電力産業과 公正去來法

Abstract

In every industrialized country it has been normal practice for governments to involve themselves in the energy business, and especially in the activities of the electricity industry. In Korea the government has not only engaged in the electricity industry, but also regulated the industry since 1960. Although the government has endeavored to restructure and deregulate the electricity industry since 1980, the industry is still owned by public enterprises and remains as regulated industry. The electricity industry is still in the process of restructuring and transforming from regulated industry to competitive one. On the other hands, Korea enacted the fair trade laws such as Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act in 1981 and Fair Subcontract Transactions Act in 1986 and Adhesion Contract Regulation Act in 1987 to ensure free competition and fair trade in the markets. However, the fair trade laws have been not applied to the electricity industry until 1986. Fair Trade Commission began to apply the laws to the electricity industry, after the government encouraged to restructure public enterprises and deregulate electricity industry in 1990. This paper aims to analyse the various cases which the Fair Trade Commission and the Supreme Court applied the fair trade laws to the activities of electricity industry. For this purpose the paper started to describe the characteristics of electricity industry and then explained briefly the outlines of fair trade laws. This paper recognized that most of decisions and judgements of the Commission and the Supreme Court are focused on the abuse of market dominant position and unfair trade practices, unfair conditions of contract by the provider of electric power. In order to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of electricity industry, this paper recommends very strongly to promote the restructuring of public enterprises and deregulation in electricity industry on the one hands, and to prohibit more thoroughly the abuse of market dominant position, unfair trade practices and unfair conditions of contract on the other hands.