The nation's antitrust watchdog will call for its Chinese counterpart to improve regulations in a way that could lift uncertainty and discrimination that South Korean companies are facing in doing business there, governments sources said Thursday.
The stance will be delivered to the Chinese corporate regulator during the second round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks to be held next week, according to the sources.
This would be a follow-up on an agreement reached between the two countries during the September meeting to strengthen cooperation and transparency in enforcing antitrust laws.
During the second round of talks, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will, in particular, push to draw up agreements with China to prevent discrimination against South Korean companies doing business there.
It also plans to call for Chinese authorities to provide companies subject to investigation with a chance to explain themselves and present evidence against allegations, the sources said.
The move comes after the FTC earlier received complaints from South Korean companies doing business in China. They reportedly complained much about discriminatory administration procedures and the opaque process of law enforcement as main roadblocks to doing business there.
In January, the Chinese government fined six liquid crystal display panel makers, including South Korean companies Samsung Display and LG Display, for being involved in price rigging.
But sources said that they were not informed about the investigation and its results in advance, a practice in South Korea that is intended to help companies under investigation to counter allegations.
"South Korean companies are expressing many worries over challenges that they are facing in China in connection with regulatory uncertainty hanging over foreign companies," an FTC official said on condition of anonymity.
"During the second round of free trade talks, we will deliver our stance on this matter but it is too early to say how things will play out," he added. (Yonhap)
The stance will be delivered to the Chinese corporate regulator during the second round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks to be held next week, according to the sources.
This would be a follow-up on an agreement reached between the two countries during the September meeting to strengthen cooperation and transparency in enforcing antitrust laws.
During the second round of talks, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will, in particular, push to draw up agreements with China to prevent discrimination against South Korean companies doing business there.
It also plans to call for Chinese authorities to provide companies subject to investigation with a chance to explain themselves and present evidence against allegations, the sources said.
The move comes after the FTC earlier received complaints from South Korean companies doing business in China. They reportedly complained much about discriminatory administration procedures and the opaque process of law enforcement as main roadblocks to doing business there.
In January, the Chinese government fined six liquid crystal display panel makers, including South Korean companies Samsung Display and LG Display, for being involved in price rigging.
But sources said that they were not informed about the investigation and its results in advance, a practice in South Korea that is intended to help companies under investigation to counter allegations.
"South Korean companies are expressing many worries over challenges that they are facing in China in connection with regulatory uncertainty hanging over foreign companies," an FTC official said on condition of anonymity.
"During the second round of free trade talks, we will deliver our stance on this matter but it is too early to say how things will play out," he added. (Yonhap)
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