Published on Feb 24, 2025
This is the inaugural edition of The Asia Antitrust Agenda, a biweekly column showcasing key regulatory developments in the region.
KFTC juggles platform regulations, potential U.S. trade conflict. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) will closely engage with the U.S. government over proposed rules that are likely to affect American tech platform operators such as Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) in order to avoid “any trade problems from the viewpoint of national interest,” said agency chairman Ki-jeong Han last week.
He was referring to a proposal to amend the country’s Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act that would impose tougher measures on Big Tech companies which meet market share thresholds indicating their economic power. Platform operators deemed in violation of rules against abusing their market power would be subject to a fine of up to 8% of sales related to the conduct in question.
Han’s comments came after Korea’s deputy trade minister, Jong-eon Park, departed for Washington, D.C., last Monday for trade talks with the Trump administration. Park reportedly was scheduled to meet with officials at the Commerce Department and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), as well as several lawmakers.
Earlier this month, Trump’s nominee to be the USTR, Jamieson Greer, said during his confirmation hearing that measures proposed by foreign countries that target American tech companies “cannot be tolerated.” Greer was responding to a senator’s question about whether he would confront such laws, including those in Europe and South Korea.
The amendments to the Korean law, announced last year, prompted the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest American business lobby, to publicly issue a statement predicting the measures would “dull Korea’s growth and long-term competitiveness.” It added that the proposal “could position Korea to run afoul of its international trade commitments.”
Pressure exists within the Korean government to regulate digital markets, especially platforms with millions of users…
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