South Korea's antitrust chief reaffirms strict platform oversight amid foreign scrutiny
Fair Trade Commission Chairman Ju Biung-ghi said the agency will keep enforcing competition rules on both domestic and overseas firms, despite growing concerns from U.S. lawmakers.
At a press conference in Sejong, Fair Trade Commission Chairman Ju Biung-ghi defended South Korea's platform regulation framework, insisting the agency will continue to enforce competition law uniformly on Korean and foreign firms. He highlighted two high-profile cases: a probe into whether Coupang provided false ownership information, and the scrutiny of a planned tie-up between Naver and Dunamu, which runs the Upbit crypto exchange.
Ju stressed that Korea has a 25-year history of applying antitrust rules to overseas companies without discrimination. He also flagged artificial intelligence as an emerging area where dominant platforms might abuse market power. The commission aims to finish its assessment of the Naver-Dunamu combination before year-end.
Why it matters
The FTC's stance will shape how global tech firms operate in South Korea and could set precedents for AI and crypto market regulation.
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