Unfair trade practice report to the Korea Fair Trade Commission

Procedure

Procedure

1. 01

   1. Confirm the conduct is reportable — Article 45, paragraph 1 of the Act lists unfair trade practices such as unjustified refusal to deal, discrimination against trading partners, exclusion of competitors, unjust use of a superior transactional position, trading on restrictive conditions and interference with business activities. The specific types and standards are set in Appendix 2 under Article 52 of the Enforcement Decree, so match what happened to the wording of the appendix. Subcontracting, franchise and dealership transactions may fall under separate laws, so check the transaction structure first.

2. 02

   2. Organize the facts and evidence — Arrange in chronological order when, who, in which transaction and what act occurred, and link evidence such as contracts, messages, emails, tax invoices and summaries of recorded calls. The Commission cannot order corrective measures or impose penalty surcharges once 7 years have passed from the end of the violation (Article 80, paragraph 4), so identify the end date for older matters.

3. 03

   3. Prepare and submit the report — Article 71 of the Enforcement Decree requires a written report containing the reporter's name and address, the respondent's address, representative's name and business, the content of the violation, and matters that clarify the violation. In urgent or unavoidable cases, a report by phone or orally is possible. Choose the submission channel (mail, visit or online) according to the Commission's guidance.

4. 04

   4. Follow the investigation and check the notice of result — The Commission investigates as needed, and whether or not it takes action, it notifies the parties in writing of the grounds, content and reasons (Article 80, paragraph 3). If a request for materials arrives during the investigation, supplement them within the deadline.

5. 05

   5. Request re-investigation if no action is taken — If the Commission investigates a report but takes no action, it must notify the reporter of the reasons in writing, and the reporter may request re-investigation with supporting grounds within 30 days of receiving the notice (Article 96-2). If accepted, a different investigator from the one who handled the first investigation conducts it again.

Filing route

Filing route

Deadlines & processing notes

Deadlines & processing notes

Fees & official charges

Fees & official charges

Included in the basic fee — Initial document review, required-document guidance, basic form preparation, one filing support and responses to up to two supplement requests.

Conditional success fee — For this service, any conditional success fee may be separately agreed within the lawful service scope and stated in a written engagement agreement. No outcome is guaranteed.

Displayed amounts are starting estimates, not statutory or standard rates. The final fee is confirmed after consultation and document review in the engagement agreement. Government fees and actual expenses may change.

Basic documents

Basic documents

After receiving a notice of no action, decide within 30 days whether to request re-investigation. Stating unfounded facts in the report may work against you in later investigation, so write mainly confirmed facts.