Antitrust chief nominee vows to achieve chaebol reform

Fair Trade Commission chairwoman nominee Joh Sung-wook speaks to reporters at the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency in Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Fair Trade Commission (FTC) chairwoman nominee Joh Sung-wook has vowed to focus on achieving balanced development of the economy by reducing the abusive business practices of dominant market players.

President Moon Jae-in nominated Joh, an economics professor at Seoul National University, as the antitrust agency's new chief on Friday.

Joh told reporters at the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency in Seoul that she “feels a great sense of responsibility for being nominated to head the FTC, required to play a great role to achieve a fair economy, one of the three pillars of the President's key economic policies.”

Joh said she “will put emphasis on both chaebol reform and achieving a fair economy.”

She added, “Not only large conglomerates but also small- and medium-sized enterprises are considered important (contributors in the economy).”

If appointed, Joh will be the antitrust agency's first female chief.

Cheong Wa Dae said it nominated Joh, expecting “the nominee to spread a fair economy across our society while pushing for the FTC's pending issues … with her excellent expertise and reform mind.”

Joh received her bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from Seoul National University and earned a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University.

After serving as an assistant professor of economics at the State University of New York in Albany from 1994 to 1997, she worked as a researcher at the Korea Development Institute through 2003.