Recent Developments

On June 15, 2026, Lee & Ko hosted a seminar on “Competition Law Trends & Precedents”.
 
In the seminar, which was held both online and offline, Lee & Ko’s experienced and specialized antitrust and competition law experts and attorneys analyzed and explained the decisions and implications of major antitrust cases.
 
In the first session, Lee Sung-kyu, a senior expert, presented the theme of "Recent Fair Trade Policy and Law Enforcement Trends." Based on the Lee Jae-myung administration's national affairs and the FTC's 2026 work report, the actual policy implementation and law enforcement trends over the past year were summarized, and based on the decisions, investigations, and judgments related to the fair trade case, the FTC's future law enforcement trends were forecast and implications and corporate countermeasures were presented.
 
In the second session, Jeongyoon Choi (Partner) examined the policy and regulatory trends of the new administration and the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) under the theme of “Recent Enforcement Trends and Implications in the Franchise Sector.” In particular, key takeaways were drawn from a number of recent KFTC decisions in the franchise area. In addition, the session provided a detailed review of the Supreme Court’s reasoning in the Pizza Hut case, where franchisees’ claims for restitution of unjust enrichment were recognized, and in the Mom’s Touch case, where such claims were dismissed. Based on these analyses, the session highlighted key considerations for reviewing and refining business models in the Korean franchise sector going forward.
 
In the third session, Byongki Chung (Partner) delivered a presentation on 'Key Precedents in Antitrust and Competition Law.' He explained major antitrust precedents from the second half of 2025 and the first half of 2026. These included the Naver Shopping judgment—the first leading case regarding a platform operator's self-preferencing behavior; the Supreme Court ruling that recognized the Fair Trade Commission's authority to sanction collusion among shipping lines; and the Supreme Court decision clarifying that the practice of using multiple affiliates to win public land bids and subsequently transferring them (so-called 'bee-swarm bidding') cannot be definitively concluded as an unfair support activity.
 
We are also pleased to announce that Attorney Giusung Oh (former judge and former KFTC Hearing Officer and Commissioner), who joined Lee & Ko on June 1, 2026, will present at our next seminar. We look forward to your continued interest and participation.

On June 17, 2025, Lee & Ko hosted a seminar on “Competition Law Trends & Precedents”. 

In the seminar, which was held both online and offline, Lee & Ko’s experienced and specialized antitrust and competition law experts and attorneys analyzed and explained the decisions and implications of major antitrust cases.

In the first session, former Director General of the KFTC, Senior Advisor Moo Jin Choi, gave a presentation on “Competition Law Enforcement Trends and Outlook.” During his presentation, Mr. Choi explained the expected policy direction and enforcement outlook of the KFTC following the new administration taking office after the presidential election, focusing on expected legislative changes to the Fair Transactions in Subcontracting Act (tightening regulations for the misappropriation of technology), Fair Transactions in Franchise Business Act, and bills aimed at regulating the monopolies of online platforms (e.g., Online Platform Act).  

In the second session, Mr. Byong Ki Chung presented “Collusion and Illegal Conduct Prohibited by Business Associations Case Precedent.” During the session, Mr. Chung discussed a Seoul High Court case in which the application of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act was excluded on the grounds that the Korean Bar Association’s conduct constituted the exercise of public power, another Seoul High Court case where the court rejected the anti-competitiveness and unreasonableness of reducing duck meat production by taking into account the unique characteristics of agricultural and livestock products, and precedent on leniency applications involving collusion and additional cases of leniency applications.  

In the third session, Lee&Ko lawyer introduced the topic of “Abuse of Market Dominance and Illegal Affiliate Transaction.” Lee&Ko lawyer explained a recent Supreme Court decision recognizing illegal affiliate support even though the ordinary but-for price was not precisely calculated and discussed practical considerations to be aware of when engaging in transactions between affiliates.

In the fourth and final session, Ms. Ji Yeon Kim introduced recent precedents related to the Fair Transactions in Subcontracting Act, Fair Transactions in Franchise Business Act, Fair Agency Transactions Act, and the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce. Ms. Kim discussed a Fair Transactions in Subcontracting Act case in which a legitimate justification for an unreasonable reduction in payment was recognized, emphasizing the importance of inspection for prime contractors and the duty to provide notification. She also discussed a case where the Supreme Court for the first time clarified the meaning of “relevant sales amount,” the standard for calculating administrative fines under the Fair Transactions in Franchise Business Act. Specifically, Ms. Kim stressed the need for caution with respect to mandatory item violations in practice due to the KFTC’s recent focus on this issue, and because the current standards for determining the relevant sales amount, may result in significantly larger administrative fines.

Lee & Ko held a seminar on the “Analysis of Key Competition Law Precedent” focusing on key Korean competition law court precedent from the second half of 2022 to the first half of 2023. Lee & Ko’s experienced competition law attorneys analyzed key court case law and its legal and practical implications for companies and related industries. 

In Session 1, Mr. Byong Ki Chung presented collusion cases such as the alternator collusion and currency swap bid rigging cases, discussing issues such as the Supreme Court’s attitude towards the scope of bid rigging and whether the timing of leniency applications to foreign competition law authorities is considered the cessation of the illegal conduct, among others.

In Session 2, Lee & Ko lawyer presented abuse of dominance and unfair trade practices precedent including cases on the abuse of SEPs in the telecommunications market, the tying of sales of patent licenses and engineering services for LNG carriers and self-preferencing by an online platform, and examined issues such as the Supreme Court’s position on the legitimate exercise of patent rights and the application of competition law and the unreasonableness of restrictive trade practices, among others.

