The Fair Trade Commission has awarded a total of 34 million won to 28 employees for their contributions to protecting consumers and suppliers in the funeral service industry, as well as for uncovering collusion in the starch and sugar markets.
On October 7, the Commission held its third special performance award ceremony, recognizing the achievements of these employees across eight projects. The special performance awards are given to employees who have made significant contributions to policies that benefit the public or have uncovered serious unfair practices.
The highest recognition was awarded for improvements aimed at protecting the rights of economically vulnerable groups, including funeral service consumers and suppliers, with a total of 7 million won distributed. Officials Yoo Kyung-moo and Kim No-yoon were acknowledged for establishing a legal framework to manage the asset soundness of funeral service companies through amendments to the Installment Transactions Act.
Concerns had been raised that some funeral service companies were providing indiscriminate loans to controlling shareholders, relatives, and affiliates, which could lead to the mismanagement of funds entrusted by consumers. The Commission explained that the legal amendments have strengthened the foundation for protecting funeral service consumers by establishing a basis for managing the asset soundness of these companies and forming a joint investigation team with the Financial Supervisory Service.
Officials Park Sun-wook and Park Jeong-yong were also recognized for their efforts in shortening payment deadlines for suppliers through amendments to the Large-Scale Distribution Business Act. Amid issues highlighted by the TMON and WeMakePrice incidents and Homeplus's restructuring process, they established a legal framework to support the stable business operations of approximately 210,000 suppliers.
Employees who uncovered price collusion in the starch and sugar markets received 5 million won. The Commission penalized long-standing price collusion in the domestic starch market, resulting in four major starch companies lowering their product prices during the investigation.
Additionally, 5 million won was awarded to employees who developed a mileage integration plan for Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, recognizing their efforts to protect consumer rights amid the airline merger.
Employees who contributed to reforms aimed at strengthening the bargaining power of small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners received 4 million won each for uncovering price-fixing practices at gas stations in Jeju.
Furthermore, 3 million won was awarded to employees involved in sanctioning violations of the Franchise Business Act by Myungnyun-dang, designating changes in ownership for Coupang, and contributing to the government's complete victory in the international investment dispute (ISDS) raised by Schindler.
This marks the third special performance award distribution by the Fair Trade Commission this year. In April, the first ceremony awarded a total of 32 million won to 14 employees, including those who uncovered a 3.2 trillion won sugar collusion case. The second ceremony in July recognized 18 employees with a total of 21 million won for their contributions to the regulation of collusion cases involving flour, bank loan-to-value ratios, and printing paper.
Chairman Joo Byeong-ki stated, "We will continue to provide appropriate rewards to employees who achieve outstanding results that the public can feel, and we will foster an organizational culture where employees can work with conviction and passion."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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