President Lee Jae-myung on Saturday urged reform of the Fair Trade Commission's (FTC) exclusive indictment authority, saying the agency's monopoly over the power effectively gives it "the ability to bury cases."
"Because the FTC monopolizes this authority, it also exclusively holds the power to cover up cases," Lee said at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheongwadae. "We must overcome this."
The exclusive indictment system requires the FTC to file a formal complaint before prosecutors can bring charges in cases involving the Fair Trade Act.
Lee made clear the system needs improvement, though he added, "This is not about reaching a conclusion today." He questioned whether the FTC could "drag its feet on investigations and then bury them by claiming no wrongdoing was found," adding that "the FTC's monopoly over this authority has ultimately created the power to look the other way."
The FTC proposed granting local governments the right to request indictments, but Lee pushed back. "Why should this be limited to a 'request right'? This is merely a slight workaround. The principle that all indictments must go through the FTC is still maintained," he said.
"We should not dismiss local governments," Lee said. "In my experience, local governments do not act recklessly." He ordered officials to "review moving in the direction of granting local governments direct indictment rights."
Meanwhile, FTC Chairman Joo Byung-ki reported a proposal to reform the exclusive indictment system so that a certain number of citizens or companies could jointly file complaints over suspected Fair Trade Act violations, even without involvement from local governments. Cabinet members debated the proposal.
Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho said he agreed with "the basic intent and direction of the reform" but cautioned that "granting indictment rights to a certain number of citizens could lead to abuse. It might be better to limit citizens' indictment rights to serious and malicious crimes."
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan noted that "there are significant concerns coming from the business field." He added, "For example, this system could be used to file complaints against competitors," and requested that "the system be designed carefully so it does not create additional burdens for companies, and that there be close communication with business organizations."