In Session 3, former High Court Judge, Ms. Su Jin Jung, presented precedent involving unfair inter-affiliate support and benefits, discussing important precedent from the Supreme Court and Seoul High Court on whether indirect transactions through 3rd parties constitutes unfair inter-affiliate support and the provision of unfair advantages, among others. 

In Session 4, former Korea Fair Trade Commission official, Ms. Ju Eun Shim, presented cases on subcontracting and other laws such as the Supreme Court’s decision on the scope of damages for providing false and exaggerated information on the rate of profitability for franchise businesses and examined the criteria for determining the misappropriation of technology and methods for calculating penalties under subcontracting laws.
 

On June 22, 2023, Lee & Ko successfully hosted the ‘Antitrust and Competition Asia – Pacific Corporate Counsel Event’ with Lex Mundi, the world’s leading network of independent law firms in over 125 countries, at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

The event held five panel discussions featuring Lee & Ko partners Yong Seok Ahn, Ho Joon Moon, Suruyn Kim, and leading global antitrust and corporate law experts from Argentina, Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

The topics for the panel discussions were as follows.

- Panel 1: Enforcement Trends in the Regulation of Big Tech Companies
- Panel 2: Recent Trends in M&As
- Panel 3: Enforcement Trends in the Regulation of Online Distribution
- Panel 4: Trends in Cartels and Leniency (ASEAN Focus)
- Panel 5: Trends in Global Merger Control and FDI Enforcement

The legal and/or compliance teams of Korean and subsidiaries of multinational companies attended the event. The event not only provided information on global issues and trends from diverse jurisdictions, but also enabled attendees to gain insight by directly asking questions relevant to their businesses and industries to Lee & Ko and international panelists because of the interactive format.

Lee & Ko will host the Lex Mundi, the world’s leading network of independent law firms in over 125 countries, “Antitrust and Competition Asia‐Pacific Corporate Counsel Event” on June 22, 2023. 

The event will hold five panel discussions featuring global and international legal experts from France, Germany, India, Australia, China, Vietnam, Singapore, South America, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, the United States and Korea. 

The first panel will discuss regulatory trends involving big tech in major jurisdictions related to the enforcement of unilateral conduct and review of M&As, including recent cases involving big tech, regulatory trends and upcoming reforms. 

The second panel, moderated by Lee & Ko Corporate and M&A Practice Group partner Ho Joon Moon, will discuss recent trends in Korean M&A transactions including market trends, purchase price, representations and warranties, covenants, closing conditions and termination, and indemnification. 

The third panel, featuring Lee & Ko Antitrust & Competition Practice Group partner Suruyn Kim, will discuss enforcement trends in the regulation of online distribution including international competition authorities’ response to mobile payment markets, “no price competition clauses” by delivery service companies, implementation of resale price maintenance by delivery apps and market definitions by competition authorities for the offline and offline sale of identical products.

The fourth panel, moderated by Lee & Ko Antitrust & Competition Practice Group partner Yong Seok Ahn, will discuss trends in cartels and leniency with an ASEAN focus including enforcement, recent areas of focus, substantive law changes, agency updates, recent major cartel cases, leniency programs, sanctions, international or regional cases and cooperation between antitrust regulators. 

The fifth panel, featuring Lee & Ko Antitrust & Competition Practice Group partner will discuss trends in global merger control and FDI enforcement. The panel discussion will include key sectors that antitrust regulators have increased scrutiny in and new areas of review such as foreign subsidies and the Digital Markets Act, among others.

On November 15, 2022, Lee & Ko held an online seminar on the ‘Analysis of Key Competition Law Court Precedent from the Second Half of 2021 and the First Half of 2022.’

During the online seminar, experienced attorneys specializing in competition law analyzed the implication of key competition law court precedent during three sessions. 

In the first session, Mr. Byong Ki Chung discussed ‘Key Court Precedent in Collusion,’ where he presented five major cases including the 2014 Korean Medical Association Strike, the Korean Pediatricians Association Moonlight Children’s Hospital and Animal Feed collusion cases and on two other cases involving shareholder derivative litigation. Mr. Chung examined the topics of anti-competitiveness of group action in the medical services market, the criteria for deciding whether actions by business associations are prohibited, prior to the revision of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (“MRFTA”), whether the exchange of information between competitors could be permissible prior to the revision of the MRFTA, shareholder derivative litigation for collusion (involving the CEO), the criteria for determining the liability of management (including outside directors) for compensatory damages and the need for establishing internal compliance controls.

In the second session, Lee&Ko lawyer discussed ‘Key Court Precedent in Unfair Trade Cases’ examining the Supreme Court’s first ruling on corporations providing unreasonable benefits to special parties (family members of conglomerate owners), and future enforcement trends and precautionary measures for practitioners.  

In the third session, Lee & Ko lawyer discussed ‘Further Key Court Precedent’ providing an analysis on the Supreme Court’s first ruling on exclusions for the application of the ‘Act on Fair Transactions in Large Retail Business’ and examined in detail the criteria for determining whether there is a superior bargaining position. Ms. Han then presented on the ‘Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising Act,’ explaining the criteria for judging false advertising for ads involving discounts and the meaning of the Supreme Court precedent on the exclusion period.