By Hoil Yoon, Yoong-Neung Kee, and Myong Hyon Ryu
1. Past Achievements of Competition Policy in Korea
In 1981, South Korea adopted a competition policy by enacting the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (the "MRFTA"). The MRFTA, which was adopted to assist Korea’s economy in transforming from a government-led economy to a competitive market economy, has since been amended many times.
During the last 20 years, the competition policy has made a substantial contribution to promoting competition, thereby enhancing economic efficiency and consumer welfare. The Korean Fair Trade Commission (the "FTC") has substantially reduced anticompetitive regulations and strengthened its enforcement efforts against hard core cartels and other anticompetitive conduct. Further, since the recent Asian financial crisis, the FTC has played a significant role in restructuring Korean conglomerates.
