provides disadvantages in that process, and ③ such conduct is an unreasonable act. A case in point is the Supreme Court’s precedent. In the case, a company in a superior position set an unreasonably short due date for product supply, terminated, without any justifiable reason, the supply contract for failing to meet the due date, and imposed a compensation for late delivery on the trading partner. In addition, the KFTC viewed that an act of large retailers to unilaterally change the terms of payment under the product purchase contracts (from 100% cash payment to payment on note, with 30%~50% paid in cash) to the disadvantage of the sellers is categorized as an act of providing disadvantages by abusing its superior position.10
4) Enforcement method
There are two methods of enforcement against unfair trade practices, such as the civil claim for damages and the administrative action. The former is adopted by the United States and Germany that focus on the principles of market economy and private autonomy, while the latter is adopted by Korea and Japan that emphasize government’s intervention. The regulation on unfair trade practices is also divided into two types, such as the general provisions and the special provisions. Whereas the US and Germany have general provisions stipulated in their laws, Korea and Japan include specific provisions in their legal systems.
III. Main Issues
A main issue in the KFTC’s decision and the courts’ judgments in the case was whether the insurers’ non-payment of part of insurance payouts had constituted an act of “giving the transacting partner disadvantages in the execution process of the transaction”, one of the “acts of engaging in a trade with a transacting partner by unfairly taking advantage of its own position in the transaction” set forth in Article 23(1) subparagraph 4 of the MRFTA.
1. Issue of whether an act of providing disadvantages could be acknowledged