Antitrust regulator urges Samsung to clean up business practices

Korea's antitrust regulator has ordered Samsung Electronics to take corrective steps, accusing the company of interfering with the business operations of its authorized retail stores.

People browse products at a Samsung Electronics retail store in western Seoul [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Korea's antitrust regulator has ordered Samsung Electronics to take corrective steps, accusing the company of interfering with the business operations of its authorized retail stores.

The tech giant allegedly enforced retailers to disclose their price information to the company from January 2017 through September 2023, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).

Businesses reserve the right to keep this information private, as revealing it creates an unfair playing field for both parties.

Samsung forced sellers to enter their selling prices into its system to collect the retail price information of 15,389 products, including refrigerators and washing machines. The system covered 159 agents nationwide as of 2020.

The company used the data to evaluate the performance of its agents and grant incentives accordingly, but it has halted these practices since October 2023 after the regulator launched a probe, the FTC said.

"Such a practice constitutes an interference of business operations that violates the country's fairness of franchise transactions act," an FTC official said.

"Information on sales margins is deemed confidential as it could affect contract terms and conditions between the two sides," he added.

The regulator vowed to continue monitoring any unfair business meddling activities by Samsung and to sternly enforce relevant laws in case of any recurrences.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]