Antitrust regulator says US firms will be treated equally under proposed online platform rules

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) building in Sejong is shown in this undated photo provided by FTC. Yonhap

U.S. companies will be treated the same as domestic firms under South Korea's proposed regulations for online platforms, the country's antitrust watchdog said Thursday, in response to a recent inquiry from the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said its formal response has been delivered to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

"The current enforcement of the law, as well as future legislative discussions, will be conducted without discrimination between domestic and foreign companies, applying the same legal principles and standards to all," the FTC said in a press release.

The agency also noted that the proposed bill is still under review and requires further parliamentary discussions, pledging to continue gathering input from stakeholders throughout the legislative process.

The committee sent a letter to the FTC last month, requesting a briefing on the current state of South Korea's competition policy, details of the proposed legislation on online platforms and its potential impact on U.S. companies.

On the campaign trail, President Lee Jae Myung had pledged to prevent the abuse of market dominance by global online platform operators through new regulatory measures, such as limiting commission fees and banning unfair practices.

During the recently concluded tariff negotiations, the United States reportedly raised concerns over a wide range of non-tariff measures implemented by Seoul, such as the online platform regulations and an ongoing import ban on American beef from cattle aged 30 months or older.

Under the last-minute deal reached last week, the U.S. agreed to reduce its reciprocal tariff on Korean imports from 25 percent to 15 percent. In return, South Korea committed to investing $350 billion in the U.S.