SEOUL, Dec. 16, 2025 — South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said on Tuesday it has held a briefing aimed at preventing cartel conduct, as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen compliance among companies and industry associations.
The KFTC hosted the 22nd Cartel Compliance Briefing on Tuesday afternoon at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, with around 100 participants from companies and trade associations attending the event.
The briefing focused on raising awareness of cartel risks and encouraging businesses to prevent illegal coordination, including price-fixing and output restrictions. The authority described cartels as a serious violation of competition law that distort markets, raise prices, and transfer wealth unfairly from consumers to cartel participants.
According to the KFTC, the programme covered cartel-related laws and regulations, recent enforcement decisions, and key court rulings. Officials also provided practical guidance on compliance risks that may arise during day-to-day business activities and held question-and-answer sessions to hear concerns from industry participants.
The authority said the briefing was designed to strengthen companies’ internal compliance efforts and help curb cartel conduct at the operational level. It also served as an opportunity for the KFTC to gather feedback from businesses on broader regulatory challenges.
In addition to domestic outreach, the KFTC said it is expanding cartel prevention education for Korean companies operating overseas. The authority noted that it conducts compliance briefings through officials stationed in major jurisdictions, including the United States, the European Union, and China, to help companies avoid violating foreign competition laws.
The KFTC has made cartel enforcement a priority, particularly in light of rising prices and the impact of anticompetitive conduct on consumers and public procurement, the authority said.
