Chairperson Han Ki-jeong of the Fair Trade Commission noted regarding the consent decree procedures requested by Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats that "remedial measures for victim compensation and transaction order restoration must be sufficiently prepared for consent to be possible."
On the 28th, Chairperson Han responded to the inquiry from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Nam-keun at the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee meeting, saying, "The consent decree process has not yet been initiated," adding, "We will only determine the opening of procedures once stakeholder opinions are gathered and certain requirements are met."
Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats submitted a request to the Fair Trade Commission to initiate the consent decree procedure on the 11th. The two companies submitted self-corrective measures and requested the closure of the Fair Trade Commission investigation based on these measures. The Fair Trade Commission is currently reviewing the specifics and validity of the submitted remedial measures.
The consent decree system allows businesses accused of legal violations to propose their own remedy measures, and if the Fair Trade Commission recognizes these, the case can be concluded without determining the legality. It is similar in nature to a 'settlement' in civil or criminal contexts.
Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats are facing allegations of enforcing 'most-favored-nation' clauses with their partner companies and violating the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising regarding the use of 'free delivery' wording. Lawmaker Kim pointed out, "The two companies changed their attitude to a passive one after applying for the consent decree while consulting with self-employed individuals regarding unfair issues such as commission reduction."
In response, Chairperson Han emphasized, "The consent decree must meet public interest standards," stating, "It should not merely be a simple agreement between the Fair Trade Commission and businesses, but should be based on substantial victim compensation and improvements in transaction order."
Lawmaker Kim also criticized, "Since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol government, the acceptance of consent decrees has increased, raising concerns that the Fair Trade Commission's regulatory functions have weakened." In response, Chairperson Han rebutted, "We have only accepted consent decrees when legal requirements were met," emphasizing that expanding consent decrees has not been a policy initiative.
Currently, the consent decree applications from Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats are in the initial procedural stage. The Fair Trade Commission will decide whether to initiate the consent decree process after internal deliberation, and thereafter will prepare a provisional remedial plan and gather opinions from relevant organizations and stakeholders. The final consent decree must pass the committee's approval for the case to be officially concluded.
If the consent decree procedure is initiated, but the proposed remedial measures are insufficient or do not meet the requirements, the process will be dismissed and revert to investigation and sanction procedures. In fact, the Fair Trade Commission rejected a consent decree application last year related to Kakao Mobility's alleged improper 'call blocking' against franchise taxis.
Meanwhile, self-employed associations are strongly opposing the consent decree applications from delivery app operators. On this day, the Democratic Party of Korea Euljiro Committee and the Association for Fair Platforms held a press conference at the National Assembly, stating, "The delivery apps applied for consent decrees to avoid sanctions while negotiating coexistence with self-employed individuals," and urged that the Fair Trade Commission reject this and impose strict sanctions.
They criticized, "Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats have abused their market dominance through past coercion of most-favored-nation clauses and shifting of commission burdens," questioning whether the current consent decree application is merely seeking an exemption from genuine corrective intentions.
A representative from Woowa Brothers, which operates Baedal Minjok, stated, "We have been discussing adjustments to win-win pricing systems and measures to ease burdens on business owners with store owner groups," adding, "We submitted the consent decree procedure to early normalize the side effects of intensified market competition."