Lee & Ko Secures No-Violation Decision and Closure of KFTC Investigation in Abuse of Market Dominance Case

Lee & Ko’s Antitrust & Competition Practice Group successfully represented a leading Korean mobility platform operator in a complaint-initiated case involving the alleged abuse of market dominance in the taxi fare payment processing business. As a result, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) issued a no-violation decision on certain issues and closed its investigation on the remaining issues. 

The case was first brought before the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency (“KOFAIR”) for dispute mediation in 2023. After the mediation concluded without resolution, the case proceeded to a formal KFTC investigation into the alleged abuse of market dominance, which lasted approximately two years.

Throughout both proceedings, Lee & Ko represented the company and argued that this case was fundamentally different from a typical refusal-to-deal case. Unlike cases involving the termination of an existing business relationship, the complainant did not satisfy the conditions required for the formation of a contract. As a result, there was no contract and thus the alleged conduct could not constitute an unlawful refusal to deal, a position that the KFTC ultimately accepted, which resulted in a no-violation decision and closure of the investigation.

This outcome demonstrates Lee & Ko’s deep understanding of the legal principles governing abuse of market dominance, as well as its ability to systematically analyze complex factual circumstances and effectively advance critical legal arguments.