioned two bar associations €1.4 million for restricting members from joining legal counselling application LawTalk.

24 February 2023

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has proposed reorganising case handling procedures and improving defence rights for investigated companies in a bid to improve transparency and efficiency.

16 February 2023

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has proposed new rules allowing companies to voluntarily submit remedies for problematic deals, bringing the regime more in line with other jurisdictions.

14 February 2023