- Spreading KFTC's experience and capabilities in enforcing competition law through education targeting officials from competition authorities in Indonesia, Thailand, and Serbia -
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter 'KFTC') conducted a training program on Korea's competition law and regulations from May 27 to June 5, inviting competition authorities from Indonesia, Thailand, and Serbia. The invited agencies include TCCT (Trade Competition Commission of Thailand), CPC (Commission for Protection of Competition) of Serbia, and KPPU (KOMSI PENGAWAS PERSAINGAN USAHA) of Indonesia.
Since 2008, the KFTC has faced practical difficulties due to limited experience in enforcing competition law and has been conducting on-site training for officials from emerging competition authorities. The selection of participant countries is based on pre-surveyed demand from competition authorities, considering past participation, diplomatic and economic relations with Korea, intra-regional cooperation directions, expected benefits, and other factors.
This training, involving practitioners from the KFTC who handle cartel agreements, mergers, and other related tasks, provides practical education tailored to the development stage of selected countries' competition laws and individual participant needs. Additionally, visits to related institutions such as Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency and Korea Consumer Agency are scheduled.
This year, in collaboration with the OECD Korea Policy Center Competition Policy Division, celebrating its 20th anniversary, the KFTC facilitated roundtable meetings and workshops on competition advocacy for senior officials from Asia-Pacific competition authorities, aiming to enhance communication among competition authorities and secure advanced knowledge of competition law and policies from OECD and others. This effort aims to enhance the utility of future education programs conducted by the KFTC.
The KFTC's training program was conducted in a blended format of online and in-person sessions. The online sessions included self-produced video lectures (total of 10 sessions) on core areas of competition law such as cartel agreements, mergers, and abuse of dominant market positions, while the in-person sessions involved KFTC practitioners lecturing on legal systems, case handling procedures, and key precedents (mergers, abuse of market dominance, cartels) to enhance participants' practical enforcement capabilities.
Furthermore, online lectures were accessible not only to participants in the in-person sessions but also to competition authorities from countries not selected for in-person participation, facilitating broader education for emerging competition authority staff members.
Through this training program, the KFTC aims to enhance the enforcement capabilities of participating countries' officials in competition law, thereby promoting effective law enforcement and supporting Korean companies entering or planning to enter those countries through strengthened relationships with those competition authorities.