Legal basis:
- ENFORCEMENT DECREE OF THE MONOPOLY REGULATION AND FAIR TRADE ACT.
A business entity (excluding any business entity annual sales or purchases of which in a particular business area are less than 4 billion won) shall be presumed a market-dominant business entity if its market share in a particular business area is as follows:
– The business entity’s market share is at least 50 percent in the particular business area;
– The aggregate of market shares of not more than three business entities is at least 75 percent: Provided, That business entities with less than 10 percent market share are excluded herefrom.
Types of, and Criteria for, Abusive Practices:
– Unfairly determining, maintaining, or changing the price of goods or service fees means significantly increasing or moderately lowering the price compared to fluctuations in the supply and demand or the cost required for the supply (limited to ordinary levels of the same or similar types of business), without good cause.
– Unfairly controlling the sale of goods or the provision of services means the following acts:
- Sharply reducing the supply of goods or services in light of recent market trends, without good cause;
- Reducing the supply of goods or services despite a short supply in distribution channels, without good cause.
– Unfairly interfering with business activities of any other business entity means an act of hindering business activities of other business entities by directly or indirectly conducting the following acts:
- Interfering with any other business entity’s purchase of raw materials necessary for such entity to engage in production activities, without good cause;
- Hiring an employee essential for the business activities of any other business entity by providing, or promising to provide, the employee with excessive economic benefits in light of ordinary practices;
- Denying, interrupting, or limiting the use of or access to elements indispensable for any other business entity to produce, supply, or sell its goods or services, without good cause;
- Any other acts determined and publicly notified by the Fair Trade Commission, among acts of making it difficult for any other business entity to engage in business activities by other improper means other than those mentioned above.
– Unfairly interfering with the market entry of a new competitor means making it difficult for a new competitor to enter the market by directly or indirectly conducting any of the following acts:
- Concluding an exclusive transaction contract with a distributor, without good cause;
- Purchasing rights, etc. necessary for an existing business entity to continue its business activities, without good cause;
- Denying or limiting the use of or access to elements indispensable for a new competitor to produce, supply, or sell its goods or services, without good cause;
- Any other acts determined and publicly notified by the Fair Trade Commission, among acts of making it difficult for a new competitor to enter the market by other improper means other than those mentioned above.
– Making an unfair transaction to exclude a competitor means the following acts:
- Unfairly supplying goods or services at prices lower than the arm’s length prices or purchasing them at prices higher than the arm’s length prices, thereby likely to cause exclusion of competitors;
- Unfairly making a transaction with the other party to the transaction on the condition that the other party does not make any transaction with a competitor.
