도서정가제에 대한 법적 연구

Abstract

While Korean Antitrust law, Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act prohibits resale price maintenance, it allows resale price maintenance for books. Publishing Industry Promotion Act (“PIPA”) imposes mandatory fixed-book-price system with little exception. Recently, there were amendments in PIPA, and fixed-book-price system became stronger. Participants in book publishing and distribution industry such as publishers, book stores, and an NGOs reached a ‘voluntary agreement’ as a working guideline for the newly emended PIPA. The rationale behind fixed-book-price system is that books are cultural products which need diversity, and that books, as a public good, should not be exposed to uncontrolled price competition. Among OECD countries, roughly a half, mostly non-English-speaking countries, accept fixed-book-price system. Some countries take optional fixed-book-price system, while others take mandatory one. Korea adopted fixed-book-price system in 2002. After long and hot debate, the new amendment of PIPA strengthened the fixed-book-price system. In practice, several issues are arising following the amendment. The scope of ‘any person who sells a publication’ in article 22(4) of PIPA, is an issue to be clarified. The scope of ‘economic profit’, which a seller of a book can provide to its customers, and the amount of which is regulated by PIPA, is another unclear issue. The nature and the identity of the enforcer of ‘voluntary agreement’ is also debated. The validity of the sanctions for discriminatory practices under the voluntary agreement may also be questioned. To resolve these issues, we should take into consideration the characteristic of a book as a cultural product, the general promotion of fair competition, and the economic liberty clause in Korean Constitution.