질서정책적 과제로서의 경쟁 -과거와 미래

Abstract

Competition law and policy is not a natural phenomena, but one of the core tasks that the state should consistently carry out. The last 30 year old enforcement of the Korean anti-monopoly and Fair Trade Act(hereafter "the Act") since April 1. 1981 is the process where Korea has established the fundamental principles of free market economy, namely free and fair competition. For last three decades, eye-opening developments have been achieved from substantive and procedural aspects. Merger guidelines has been modernized;hardcore cartels, whether international or domestic, have been more and more detected by leniency program and sanctioned with incredibly high surcharges;recently, the prohibition of abuse by a market dominant undertaking has been given high attention of the Korea Fair Trade Commission(hereafter "the KFTC"), etc. Notwithstanding all these changes, several points should be noted for further development of competition law and policy in Korea. First, it should be pursued a genuine approach that is apt for optimal solution of deep-rooted factors that tend to threaten fair and free competition in domestic markets,such as large corporate groups, widespread industrial regulations,unreasonable practices of subcontract relations, etc. Second, considering that the reasonable substantive law should be supported by effective measures,structural remedies should be given priority, especially in terms of abuse or merger control. Private enforcement, represented by damages action and injunction, could be of more importance in Korea where the KFTC has the primary and exclusive jurisdiction to apply the Act. The two ways of enforcement system should be understood as supplements, not substitutes. To enhance its credibility, the KFTC should try to make the enforcement procedures fairer and more transparent and to equip itself with higher quality and independence.