The regulatory system is set to be revised to enable the registration cancellation or business suspension of businesses engaging in repeat collusion.

Structural remedies, such as stake divestitures or business transfers, will be deployed to tackle the abuse of market-dominant positions and repeat collusion, while the statute of limitations for sanctioning collusion will be extended from a maximum of 12 years to 15 years.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced on August 4 in its "Policy Implementation Plan for the Second Half of 2026" that it will push for institutional improvements to eradicate habitual collusion and fundamentally resolve monopolies and oligopolies.

The Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act will be amended to allow for registration cancellations and business suspensions in cases of recurrent collusion.

Explicit legal grounds will also be established for price-readjustment orders, which the FTC already issues.

It was decided that structural measures, including equity divestments and business transfers, will be utilized to respond to offenses such as market dominance abuse and collusion.

However, the FTC added that structural remedies will be carefully designed to be invoked supplementarily only in extremely exceptional cases.

Regarding CJ CheilJedang's recent decision to sell its starch sugar and other business divisions, FTC Vice Chairperson Nam Dong-il stated, "Given that they have been continuously involved in large-scale collusion, it appears the company has devised fundamental countermeasures at the corporate level. We view their efforts to eradicate collusion positively and respect the company's judgment."

The leniency program for voluntary reporters will also be reformed.

Plans include differentiating benefits for voluntary reports submitted before and after the launch of an investigation, removing reductions and exemptions for corrective measures, and restricting leniency for repeat offenders of collusion.

Monitoring of collusion and consumer protection will be intensified in sectors closely tied to public livelihood.

The FTC plans to intensively inspect collusion in markets for chemical products, paints, and petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel, while also investigating rebate provisions tied to the supply of food ingredients to welfare facilities.

Unfair terms, such as demands for "individual guarantees" that require brides and grooms to separately shoulder responsibility for guaranteed minimum headcounts when signing wedding banquet catering contracts, will be inspected and corrected.

Standard terms and conditions will be established to clearly outline cancellation penalties for premature contract terminations in sectors like Pilates and yoga, and inspections will be conducted on prepaid funeral service providers regarding their asset management status and compliance with the mandatory 50% customer deposit reserve ratio.

In addition, thorough checks will be carried out on corporate integrations such as Korean Air-Asiana and Korail-SR to guarantee consumer rights related to fares and supplied seats.

Institutional improvements will also be pursued to strengthen the "bargaining power of the weak" (the socially and economically disadvantaged).

The FTC announced that collective bargaining by economically vulnerable groups, such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners, against economic powerhouses like large corporations will be excluded from the scope of collusion regulations, while complementary measures will be devised to prevent side effects.

Activities by labor unions and similar organizations will be excluded from the regulatory scope of the Fair Trade Act.

Detailed procedures, including registration requirements for eligible associations and negotiation standards, will be established to guarantee the substantive collective bargaining rights of franchise owners' associations.

The right to form associations between subcontractors and agency owners will be explicitly codified, and measures will be developed to ensure collective bargaining operates effectively.

To strictly penalize unfair practices in "gap-eul" (abuse of power by superior entities) relationships, unfair subcontracting within national baseline industries such as shipbuilding, plant engineering, and electric power will be targeted for intensive inspection.

An FTC official stated, "We will also eradicate chronic abuse-of-power practices, such as shifting mobile gift certificate commissions onto franchise owners and delaying payments to suppliers."

To protect franchise owners, the consent procedures targeting store owners will be specified when franchisors conduct advertising and promotional events.

In the event that franchise owners close their businesses, relevant laws will be amended to prevent the imposition of excessive penalty fees.

(Photo provided by the Fair Trade Commission, Yonhap News)