SEOUL - Samsung Electronics Co. has been instructed by South Korea's antitrust regulator, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), to implement corrective measures for its undue interference in the business activities of its authorized retail stores. This directive comes in light of findings that the conglomerate had engaged in practices considered unfair to its retail partners.
According to Yonhap News Agency, from January 2017 to September 2023, Samsung Electronics demanded retail price information from its agencies, treating such data as though it were not a business secret. The company compelled sellers to report their sales prices into its system, accumulating retail price details for 15,389 products, including refrigerators and washing machines, from 159 agents across the country by 2020.
Samsung utilized this information to assess the performance of its agents and to allocate incentives, a practice it ceased in October 2023 following the initiation of an investigation by the regulator. The FTC highlighted that this behavior amounted to a violation of the country's Fairness of Franchise Transactions Act, interfering with the business operations of its agents.
An official from the FTC emphasized that sales margin information is considered confidential as it can influence the contractual terms between Samsung and its retail stores. The regulator has committed to vigilantly monitor any future instances of unfair business interference by Samsung and to rigorously apply the law to prevent recurrence.