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Photo = Coupang |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Seoul, June 10 – The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) imposed a total of KRW 422.7 billion (approx. USD 305 million) in fines last year for violations of the Fair Trade Act, up 7.9% from the previous year, according to the KFTC’s 2024 Statistical Yearbook released on Monday.
In 2023, the KFTC handled a total of 2,496 cases, similar to the previous year (2,503 cases). Among these, 124 cases resulted in administrative fines, with the largest penalty of KRW 162.8 billion levied against Coupang for its unfair preferential treatment of private-label (PB) products.
The KFTC found that Coupang manipulated its search algorithm to artificially boost the rankings of its private-label and direct-purchase products in the “Coupang Ranking,” thereby disadvantaging other vendors.
The second-largest fine was imposed in a bid-rigging case involving the sale of Alpensia Resort, where KH Group colluded by arranging “cover bids” to be selected as the successful bidder. This led to a penalty of KRW 51 billion.
Other top penalty cases included:
CJ Freshway’s unfair internal support to affiliates (KRW 24.5 billion),
Price-fixing by newsprint manufacturers (KRW 18.4 billion), and
Kakao Mobility’s abuse of its platform by blocking ride-hailing calls to competitors (KRW 15.1 billion).
By violation type, the highest fines were imposed for:
Unfair trade practices: KRW 212.3 billion
Unfair concerted actions (cartels): KRW 170.1 billion
Abuse of market dominance: KRW 15.5 billion
In terms of litigation outcomes, the KFTC’s win rate in administrative lawsuits reached a record 83.1%, a notable increase from 70.1% in 2022, the highest since the agency began compiling such data in 2001.
Partial wins accounted for 9.7%, and losses 7.2% of cases. However, the proportion of cases challenged through formal objections jumped from 6.4% in 2022 to 13.4% in 2023. The litigation rate also rose from 19.1% to 24.4%, meaning one in four cases where the KFTC issued corrective actions or fines proceeded to court.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
