I am under investigation for a violation of the Fair Trade Act. What should I do?

Hello. This is an attorney specializing in fair trade at Daeryun Law LLC.

A violation of the Fair Trade Act refers to a case where a business operator engages in conduct that harms the free and fair order of competition, and representative examples include unfair collaborative acts (collusion), unfair trade practices, abuse of a market-dominant position, and resale price maintenance.

If such conduct is recognized, it can lead to a corrective order, the imposition of a penalty surcharge, and a criminal accusation by the Fair Trade Commission, among others.

In particular, the Fair Trade Commission investigates the facts by securing electronic materials such as transaction relationships, internal documents, emails, and messenger records.

If illegality such as unfair support, customer inducement, refusal to deal, or discriminatory pricing is revealed at the investigation stage, a corrective order and a penalty surcharge may be imposed, and in serious cases, criminal punishment may also be imposed.

However, not every trading act immediately constitutes an unfair trade practice.

The outcome can vary depending on whether the transaction terms were based on managerial necessity or justifiable grounds, or whether the trading counterpart voluntarily agreed to the contract.

This is because, when judging 'unfairness,' the Fair Trade Commission comprehensively reviews various factors such as the intent behind the conduct, its circumstances, the economic situation, and whether a benefit accrued.

Therefore, in the early stage of the investigation, rather than making unnecessary statements or submitting materials, you should respond by organizing supporting materials that can prove ① the reasonableness of the transaction, ② the legitimacy of the pricing, and ③ the managerial necessity.

In addition, because even a single expression contained in internal emails, quotations, or contracts carries the risk of being interpreted as 'implicit collusion' or an 'intent to support,' responding without a professional legal review is very dangerous.

The attorneys specializing in fair trade at Daeryun Law LLC handle everything from actual responses to Fair Trade Commission investigations, the submission of written opinions, and the mitigation of penalty surcharges to appeals and administrative litigation.

If you obtain the assistance of an attorney from the investigation stage, you can reduce the sanctions through a strategy of denying any intent to engage in unfair trade and proving justifiable grounds for the transaction.

In a Fair Trade Act violation investigation, if the direction of the response is set incorrectly early on, the case can be converted into a criminal procedure.

Therefore, at this stage, organizing the facts and preparing a proof strategy through a review of materials is more important than anything else.

If you are being suspected of an unfair trade practice, we recommend that you consult an attorney specializing in fair trade and build a response system.