Ministry of SMEs and Startups Inspects Unfair Trade Between Contractor and Subcontractor Enterprises, Expands Investigation Period to One Year

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on October 18 that it will conduct the "2026 Regular Inspection of Entrusted and Consigned Trade" starting on October 19 to check for unfair trade practices targeting 15,000 contractor and subcontractor enterprises.

This survey is an annual statutory investigation mandated by the Act on Promotion of Collaborative Cooperation Between Large and Small Enterprises, examining the transactions of 3,000 contracting companies and 12,000 subcontracting companies from the previous year.

Entrusted and consigned trade refers to transactions where a company engaged in manufacturing, construction, processing, repair, sales, or services consigns the manufacturing of goods and parts or technology development to another small and medium-sized enterprise, which then carries out the assigned tasks.

Starting with this survey, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has expanded the target transaction period from the previous 6 months to 1 year.

Previously, investigations centered on transactions in the first half of the year. However, the period was extended to reduce the possibility of omitting industries where transactions are concentrated in the second half, such as distribution, food, and construction, and to strengthen inspections across overall annual transactions.

Key investigation items include ▲ compliance with the delivery price linkage system; ▲ issuance of written agreements; ▲ payment of delivery prices and compliance with payment deadlines; ▲ unfair reduction of delivery prices; ▲ unfair determination of delivery prices; and ▲ unfair demands for technical data.

The investigation will be conducted in three stages: a transaction status and questionnaire survey for contracting companies, a questionnaire survey for subcontracting companies, and on-site inspections of companies suspected of violating the law.

Additionally, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will hold corporate briefing sessions across six regions—Gwangju, Daejeon, Seoul, Daegu, Busan, and Gyeonggi—from October 20 to 30 to guide companies on major details of the actual condition survey and how to participate.

Lee Eun-chung, Director General for Collaborative Cooperation Policy at the Ministry, stated, "Mutually beneficial growth begins with the establishment of fair trade," and added, "We ask for the active cooperation of enterprises so that this regular inspection can serve as an opportunity to establish a fair trading culture and seek solutions for collaborative cooperation."

(Photo provided by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.