The number of commissioners at South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will increase from nine to 11. The expansion aims to shorten the review period for corporate cases pending at the commission.
The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a legislation subcommittee session on Wednesday and passed an amendment to the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act proposed by Rep. Kang Jun-hyun of the Democratic Party of Korea.
Under the amendment, the FTC's composition will grow from five standing and four non-standing commissioners to six standing and five non-standing commissioners. This marks the first expansion of FTC commissioners in 29 years since 1997. The commission launched with five commissioners in 1981 and gradually expanded to seven in 1990 and nine in 1997.
The increase in commissioners, who serve a judge-like role within the FTC, is expected to reduce case processing times. According to the FTC, the number of cases rose from 1,374 per year in the 1990s to 2,461 over the past five years. The average waiting period for case review reached 212 days. "With the increase in FTC commissioners, the overall case processing period is expected to decrease as waiting times for reviews such as cartel hearings are reduced," an FTC official said.
The expansion originated from a directive by President Lee Jae-myung. During a Cabinet meeting last year, President Lee told FTC Chairman Joo Byung-ki, "There are rumors that the FTC has too much to investigate but is skipping or glossing over many cases due to a shortage of personnel."
Separately, the committee also passed an amendment to the Consumer Cooperative Act that transfers oversight of consumer cooperatives from the FTC to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The change was prompted by concerns that the FTC lacks a dedicated department and staff for cooperatives, and that the commission's regulatory nature makes it unsuitable for pursuing proactive financial and tax support policies to foster cooperatives.