The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 7th that it will impose corrective orders and a penalty surcharge of 256 million won on i-SENS, which controlled the online sales prices of self-blood glucose monitoring devices. i-SENS has maintained over 60% market share in the domestic blood glucose monitoring device market since 2020, and the market size is steadily expanding due to the increase in diabetes patients.
According to the Fair Trade Commission, i-SENS set recommended online sales prices for blood glucose monitoring devices starting in 2018 and imposed disadvantages on vendors that did not comply, including price hikes, quantity restrictions, and limitations on new business activities. Since 2020, it designated the Korean Medical Devices Association as an online exclusive distributor to set and notify online benchmark prices, while the association managed noncompliant businesses on a blacklist and carried out demands for price increases and supply restrictions.
The Fair Trade Commission judged that such acts constitute resale price maintenance, which is prohibited under Article 46 of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. This illegal behavior infringes on business autonomy at the distribution stage and restricts price competition, preventing consumers from having the opportunity to purchase products at lower prices.
i-SENS claimed that maintaining offline distribution points contributes to consumer benefits; however, the Fair Trade Commission did not accept this claim, viewing the consumer harm from restricted price competition as greater.
A Fair Trade Commission official said, "We expect that this action will promote price competition in the online market for blood glucose monitoring devices, allowing consumers to purchase products at more affordable prices," adding, "We will continue to monitor and impose strict penalties on practices that limit price competition."