공정거래법 위반행위에 관한 손해배상제도의 의의와 그 개선방향 -대법원 2017. 5. 31. 선고 2015다17975 판결-

Abstract

The Korean Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act(hereinafter “MRFTA”) provides Damages against the violation of the Korean MRFTA in its Article 56, 56-2, 57. Under the Korean legal system, the Korean Civil Code provides Damages as a general protection on the entitlements in the article 750. Therefore, the victims of the violation of the MRFTA can exercise both claims. The Korean Supreme Court made a ruling on the damages claim in 2017. In the case, the plaintiffs insisted on the compensation of the losses caused by the dependants’ issuing free movie tickets as a violation fo the Korean MRFTA. The plaintiffs succeeded in the trial level but lost the claims subsequent appeal and last resort. The appeal court on the case dismissed the case because the dependants’ issuing was not undue after it considered the several evidences including plaintiffs agreed with the same types of agreements even after the initial decision by the Korean Fair Trade Commission. The Korean Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by the plaintiffs on the case and approved the ruling of the appeal court. However the ruling may correct on the conclusion but may still have a few points which needs some comments and correction. Especially even though a provision on the MRFTA should be interpreted into not privies, the mistake the appeal court did on the interpretation was not corrected on the Supreme Court’ ruling. And the ruling did not include the binding effect on the subsequent civil case by the ruling of an administrative case’s ruling on the same matter of facts and how to assimilate the way to calculate the loss of the damage suit on the entitlement interference with that on the damage suit on the breach.