On the 17th, the Democratic Party of Korea announced that it would accelerate the processing of President Lee Jae-myung's pledge for the 'Online Platform Act (Onple Act).' It plans to prioritize the Online Platform Fairness Act, which focuses on protecting platform businesses, while placing the online platform monopoly regulation law (Monopoly Damage Prevention Act), which the United States is concerned about, on the back burner.
On that day, Gang Jun-hyeon, a member of the Democratic Party and the ruling party's secretary of the Political Affairs Committee, made this comment after a closed-door meeting with the Fair Trade Commission at the National Assembly's member office.
It is reported that the meeting shared the government's position on the Onple Act and discussed legislative direction and promotion strategies.
The Onple Act is also a pledge made by President Lee Jae-myung during the presidential election. He presented the enactment of the 'Online Platform Act' as a key pledge, stating the aim is to secure fairness in the online platform market and to create an ecosystem where consumers, businesses, and workers can coexist. The core message is about establishing a new market regulation system that reflects the characteristics of the platform industry.
Specifically, it includes the introduction of the so-called 'Fairness Act' to correct unfair practices between platform corporations and businesses, encouraging cooperative growth, and strengthening responsibilities for global platform corporations while introducing the 'Monopoly Damage Prevention Act' for consumer protection.
The 'Monopoly Damage Prevention Act' requires platform corporations above a certain size to report their domestic sales, prohibits practices that force specific payment methods in app markets or disadvantage external payments, and mandates reasonable levels of commission charges.
The 'Fairness Act' includes the introduction of a cap on delivery platform fees and prohibits differential rates for platform intermediation fees. Furthermore, to enhance protection for platform users, it includes measures for monitoring fake news and manipulated information, and mandates that corporations report service outages to the government and provide the cause.
At the meeting, the Fair Trade Commission conveyed concerns about the Monopoly Damage Prevention Act due to worries over trade negotiation friction with the United States. As a result, it seems likely that the 'Fairness Act,' which includes the delivery app fee cap, will be prioritized for review.
Gang noted, 'The key point is the Online Platform Fairness Act. There is a need to coordinate with the government.'
The Political Affairs Committee is scheduled to convene a bill subcommittee on the 22nd to deliberate on the Onple Act. Some in the ruling party voice that, since it is a major livelihood legislation, it should be expedited through the fast track, but the Democratic Party plans to aim for maximum agreement with the opposition party.
The People Power Party has proposed the 'Large-Scale Distribution Act' in relation to online platform regulation. This is part of the legislative push after the unresolved sales payment issue with TMON and WeMakePrice occurred last year. The core of the proposal is to define online platforms above a certain size as large-scale distributors and mandate settlement of payments and management of a certain proportion of sales within a specified timeframe. Unlike the ruling party, which wishes for the enactment of new laws to address market monopolization issues, the position is to seek amendments to the Fair Trade Act.
Regarding the delivery fee cap, there are differing opinions even within the ruling party, and complications are anticipated during discussions. A ruling party official explained, 'There are ruling party members who oppose the fee cap itself, and some suggest it should be implemented only for certain platforms. Nothing has been decided yet (at the Political Affairs Committee level).' He added, 'The Democratic Party has advocated for the enactment of new laws, while the People Power Party intends to proceed with amendments, so it didn’t even come up in the subcommittee discussions; however, it is meaningful that it has been agreed upon for discussion in the subcommittee.'
During the government and party consultation, Democratic Party's Political Affairs Committee members, including Gang Jun-hyeon, Kim Seung-won, Min Byeong-deok, Park Beom-kye, and Lee Jeong-moon, attended. The Fair Trade Commission was represented by Chairperson Han Gi-jeong and Vice Chairperson Nam Dong-il.