Fair Trade Commission Set to Liberalize Restrictions on Wide Range of Industries

Various commissions are to be differentiated from next year at the earliest, according to industry classifications such as securities firms, real estate agencies, and private institutions; shuttle bus fares and airfares will also become liberalized.

Fees for judicial scrivener services will become liberalized as well, and a plan that enlarges or allows advertising on behalf of professionals, such as doctors or lawyers, will also be promoted.

On October 12, the chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Kang Chul-gyu, announced that a plan to reform regulations to restrict competition in 43 service areas was reported to the state council.

The Fair Trade Commission decided to differentiate commissions on securities and real estate, shuttle bus and midnight excellent express bus fares, airfares, and other industries after discussing the situation with related ministries.

Accordingly, securities firms will be able to fix their transaction commissions according to the deposit money of customers and the variety of services offered by each firm.

Also, because the Fair Trade Commission has removed the lower limit to real estate agency commissions, a commission reduction through competition among businesses is expected as well.

The airfare system, which is based on a permission system (from authorities), will be converted to a registration system (which allows anyone meeting certain registration standards to get a license by notifying the authorities), thus enabling airlines to fix their airfares with flexibility. Bus fares are also expected to become liberalized in terms of hours and types of industries, including shuttle buses and the excellent midnight express buses.

Pharmacists and opticians will be allowed to establish a pharmacy or an optical business, respectively, in the form of a corporation. Also, authorized textbooks published by private publishers will be introduced for use in elementary school textbooks.

Regulations on the range and the kinds of media that allow medical advertising will be lightened, and a plan that lifts the limitations on lawyer advertisements that the Korean Bar Association is restricting will also be pursued. An improvement in the screening quota of Korean movies will also be pursued as well.

The Fair Trade Commission reported that it is also discussing possible improvements with the Ministry of Construction and Transportation and the Ministry of Finance and Economy relating to the appraisal commission notification system and the cigarette sales price registration system.

However, in the case of some issues that may cause ill effects if current restrictions are immediately repealed, such as the permission system of terms of service for dominating businesses within the telecommunications industry, fixing the telecommunications price, non-profit corporation systems for incorporated schools, and the obligatory joining system for the Association of Certified Professionals including certified public accountants, these 55 subjects will be pursued as long term consideration subjects.

Yong Park parky@donga.com