On February 28, 2019, EJE Law successfully obtained a court decision cancelling the KRW16.8 billion fine imposed by the Korean Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) against an automobile parts manufacturer for price collusion among other manufacturers in violation of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (“FTA”).  The main issue disputed in this lawsuit was whether or not the statute of limitation for the KFTC’s sanction has lapsed. 

The above court decision is meaningful in that the court establishing standards applicable when determining (i) when the statute of limitation for the KFTC’s sanction should be triggered if some of the manufacturers who participated in the price collusion have voluntarily reported themselves to the KFTC, and also, (ii) how the statute of limitation under the Korean fair trade law should be interpreted under the FTA.