FTC head backs big fine on Coupang

Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Ju Biung-ghi, right, attends a meeting with members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) at Grand Hyatt Seoul, Monday. At left is AMCHAM Chairman James Kim. Yonhap

Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Ju Biung-ghi signaled the antitrust watchdog’s intent Monday to continue pursuing regulations on monopolistic online platforms — an effort that had been on hold due to strong opposition from the United States ahead of the final trade agreement between the two countries signed last month.

Known as someone who has helped shape President Lee Jae Myung’s economic policies, Ju also described Korea’s economic sanctions against unfair business practices as too lenient, backing the president’s push to impose substantial fines on Coupang for a massive data breach that affected nearly 34 million users.

The FTC chief shared these views during a policy dialogue hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) to discuss fair trade policies in the digital era. The session followed his previous closed-door meeting with AMCHAM representatives last month.

Ju emphasized that the FTC follows the principle of nondiscrimination against foreign companies and ensures they do not face unnecessary barriers. His remarks aligned with the Korea-U.S. Joint Fact Sheet, which includes Korea’s commitment to ensuring that U.S. companies are not discriminated against and do not face unnecessary obstacles in laws and policies concerning digital services, network usage fees and online platform regulations.

However, Ju said regulation itself can serve as a useful tool to encourage innovation.

“Due to the super network effect, we eventually have only a few platforms dominating the global market,” he said. “Regulation against excessive monopolistic power should be implemented, and that will promote competition and incentivize innovation.”

As examples, he cited Google, which expanded into streaming and artificial intelligence (AI) beyond its search engine business, and Microsoft, which added AI to its operating system business.

“Basically, we would like to support legislative discussions related to the digital market,” Ju said. “Currently, we have active legislative discussions at the National Assembly.”

He also introduced the Lee administration’s plan to strengthen economic sanctions against unfair business practices rather than bringing criminal charges in such cases.

“Economic penalties in Korea are relatively mild compared with other developed countries, such as those in the European Union or Japan,” Ju said. “We have to enhance penalty levels.”

During a follow-up Q&A session after his presentation, Ju continued to advocate for regulation.

Asked by Uber’s in-house counsel whether the FTC is open to exempting taxi-hailing platforms from the Fair Transactions in Franchise Business Act — designed mainly to regulate restaurant franchises — the chairman said the law is necessary to protect taxi drivers from unilateral contract terminations by platform operators.